Guest Post By Dawn Wilson
Happy Independence Day, and welcome to the James Crow III Era. .
Within weeks of the SCOTUS desecration of the US Constitution with the Hobby Lobby decision we are seeing new efforts to demonize and marginalize people in this country.
If you think I'm being alarmist about this, just ponder these examples.
A new bill was introduced this week in the Tennessee State Legislature that if passed, would allow people and businesses to refuse to provide goods and services to homosexuals. The bill was filed by Republican State Sen. Brian Kelsey, who represents parts of Memphis and Germantown.
A Republican in Idaho, has proposed a bill which would protect professionals like doctors or police officers from being forced to render aid to a gay or lesbian persons.
Fourteen prominent faith leaders — including some of President Obama’s closest advisers — want the White House to create a religious exemption from his planned executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against gays and lesbians in hiring.
This week in a small Southern California town, angry crowds stopped detained migrants from entering their community.
Recently, the Southern Baptists at its convention passed a resolution on June 10 that condemned and demonized transgendered persons. After reading about this unwarranted, adversarial attack on the humanity of a marginalized minority group, I was deeply saddened and angry.
Much of that anger was driven by the fact that the people pushing this James Crow III hate are wrapping their bigotry in Scripture. But bigotry wrapped in scripture is still bigotry, regardless of what the proponents of it claim.
Why is this happening? Fear Fear is a control mechanism. Fear is a killer of rational thought. Fear is the prohibitor of action.
Remember what Yoda said in The Empire Strikes Back about fear.
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
Stoking fear of others for the conservative movement has been the pathway to political power, and the policies in conservative dominated Red states and elsewhere in our country sadly are echoing Yoda’s words.
We are seeing this depressing effect now of fear on our culture and our country. It seems the more negative the news, the more fearful and sheeplike we become.
So what can we do to combat this steady push to a James Crow III era? Here are some suggestions.
Educate yourself and be knowledgeable on the issues of the day by consulting multiple news sources. Understanding the issues will help you see what is at stake in our communities, our states and our nation.
Volunteer, lobby, speak up and out about issues you are passionate about and affect you directly and indirectly.
Don’t be afraid to form an opinion. When you do, be prepared to defend it with logic and reason.
Finally, and I can’t stress this enough, VOTE. Voting is your political voice in our 238 year old democracy. You not only need to exercise your right to vote, but encourage others to register and do so as well
Within weeks of the SCOTUS desecration of the US Constitution with the Hobby Lobby decision we are seeing new efforts to demonize and marginalize people in this country.
If you think I'm being alarmist about this, just ponder these examples.
A new bill was introduced this week in the Tennessee State Legislature that if passed, would allow people and businesses to refuse to provide goods and services to homosexuals. The bill was filed by Republican State Sen. Brian Kelsey, who represents parts of Memphis and Germantown.
A Republican in Idaho, has proposed a bill which would protect professionals like doctors or police officers from being forced to render aid to a gay or lesbian persons.
Fourteen prominent faith leaders — including some of President Obama’s closest advisers — want the White House to create a religious exemption from his planned executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against gays and lesbians in hiring.
This week in a small Southern California town, angry crowds stopped detained migrants from entering their community.
Recently, the Southern Baptists at its convention passed a resolution on June 10 that condemned and demonized transgendered persons. After reading about this unwarranted, adversarial attack on the humanity of a marginalized minority group, I was deeply saddened and angry.
Much of that anger was driven by the fact that the people pushing this James Crow III hate are wrapping their bigotry in Scripture. But bigotry wrapped in scripture is still bigotry, regardless of what the proponents of it claim.
Why is this happening? Fear Fear is a control mechanism. Fear is a killer of rational thought. Fear is the prohibitor of action.
Remember what Yoda said in The Empire Strikes Back about fear.
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
Stoking fear of others for the conservative movement has been the pathway to political power, and the policies in conservative dominated Red states and elsewhere in our country sadly are echoing Yoda’s words.
We are seeing this depressing effect now of fear on our culture and our country. It seems the more negative the news, the more fearful and sheeplike we become.
So what can we do to combat this steady push to a James Crow III era? Here are some suggestions.
Educate yourself and be knowledgeable on the issues of the day by consulting multiple news sources. Understanding the issues will help you see what is at stake in our communities, our states and our nation.
Volunteer, lobby, speak up and out about issues you are passionate about and affect you directly and indirectly.
Don’t be afraid to form an opinion. When you do, be prepared to defend it with logic and reason.
Finally, and I can’t stress this enough, VOTE. Voting is your political voice in our 238 year old democracy. You not only need to exercise your right to vote, but encourage others to register and do so as well
On Election Day 2014, take you soul to the polls, bring others to the polling place with you, and do so in every Election Day from now on until the day you depart this world.
As Barbara Jordan once said, “The stakes are too high for government to be a spectator sport.” So stop being a spectator and get in the political game by participating in each and every election from now on until you pass away.
Jim Crow and James Crow, Esquire were reprehensible moral failures of this country then, and James Crow III continuing in their despicable footsteps won’t be any more respectable in the second decade of the 21st century either..
If we do this, we will be able to stop James Crow III. We will also put the brakes on the mad rush to a dead, bygone era of demonization and hatred of our fellow Americans that needs to stay in the past
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