Making the world a better place, one small action at a time
Kansas is voting on 2nd August 2022 and the vote includes a constitutional amendment that could remove the right to abortion in the state.
Register to vote by the deadline: next Tuesday, 12 July 2022, at the latest HERE.
The situation in the United States of America is dire. The Supreme Court is selling out the country as if there is no tomorrow… and there may not be UNLESS you start acting now:
a) Call your Senator to support an abolished filibuster (Find your senator here and all telephone numbers here and how to prepare here.)
b) March and protest and show your support over the next few weeks and months.
Look at the Woman’sMarch website for a march near you.
c) Get into politics, learn about elections, learn about your rights (NAACP, ACLU, Civil Liberties Defense Center, iAmerica) and possibly even run for office.
d) Register to vote or change or update your voter registration.
e) Vote in EVERY election you are allowed to vote in – all of them from the local, smaller elections to the midterms and presidential races. Most importantly, keep elections of school boards in mind since these have a huge impact on your children’s thinking and with that, on all our future.
There are of course those who say that it’s too late. They say that there are no possibilities to improve on the situation anymore. They show you pictures of violent behavior of domestic terrorist groups and tell you to better listen to them. Don’t trust these sources. They may have ulterior motives. They may benefit from the current situation and the misery it creates.
It never is to late to save your country! It ALWAYS depends on what you do next. It ALWAYS depends on your actions and we have to act now. So go and act!
What will you do to save your country?
On Friday, 24 June 2022, Roe v Wade was overruled. Roe v Wade is a landmark ruling by the US Supreme Court in 1973 focusing on granting privacy to discuss healthcare needs for women including abortions. This meant that women were able to have abortions. Now this abortion (privacy) law is overruled and left to states (for now).
At this point, abortion will potentially, soon to be or completely illegal in 16 states and legal for now in 35. These numbers are likely to change in the coming months – especially after the mid term elections in November. Also, given the legal quagmire, there are some institutions which will not save a woman’s life at risk from ectopic pregnancy even though they could.
We know what will come next: “Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says gay rights, contraception rulings should be reconsidered“.
Beyond that, nobody knows for sure. Looking into my hypothetical crystal ball, I would say that once contraception and gay rights are struck down, the next likely step – in my humble opinion – would be to stop women from traveling over state lines, interracial marriage and bring back segregation. Then, I guess, women and non-whites will loose their voting rights and who knows, Salem “witch” trials may be the norm again. Instead of witches, women with miscarriages will be the targets like in Texas, Mississippi (that was in 2006!), Oklahoma… and soon, near you.
This is not what we want!
This is not what I want!
Don’t despair, there are things we can do!
It does NOT have to be this way. You can and you MUST TAKE ACTION to build a better future. I am talking to everyone here irrespective of skin color: women, LGBTQ+ and MEN who care about the society they live in.
Here are my suggestions on how to safe our future:
1. Register to vote in November
2. Sign up to be a poll worker and volunteer on election days
It is important to have as many impartial poll workers as possible. The more liberal minded folks oversee the elections, the more likely that the elections will be fair. Or do you really want to leave it up to the people who overturned Roe v Wade?
3. In November, vote the GOP out!
It takes every vote and you cannot afford to stay home and leave it up to others. You must vote if you want a better future. You must vote at every level – local and federal – not only for senior politicians but also for smaller, local posts because this is where politicians often start their career. Also, local elections have a big impact on your day to day life.
4. Volunteer for human rights, women’s rights, abortion rights and similar – even one hour a month will help us all
5. Call and email your representative to tell them how they should represent you
6. Move to another state or another country if you can
7. Take care of yourself and those around you!
The situation will get better but it will take some time. In the meantime, you will need your strength to get through to the other end and see a better society.
Always, always, always look at what “they” do and not what “they” say.
First up, when I refer to “they”, then I’m thinking of people (e.g. Trump, Johnson, Putin) as well as companies. Any legal entity is able to be incongruent in their actions and words. For the rest of the article, I shall refer to “person” to cover all of these.
