to go back

growing up I always heard people say how much they loved the past. opinions ranging from we must learn from the past to move forward to I wish I could have lived in ____ decade. as I got older I heard more such as "life was simpler" and "people knew their place." however now after the last few years or even the last few months, I realized something. these people only wanted to go back to the time before because it benefitted them. most of them have never looked based the version of for example the 50's that most of us think of. the one with the milkshakes, and sockhops. they never look just below the surface at what happened behind the photos. sadly, many times they did they never cared. they didn't care about the murders, the rapes, the lynchings. they didn't care about the mothers who died while Drs debated if her life had enough meaning to save her life.

even today they will talk about how they could bring their guns into their school and they never had a school shooting. when in reality the earliest shooting in the US occurred happened in 1764 on July 26th, it is called the Pontiac rebellion school massacre. before Columbine on April 20th, 1999 there occurred a total of 448 starting from July 26, 1764. while yes kids were able to join a rifle club until as late as 1999 (the latest mention I can find) this does not mean that school schooling didn't occur. sadly, when the people making our laws talk about these times they only look at the death toll, not the shootings. these people don't live in our reality, they don't have to worry about if their child will return from school smiling or in a body bag.

these same people will talk about 'saving children while ignoring the thousands of children missing from graduating classes. they will talk about a fetus 'right to life' while ignoring the mother's same right. they will talk about how teen moms can't take care of their children while preying on them to sign away their parental rights. they will talk about how a fetus is a person while they encourage their mistresses to have abortions. their laws don't affect them or their children because they aren't made to control them.

they want to go back in time to a time they believe was better. when 'men were men, and women were women' and 'where people knew where they belonged'. when they talk about this time it is in regards to the early 1900s until the 1980s. they have presented this era as the ideal time to live in, while not telling us how few had rights. the LGBTQIA+ community existed then and before, however they had to fear being murdered for something that didn't affect anyone else. they still teach native history as if it is the past as if the natives are no longer here. they are here they have wonderful communities and culture despite the US government trying to erase it. it wasn't until 1978 that native children would start being placed with native families thanks to the Indian child welfare act. they are currently trying to reverse that act in 2022, their reasoning? states right according to the supporters' of Texas, Louisiana, Indiana, Ohio, and other groups and individuals the federal government can't force states to adopt federal law.

these are the same states that also have made it impossible or unobtainable for their female population to get an abortion. ohio even going as far as trying to oik a law making it illegal to even cross state lines. this is due to the ten-year-old that recently had to go two states away to obtain an abortion after being raped. this is also one of the states that are fighting for the ' right to life and ' for the children.

what of the children? what of the girls who would die if they gave birth? what of the victims who are forced to carry their rapist's baby? these people do not care about children once they are here. this is even reflected in the laws they pass, and what they say. they want lower-income families to have more children while they cut food stamps, cut WIC, and child care assistance, and raise our prices. they voted against a bill to get our gas prices under control. within the past year, the government voted against vaccine mandates and stated ' it isn't up to the government to make medical decisions.' why then just a few months later, are they making medical decisions for the majority of the population.

this is not the America my ancestors came to. this is not the country my family has fought for since. this is not a country that cares for its members of society. this is a country that has overstepped.