Summer Insanity

The past few weeks have been hellish on the psyche. I’m not just talking about the waiting game we’ve been playing with the local bureaucracy that’s got me down. And let’s not get into what this delay is costing us. No, it’s more than that.

Gun violence in the United States has escalated to the tune of more than 300 mass shootings so far this year. Amid this national sanity meltdown, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), in its infinite wisdom, has decided that even more guns need to be in the hands of the overstressed, overworked, underpaid, and under-appreciated masses. This is in a country with an average of 11 mass shootings a week. If that makes sense to anyone in a sane world, please explain it. (That’s rhetorical, please don’t dump your hate and discontent into my inbox.)

And that’s just the beginning of the insanity gripping our country.

The United States also became one of only FOUR countries worldwide to prohibit abortion protections, effectively rendering American women the status of “breeders.” The SCOTUS ruling overturns a 50-year precedent, promising more rights to be stripped in future sessions. How’s that for the land of the “free”?

Oh, and let’s not forget the elephant in the room trying with all its might to destroy our Constitutional Republic—the Christian Nationalists. Also called the “evangelical” movement, this group believes that Christianity should not only be the guiding principle of society but also the rule of law. In other words, the Christian Bible should be the basis for all civil law regardless of what is written in the United States Constitution.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Constitution of United States of America 1789 (rev. 1992)
Amendment I

This week the United States reached its 246th year as an independent nation. However, after the latest round of rulings from the highest court in the land, many Americans could see no reason to celebrate, myself included. Half of the population no longer feels free or independent. The latest assaults on freedom in the U.S. and around the world are ramping up to a level not seen in my lifetime.

It’s time for those who believe in individual freedoms and choices to unite and resist fear-mongering. I, for one, don’t want to see my grandchildren grow up in a world with fewer rights and freedoms than I enjoyed throughout my life.