Independence Day?
When will women and minorities gain their independence?
It has been a banner year to be a woman or a minority in the United States, thanks, in part, to a conservative majority in the Supreme Court.
Last June, SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade, ending 50 years of protections for abortion rights. Two weeks ago, the court eliminated affirmative action in higher education, voted in favor of a Christian web designer who refused to work with same sex couples on the grounds of her religion and blocked Biden’s student loan forgiveness program that sought to cancel more than $430 billion in student loan debt. All in one day.
Honestly, I don’t know how they did it. Just typing that made me tired. Maybe the justices were eager to start the holiday weekend.
The fact remains that in one year (give or take a week), these decisions have negatively impacted women and minorities. They are a major setback for the progress that’s been made in recent decades to preserve and protect their rights, and it will take decades to undo the damage.
It wasn’t always like this. I grew up with the right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy and witnessed gay marriage become legal in the United States. Great strides have been made in my lifetime, with SCOTUS rulings ensuring equal protections for women and minorities in the workplace, at school, at the ballot box and in the military.
Even with these protections, we still aren’t whole. We’re worlds away from pay equality, more so if you’re a person of color. Voting rights are still being debated in some states, and gun violence continues to be an issues affecting women and minorities at an alarming rate.
These issues make raising the next generation somewhat complicated. It’s hard to explain to my daughters that they don’t have the same protections that I did growing up, or that their male counterparts will most likely make more money doing the same thing once they graduate.
My oldest daughter will be able to vote in the next election. She’s excited about being able to choose who she wants to lead the country in the next four years. She’s excited about her future, even though the laws being enacted today threaten her safety and her future. Am I? A little, but knowing how far we’ve come, and how far we’ve fallen behind is sometimes defeating.
But I keep fighting. For my daughters and my son, for their children and grandchildren. For the next generation and every one after. I fight because the last few years have taught me that these rights are not guaranteed, and we have to continue to stand up for the things that mean the most to us. We can’t stay silent and expect that others will raise their voices for us. We just can’t.
What Inspires Me?
This hockey team entirely made up of trans and nonbinary folks. This guy who flew from Oklahoma City to Charlotte all alone (save for the crew), and this super smart (sneaky) baby.
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