Now, why would you focus on actions rather than words?
“What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
I’ve mentioned a few times that words are cheap and easy. Anyone can say any combinations of words and letters and sentences. The only conditions are the intentions and morals of the person. That is where the problems start.
Any person who is dishonest, immoral or simply not interested will tell you whatever they think you want to hear. You will be happy for a moment and they get their way. Then they break their promises, go behind your back or quietly ignore their previous statements. That is the point when it’s important to start observing their behavior and actions instead of their words.
A simple example is your spouse / partner who tells you that they love you and then break up with you the next day because they want to move in with their new partner.
Or it could be Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, who says “We are in a battle for the hearts and minds of our people, and we are going to be successful” whilst shutting down a unionized Starbucks in Ithaca. In Europe, where workers’ rights are taken more seriously and where the laws are embedded in law, this would not even be an option.
There are many more examples where actions and words don’t match up and ultimately, if they don’t then trust erodes and relationships break down. Walking away from someone who continually breaks promises may be the only option. It is not a bad option either because it frees you for better connections, relationships and experiences going forward. I once had to walk away from what could have been a great job because my manager said one thing to my face and another behind my back. Turns out, walking away was one of the best things I have ever done and in hindsight, I should have walked away sooner.
Beware though: this notion of observing actions over words is also important when it comes to your actions and words. If you say that you will do something, then you better do it. After all, everyone will be paying attention to your actions over your words. That includes me also and let me tell you, over the years, I have become a lot more aware of what I promise. I’m also more cognizant of what I have to say No to. Do I want to catch up on sleep or do I want to have one more glass of wine with friends? Do I want to help you move house or do I want to go for a hike in the mountains? I can’t do it all and I need to choose and communicate my decision clearly.
“You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.”
Carl Gustav Jung
Most importantly, observe the representatives and politicians you voted for! You voted for them based on what they said and possibly on previous actions. How do they act? What do they say? Does it match up? Do they represent you the way you deserve to be represented? If it doesn’t, I strongly recommend you look for better representation next time.
My suggestion to you is that you use next week to watch, observe and possibly even take note of what people say and then check what they do it. Does it match up?
Observe, compare, think. Then decide on how you want to deal with them.
Happy observing!
On 12 June every year, people celebrate Loving Day in the USA. It marks the outcome of the 1967 landmark case “Loving versus Virginia“. With it, laws against interracial marriage and relations were ruled unconstitutional across all of the USA.
What an achievement!
Pat yourselves on the back and celebrate the achievement. Now get up again and keep the ruling alive. Yes, you heard me correctly. The ruling is in danger of being overturned. Similar to the Roe v. Wade debate, this ruling is in danger of being repealed. It may be a little further into the future, however, once women’s rights are taken way, black and brown people will be next, before other minorities will be oppressed.
The first signs of coming oppression are already with us. Gerrymandering and voter suppression are reality for many and so is police violence. Both disadvantage people of color. Changing the Loving v. Virginia ruling will take away your right to choose the person who you want to spend the rest of your life with. Further, it appears to me to be the first step towards legalizing segregation. Who knows were it will end. I don’t even want to speculate.
The Loving v. Virginia ruling is already being discussed at higher levels and GOP politicians seem to think that individual states should make the decisions themselves. Just like they did with Roe v. Wade which is in the process of being overturned. You can watch the tragedy unfold right in front of your eyes… if you dare to keep them open.
If you live outside of the USA, you would be forgiven to think that this has no impact on your life. Think again. Looking back over history, the rise of fascism in one country often encouraged similar trends in other countries. I’m thinking of the outcome of the recent elections in Hungary followed by increased emergency powers for Viktor Orban for example or the last Brazilian presidential elections in 2018.
So, what can we do to keep our freedom?
It is the same routine as always: register to vote, then go and vote the GOP out of office.
You should also phone your representative and tell them to keep the law, so that they understand how important it is.
Alternatively, you can move to a more liberal country if this option is open to you.
It is up to you how you want to move forward: keep your freedoms and vote for them – OR – loose them.
Choose wisely!