Happy Fourth of July!

Celebrations today should be tempered by recent losses of Constitutional protection of many classes of US citizens – women, immigrants, gays and transgenders, and indigenous Indians. Threats to the public at large also now go mostly unprotected – clean air, clean water, clean soil; runaway gun violence culture; equal access to justice; freedom from religion.

When independence was championed in the 1770’s, the idea was to break away from English rule and king. The pursuit of life, liberty and happiness had yet to be defined, but the grand objective was claimed in the Declaration of Independence. It took nearly 12 years for the ‘founding fathers’ to codify and define the details in the US Constitution. That document went through many drafts and compromises to become the spinal column of American law and governance. Even then it was not right. Amendments were written and adopted through much work and anguished debates. The Bill of Rights was one such amendment. This is where so many ‘rights’ continue to upset the public. Freedom of religion is judged to be much different than freedom from religion. Today, anyone can hawk their belief system as religion and assault the body politic with these creeds. They even can legislate such beliefs. And no court deems their authority covers interpreting ‘of’ and ‘from’ their business. Thus, we are embattled with all kinds of creeds becoming the basis of laws rather than sense and science.

Mistaking a well-regulated militia as being comprised by a fully armed public, the right to bear arms and carry them in secret or in the open, is now established law of the land. Unconditional gun ownership returns society to its earliest of days when conditions existed in which the public relied on bearing arms to guarantee their own safety. Today we have the military, national guard, police and sheriff organizations to protect us. An assault rifle weapon simply is not needed for protection or safety from wild animals. They are needed if the owners of such weaponry deign to take over a governmental unit with which they disagree. The courts have abandoned their role in such matters. Now it is back in the hands of the citizens who are armed and dangerous to others.

Abortion rights are gone. Back alleys and wire coat hangers are back. Death, disability and indignity are here to stay. Women are once again second- or third-class citizens. All that’s missing is the white cowling and floor-length red robes. All this decided by men who are married, fathers, grandfathers, uncles and brothers. How could they give up on their loved ones? How? Why?

Yes, today is the 4th of July. We normally celebrate it as a declaration of ability to govern ourselves. Not much to celebrate these days. We have declared ourselves ungovernable.

What’s happy about the fourth? Not much.

July 4, 2022

 

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