Worth to Die and Kill For: My Rights

When my first son was born, I knew immediately that this was the one human being that I would live, die and kill for in this world. The same feeling was multiplied when the second son was born.  When willingly pregnant with my first one, my oldest sister told me that there will be no one that I will ever love more, and she was right.  For when one chooses to become a mother through pregnancy, you already sacrifice so much.  But they are first who convinced me that some things are worth living, dying and killing for, but I never was much to sacrifice in the name of any ideology or for any entity. It's one of the reasons that I never joined the military, fighting in foreign lands in the name of imperialism or capitalism never interested me, unless you count the time that I considered it as a way to pay for college.  

In my lifetime, I was born in 1971, I have grown up in a nation that celebrated the strength of and reproductive rights for women.  The opportunities and rights fought for by the American women (of all backgrounds) from the right to vote, to reproductive health, to economic freedoms, and education was all experienced by MY generation. All of it. I see law schools, boardrooms, local governments, and the US Congress and Senate filled with women (of all backgrounds). One area that seems to be out of our reach is the White House, both times we tried, and we lost to the same vile, rapist conman. Hence, the regressive bastards at The Heritage Foundation saw this as a threat, as if Barack Obama didn't scare them enough, to plan ahead during the Biden occupation of the White House, as if we were only given a moment to breathe. And for those who want to claim that it was the women that the Democratic party chose as candidates, I will remind you that the GOP also rejected an intelligent strong woman to be their 2024 candidate. The assumption that our nation seems to hate women is true, because there can be no other conclusion.  We finally get a seat at the table and the Regressives now want to destroy it, this also applies to racial/ethnic minorities and LGBT+ people. It's not our first time in our history that we see this misogynistic white supremacy's ugly head rise up. It seems to do this every time, when we try to become, in Lincoln's words, a more perfect Union. 

I never was an ideologue or patriot, but I loved my rights and the dream of the United States Constitution, the idea of a democracy, and a desire for human rights. Being an activist by protesting, signing petitions, writing letters to my politicians in office or globally to world leaders all in the name of Human Rights. Studying human rights in undergraduate school and graduate school, I could only dream of making a living at it, but alas, that never happened, but I continue to volunteer and fight. In undergraduate school at Illinois State, in a class called "International Organizations", I learned that the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights was greatly influenced by the Bill of Rights (the first US 10 Constitutional Amendments), and from that point forward that made me proud. I knew we could do better when it comes to economic, racial/ethnic, gender, and LGBT justice (basically human rights beyond the US Constitution). But with that being said, it amazes me that these rights could be stripped away easily, at least that is what The Heritage Foundation is hoping.

A few weeks ago, the Trump regime wants to end the 14th Amendment with a stroke of a pen on an Executive Order. So far three federal judges have rejected this. But my fear is that it reaches the United States Supreme Court, and the Justices agree with the Trump regime, well, in a word, it's over. What would be the next Amendment with a group of women-hating incels at The Heritage Foundation? The obvious answer is The 19th Amendment.

 

It is this Amendment, the 19th, that prevent my gender from being a second glass citizen, this is about the right to vote! So many women and others fought hard for this. And for this first time in our history in August 1920, we were going to have our voices heard at the ballot box!  We all know that when our "forefathers" wrote the first TEN, that they only meant wealthy, white cis men.  But with the 19th Amendment being ratified, we were going to be able to vote! And just maybe the other Amendments also applied to women, including the First. Each step toward equality made it possible for other rights for women to follow, and for all women, it started with the 19th. It also made way for the Equal Rights Amendment, which it is still unclear if this is official or not, but it would mean strengthening our place in this country, because our place was never just in the kitchen, fields, or bedrooms.

And not only would a reversal by a stroke of pen be detrimental to my generation but for future generations. I think about my nieces and great nieces being denied these rights that I have enjoyed my 54 years. The thought of this reversal of women's rights is beyond a nightmare for me and others. And what really pisses me off is the fact that there  are WOMEN who sided with these men who wish to reverse these rights. Many of these women are in positions of power and vote with the Republican party to uphold the patriarchy. What do these women think it would happen to them? That their men would let them stay in these positions when they would be no longer to vote? When their bank accounts are in their men's names? It kills me that these fucking women (Conservative women) think they will be the exception to this hate? These women (mostly white) step on the fucking necks of our female ancestors and crushing the spines of future generations of American women? I can't imagine this.

Please know that I am for nonviolence solutions to our problems. I am for the ballot box. But if my sisters, my nieces, and my great nieces and other women are made into second class citizens again, I will be willing to kill and die for my rights if I have to do this.  All women should be alarmed and be ready to act if SCOTUS decides to reverse the 14th Amendment by the tyrannical act of an Executive Order by a hateful bastard along with his billionaire incels because they will be coming after the other Amendment rights, including the First!  We must protect our Constitution! We must protect our right to vote!  All of us! 

 "If it's right for men to fight for their freedom, then it's right for women to fight for theirs". -                                                                             Emmeline Pankhurt

And a word for those who just love their 2nd Amendment without regulations, well, maybe the NRA will have enough money to protect your gun rights, as they create fear in order for you all to vote against your self-interests. Of course, as long as it's white men holding the guns, they might not touch it.  But do not take it for granted that if the 14th Amendment is easily overrode by a tyrant and his billionaire Oligarchs, your prized Amendment is not safe.

Finally, make no mistake whatever tyranny faces us, we will fight for it. This is not about political parties or left/right, this is about us becoming a better nation, and that does not mean we turn the clock on human rights 100 years! We will protect our right to vote and hard won rights by any means necessary!