Our Rights are in Retreat. They are Being Stolen from Us.

It was only last week that the draft memo of SCOTUS’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked. In just that short time, the Republican party, has both, accelerated vastly its relentless onslaught against women’s reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, etc. while simultaneously declaring that SCOTUS’ opinion won’t really have any material effect on people. This is all the more amazing when we see how truly naked the attack on reproductive rights has become, with Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell telling reporters that a federal ban of abortions is within Congress’ authority, and is not off the table for the Republican agenda, despite 58% of Americans wanting the exact opposite! We have to take very seriously that the Republican party, including those “justices” appointed by minority elected Republican presidents, espouse a white-supremacist, patriarchal, version of capitalist ideology. As this point their political and cultural goals couldn’t be clearer: They are trying to put women back into the kitchen, gay individuals back into the shadows, and trans people into the grave. These are not moral people. If there was any doubt, the haphazard and poorly worded legislation passed in a variety of Republican controlled states demonstrated how little care or thought they gave to the broader implications of their decrees. What’s more, they have taken no steps to improve access to proper healthcare or funds for newborn babies and their mothers. In fact, the most zealous states in restricting reproductive rights, are also the stingiest when it comes to looking after the general welfare of their citizens. No one should be surprised the anti-choice movement wouldn’t be satisfied with simply overturning Roe, yet it is shocking to see how fast the Republicans can move. If we are to save our rights we must move with commensurate speed, because while we are still discussing the ramifications of SCOTUS reversing Roe, and just how terrible it will be, the Republicans continue to press forward with ever more extreme proposals. We’ve already seen legislation ranging from labeling abortion as homicide, to accusing parents of trans-kids of child abuse and sending the kid into foster care and many more. They will not be satisfied until their hateful, minoritarian, theocratic rule is put in place, over the rest of us. One of the MAGA crowd admitted as much on camera, while taunting women fighting for their freedom. This isn’t about saving fetus’ or the sacredness of life, this is about controlling people, it’s about power. This is the uglier, more nakedly cruel flavor of capitalist rule, which Democrats lambast when promoting a more diverse, multi-cultural capitalist economy, in which the ruling class is comprised of all races, genders, and religions. While the latter is certainly preferable, to a ruling class composed entirely of rich white men, both ideologies reinforce the same underlying economic power structure, even if the exact players change. The sad truth is that money and power are inextricably linked in this country, and they are the only language the ruling class understands and respects. They do not recognize the common humanity in all of us, that binds those of us together who are thinking, caring, loving human beings in the struggle for democracy and a more perfect union. To make progress in this fight, we must join together and build an economic cudgel which can stand up to the ruling class and demand the protections of our rights. If we fail to do so, we will see each of our rights slowly stripped away, until democracy and freedom are barely remembered myths. So join us each Tuesday and help us take back our power, our rights and our freedom. Together we can make sure we all have true autonomy over our own lives. #DSOT #UPM