The biggest problem with this excellent piece is twofold. First, Jill is most likely "preaching to the choir."
Second, America desperately needs a better (more liberally) educated society where the general population will actually think about and understand what is involved.
As to abortion, what is involved is individual LIBERTY. Not only a woman's liberty over her own body, but the liberty of everyone, male and female, to personal privacy and autonomy.
When government uses its power to suppress liberty, it does so for one reason alone--power. And power is what especially on the extreme Right (and their corporate organized religion benefactors) want. And in any way they can get it, and at any cost. Lives destroyed -- simply collateral damage.
I believe that if the Founding Fathers were alive today, as enlightenment thinkers, 1) they would include women among their ranks, 2) they would not own slaves and 2) they would respect a woman's right to personal autonomy. Perhaps Americans should start thinking about what our "Founding Parents" would think of our society today, and what tools are needed to make it better.
Regarding Mike Diederich's comment, there is no problem with this writing, but I agree with what he said, too. This is something everyone should see and learn truth from...yes, all of us who agree with this statement are shouting to the hills about the truth, but also can use this to affirm to others what the truth is. I absolutely agree with every word. The Founders lived with what society was back then, but they also recognized that things don't stay the same over time, so they wrote that they expected us to "form a more perfect union" and things like "promote the general welfare" and "secure the blessings of liberty" as we moved forward. But we are failing to make our government do our will, which is why we are living now with circumstances the Founders came here to get away from in England and other places in order to form a nation with, as Lincoln so aptly phrased, "government of the people by the people, for the people." But rights come with the responsibility to maintain them, which we have not done most especially since the 1960's but actually starting with the late 1880's, and now here we are...we, the people are supposed to control our government, not the other way around.
The conservatives. always try to portray themselves as the party of personal freedom. They believe that the liberals are behaving like little fascists, and they're trying to impose their woke ideology on the rest of us. The conservatives, on the other hand, are the rebels. Theyre the cool guys fighting against the liberal establishment. They are the counter-culture.
Meanwhile, in reality it's the complete opposite. They're the ones trying to impose their values on the rest of us. They're the ones telling people what they can and cannot do.
The thing that really bothers me about Republicans is how unwilling they are to compromise. They're very stubborn in their beliefs, and they refuse to give ground.
You would think that overturning Roe would be enough, but it wasn't. They're determined get their way and impose their values upon the rest of us.
And it goes beyond abortion. The guns rights advocates are every bit as bad. Every time there is a mass shooting, they double down and dig in their heels. The Second Amendment is sacrosanct, and that's that. They refuse to make even the smallest concessions.
And everyone else has to deal with the consequences of their stupidity.
Is Honesty Too Much To Ask?
The biggest problem with this excellent piece is twofold. First, Jill is most likely "preaching to the choir."
Second, America desperately needs a better (more liberally) educated society where the general population will actually think about and understand what is involved.
As to abortion, what is involved is individual LIBERTY. Not only a woman's liberty over her own body, but the liberty of everyone, male and female, to personal privacy and autonomy.
When government uses its power to suppress liberty, it does so for one reason alone--power. And power is what especially on the extreme Right (and their corporate organized religion benefactors) want. And in any way they can get it, and at any cost. Lives destroyed -- simply collateral damage.
I believe that if the Founding Fathers were alive today, as enlightenment thinkers, 1) they would include women among their ranks, 2) they would not own slaves and 2) they would respect a woman's right to personal autonomy. Perhaps Americans should start thinking about what our "Founding Parents" would think of our society today, and what tools are needed to make it better.
Regarding Mike Diederich's comment, there is no problem with this writing, but I agree with what he said, too. This is something everyone should see and learn truth from...yes, all of us who agree with this statement are shouting to the hills about the truth, but also can use this to affirm to others what the truth is. I absolutely agree with every word. The Founders lived with what society was back then, but they also recognized that things don't stay the same over time, so they wrote that they expected us to "form a more perfect union" and things like "promote the general welfare" and "secure the blessings of liberty" as we moved forward. But we are failing to make our government do our will, which is why we are living now with circumstances the Founders came here to get away from in England and other places in order to form a nation with, as Lincoln so aptly phrased, "government of the people by the people, for the people." But rights come with the responsibility to maintain them, which we have not done most especially since the 1960's but actually starting with the late 1880's, and now here we are...we, the people are supposed to control our government, not the other way around.
The conservatives. always try to portray themselves as the party of personal freedom. They believe that the liberals are behaving like little fascists, and they're trying to impose their woke ideology on the rest of us. The conservatives, on the other hand, are the rebels. Theyre the cool guys fighting against the liberal establishment. They are the counter-culture.
Meanwhile, in reality it's the complete opposite. They're the ones trying to impose their values on the rest of us. They're the ones telling people what they can and cannot do.
The thing that really bothers me about Republicans is how unwilling they are to compromise. They're very stubborn in their beliefs, and they refuse to give ground.
You would think that overturning Roe would be enough, but it wasn't. They're determined get their way and impose their values upon the rest of us.
And it goes beyond abortion. The guns rights advocates are every bit as bad. Every time there is a mass shooting, they double down and dig in their heels. The Second Amendment is sacrosanct, and that's that. They refuse to make even the smallest concessions.
And everyone else has to deal with the consequences of their stupidity.