So Much to Lose

I've been thinking about all that could be lost in my life as a single woman who chose never to marry or give control of my life to a man, as the Republican Religious Right works to destroy the gains we've made as a humanistic society, wherein everyone deserves to be treated equitably and respectfully. I'm sure there are many things I haven't thought of yet. Please add your own concerns in the comments.

For the past fifty to a hundred years, Fundamentalist Christians have been working behind the scenes to take over our political, social, and educational institutions, by installing their Chosen Ones in positions of power. Yes, I know that sounds all conspiracy-theory-isty. But if you look deeply, the hidden threads are starting to work their way into the open. And honestly, labeling something a "conspiracy theory" makes everyone deride it, makes everyone turn away because they don't want to be labeled as crazy and paranoid. It takes a brave person to take the risk and begin to look deeper. So, what are "they" working towards, the ones who are working behind the scenes to overturn everything my Revolutionary War ancestors fought for?

Foremost is the right to control what happens to our bodies. We will lose the right to decide if and when we bear children, if Roe v. Wade is struck down. We will lose the right to regulate our ability to procreate or not, without legal access to contraception. We will lose the right to say No to having sex, if women are ruled to be the possessions of their husbands and marital rape is no longer a crime.

We will lose the right to control our lives as independent human beings, when we return to the days when a woman was not able to control her own finances, get a bank account, or take out a loan in her own name. The days when a father or a husband was the one who decided what a woman was allowed to do with her hard-earned money. Of course, this is still the norm in cases of domestic abuse, and a well-recognized tool of abusers. But even in the hands of a well-intentioned man, having to rely on the decisions of a man regarding our finances is appalling to consider. What if a woman is not allowed to decide to go to college or take out a student loan? What if a woman is not allowed to decide to buy a house or a car? This was the norm barely fifty years ago. We can't allow it to happen to us again.

We will lose the right to practice - or not to practice - any religion except Fundamentalist Christianity. Everyone will be required to adhere to the state religion or be punished for deviating. No one will be allowed to practice Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Catholicism, Unitarianism, Paganism, Wiccan, or any of the other non-Fundamentalist Christian faiths. And if we do not practice, we could be fined, censured, punished, or imprisoned. I was raised a nominal Methodist, but that faith never meant anything to me. I am by choice a Buddhist. By CHOICE! Because that is what is right for my soul and spirit. The thought of someone telling me that my faith is not valid because it doesn't adhere to someone else's point of view is unthinkable. And yet it does happen around the world today. And it could happen here in America again.

We will not be allowed to read the books, newspapers, and magazines we want to, because anything deemed unsuitable will be banned, as is happening right now across this country. And as writers and artists, we will not be allowed to write or illustrate those books and articles, either, or be censured and imprisoned as happens in other countries today. Already, authors are being threatened and harassed in this country for the things they write, if it doesn't suit a religious fanatic's narrow view of what is "suitable." This includes any hint of acceptance of "alternative" genders, sexuality, or lifestyles, including my own, as a woman who chose never to marry. It means that any hint of a point of view that accepts that White History is not always good would be banned. It means that anyone who looks at the evils perpetrated on other people not of the White race would be ostracized and their work banned. It means that any criticism of anything White, Christian, and patriarchal would be a crime. We've already seen the uproar over Critical Race Theory, a university-level study that has never been taught in lower grades, yet is being attacked on all sides. And that is only the first "hot button issue" in the coming war on freedom of thought.

In the past, I - like most of you - avoided anything which smacked of "conspiracy theory," which I now believe is exactly what "they" want. If we are afraid to look deeply into what lies within, or beneath, then we are safe from censure. And it is human nature to seek safety, to avoid conflict. But while we are protecting ourselves from ridicule, look at what is surfacing around us. Banning a woman's right to choose when and how she becomes pregnant and bears a child. Banning our right to choose what religion we practice, or don't, or to feel safe when we practice. Banning our right to read books, and to educate ourselves and our children.

All of these rights are being eroded, and not so slowly. We are losing them now, today. And if we don't fight for these rights - as my own ancestors did over two hundred years ago - then we will lose our way of life and the freedoms we won in the Revolutionary War. And the only way we can prevent that is to vote. Yet Republicans are working in every state to limit our ability to vote, but putting in place laws that make voting more difficult, and in many cases impossible, by eliminating polling places and preventing concerned citizens from assisting others to vote. And in low-income or in non-White majority areas, these laws prevent people of color, especially, from voting, by limiting access. This is unconscionable to me, and I know that many of you reading this feel the same. We can't allow these erosions of our rights to continue.

Vote in every election. Vote out the people who are eroding our rights. Vote in the people who will protect those rights. And if you are able, run for office. Now!

Thank you for reading! Likes, comments, shares, follows, and pledges are always cherished.