"If the others heard me talking out loud they would think that I am crazy," he said aloud. "But since I am not crazy, I do not care. And the rich have radios to talk to them in their boats and to bring them the baseball."
I have been reading and listening to insanity all day long.
This morning, at about 10 a.m., the Supreme Court handed down a ruling that overturned 50 years of precedent. In a 6-3 decision, Roe v. Wade became history, and the constitutional rights of all women were returned to Leave It to Beaver land. Now, the decision is left up to individual states, half of which have or will ban all abortions. In my home state of Michigan, the law that will go into effect was passed in 1931. If you do the math, that's only eleven years after the 19th Amendment passed, giving women the right to vote.
I woke up in 2022 this morning. When I go to bed tonight, my head will hit the pillow in the Dust Bowl, two years before Adolf Hitler rose to power.
I'm experiencing the same emotions I felt the day after Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. Helplessness. Disbelief. Sadness. For all the women in my life. For all my LGTBQ+ relatives and friends. For my daughter and son. As part of his opinion on today's ruling, Justice Clarence Thomas all but said that the Supreme Court should overturn decisions that established the rights to contraception; to engage in private sexual acts; and to same-sex marriage.
Because I'm a Christian, most people assume that I should be dancing in the streets tonight. I've said it before, and I will say it again: nobody has the right to force their personal morality on others. That's between them and their Higher Power, whatever that may be. You can't legislate morality.
If you don't believe in abortion, don't have an abortion. If you're against contraception, don't use contraceptives. If you think homosexuality is wrong, don't be a homosexual. If you oppose gay marriage, don't marry someone who's the same sex as you are. It's that simple.
Your beliefs should guide the way you live your life. However, your beliefs should not guide the way I live my life. Same goes for your neighbor. Or the teenage girl who's been raped by her father. Or my gay friend who's been with his partner longer than I've known my wife. Or the single mother with five kids who's working a minimum-wage job.
If you're worried about the sanctity of life, then push for sensible gun laws that will decrease or end school and church and shopping mall shootings. Support universal healthcare. Buy groceries for kids who are going hungry every day. Volunteer at a homeless shelter. Start recycling. Plant some trees.
If you call yourself pro-life but don't support any of the things I've just listed in the previous paragraph, you're belong in a United States where women can't vote and African Americans are hanging from trees.
Make no mistake: abortions will continue to happen in the United States. The difference will be that women will die because of a politically-motivated Supreme Court decision that puts their lives in the hands of neighbors who think that global warming is a fairy tale and gay people can be prayed straight.
I am searching for light tonight, and I'm having a hard time finding it.
Mr. Rogers once said, "When I was a boy and I would see scary things on the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'"
Saint Marty thinks we need a lot of helpers tonight.
You said it all. And. So eloquently!
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