WHAT IF THEY CAME AFTER YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE?
“Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country and this world.” — Sharon Salzberg
“The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.” — Lyndon B. Johnson
Although the lexicon of the quote by President Johnson is dated in its exclusive use of masculine terminology, its meaning and intent have never been more important than today. Georgia, Texas and other similar thinking States have passed, or are in the process of passing, legislation which directly or indirectly disenfranchises citizens of this Country and impedes their right to vote. And let’s be frank, if you read the words of these travesties of legislation it is plain that these legislative efforts are directed at historically underprivileged and under-represented segments of our society. For example, it is unconscionable to require people to show I.D.s to vote in areas where local DMV offices have been closed so that it becomes difficult if not impossible for the working poor to take off time to travel to obtain those I.D.s; to strictly limit the ability to take advantage of absentee/mail-in voting (which has been used by years by those serving in the military and others); to make it a criminal act to provide food or water to someone waiting on line to vote; to remove the oversight from voting in a state from a non-partisan individual and put it in the hands of the very legislative body that enacted these horrible laws, etc. If you doubt me, read the legislation. Don’t listen to someone else talk about it (including me), read it for yourself. Although the language of these pieces of legislation may sound fair and benign, for one moment put your thinking cap on and consider what members of our society will be disproportionately impacted by the legislation. Never mind the stated intent of the legislation, think of its impact. There will always be a victor in any election. If your candidate does not win, don’t act to infringe the rights of others. Undertake the work to fairly and honestly get your candidate elected in the next election cycle.
All of this in the wake of unfounded, unproven and empty allegations of voter fraud in the last election cycle. More than 60 lawsuits were brought across the Country in Federal and State courts and in each instance, not a scintilla of evidence was introduced of any form of systematic voter fraud that impacted the results of any election. Indeed, the lawyers who brought these lawsuits never actually alleged or pointed to any specific evidence of voter fraud. If they had made such unfounded allegations, as officers of the court they would have risked their law licenses. Again, don’t take my word for it, do a little research yourself. Judge after judge, regardless of whether they were appointed by a Democrat or Republican or ran for a judgeship as a Democrat or Republican, rejected the lawsuits as meritless.
In this land that prides itself on freedom and liberty and justice, it is a sad day when a legislative body and confirming executive (a governor) enacts laws which blatantly, purposefully and strategically act to deprive or limit certain fellow Americans of one of their most fundamental rights in our democratic society, the right to vote. It seems that sanity exists only in Virginia where they passed sweeping legislation that preserves and protects voting rights.
We hold ourselves out to the world as the gold standard for the preservation and expansion of rights. Rights should never be infringed or diminished, particularly in instances where there is no evidence that a right is being abused or eroded. It truly is a very sad day when allegiance to party is deemed more important than fealty to Country, the Constitution, and the rights that we hold near and dear.
Sorry to rant, but this is a disgrace. Every American of good conscience who truly believes in what this Country says it stands for and claims to be needs to stand up and call out this travesty for what it so blatantly is, racism. That’s exactly what this is. Just imagine how you would feel as a citizen of this great Country, how you would react, if the government took away or tried to limit your right to vote. Put yourself in the shoes of the people impacted by these terrible laws. They are our fellow citizens, our brother and sisters. Join me. Call this out. Stand up to this tyranny. Silence is complicity. No justice, no peace.
