Opposing Concepts: The Convergence of Vice & RBG

I watched 2 completely opposite movies today - Vice and RBG. Vice was brilliantly written (especially loved the nod to Shakespeare) and monumentally insightful into how secret acts of despotism in our government's past can lend themselves to the travesty of events that we now face.

RBG was incredibly humbling and, at the same time, empowering. Humbling in that what women now take for granted was fought for by forward-thinking individuals like Ruth Bader Ginsberg less than a lifetime ago. Empowering in that strong-minded leaders like her still exist today, and are still fighting for those same precepts of equality.

The back to back combination of these opposing thought processes got me thinking.

Ruth Bader Ginsberg once said that gender lines "help to keep women, not on a pedestal, but in a cage." To her way of thinking, while the Constitution is the utmost law of the land, it is also there to be interpreted for our country's current situation - not to be enforced according to the social norms of when it was written and ratified.

Conservative or Liberal, no one can argue that what was acceptable in 1776 would be a remotely viable option under current day standards when it comes to issues of equality - so why is it so difficult for some groups to grasp that just as women are not "inferior", the color of someone's skin does not make their life of lesser value?

In the 1920s suffragette Sarah Grimke was quoted as saying, "I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks." I find it amazing that statement is now literally valid 100 years later. Are those who govern this country so blinded by ego that the battles won for justice throughout history are now nullified and void in their minds?

The social injustice that has run rampant just below the surface of our nation's mindset is now being brought to the forefront. To think that we are still beating the same drum for equality that generations before us had to, is a sad statement on the evolutionary capabilities of our nation as a people, and an even more disturbing statement on our government as a whole.

Which is a good segway into disturbing statements on government.

Vice is a movie not a documentary, and Hollywood does like to take liberties with their storytelling, but it's not hard to fathom this storyline having a shred of truth in certain areas. The fact that months worth of emails were "lost" by the Bush Cheney administration during a tumultuous time in our history where something like that should never have happened, and the fact that the only communications that were not "lost" during that time were biased, loose interpretations regarding the lines of executive authority as they apply to the office of the President, are nothing more than a darkly twisted roadmap for future leaders of our nation that have more ego than empathy and common sense. (example: Donald Trump)

America was built on the premise of "freedom from tyranny", yet those Bush-era darkly twisted executive branch interpretations have the potential to shoot us backwards 200 years to right where we started.

Fact: America fought against the tyranny of British rule, in part because that rule was an ocean away and had no concept of what was right and proper for the people that lived here.

Fact: (Fastforward 200+years) Our current government is largely run by egocentric narcissists who have no concept of what it's like to live a regular-person, middle or lower class economic existence, and many who have zero idea of what's actually happening with their constituents because they're too busy lining their pockets with lobbyist kickbacks. (FYI - Isn't this the exact same issue Teddy Roosevelt fought against with Tammany Hall?)

It would seem that we have come full circle.

While another American Revolution is not ideal, putting people in office that actually care about the interests of the vast majority of citizens is a good start. Democracy is a difficult concept - even when you embrace it.

Democracy allows those who think the polar opposite of you to voice their opinions at the top of their lungs at the same time you're voicing yours. Democracy is a concept where the government is "by the people, for the people" - so if someone takes office that does not govern in that manner for the vast majority of citizens, that person should be voted out and no longer hold office.

Democracy is where the laws that govern this nation apply to everyone, regardless of what job, or what government position they hold. If anyone, no matter who they are, breaks a law they should stand trial and be held accountable, regardless of their job title, socioeconomic status, gender, or the color of their skin.

Democracy is, at its core, about equality. Plain and simple. We as a nation need to circle back to that.

Just my 2 cents.


~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress 

The Cha-Cha Dance of American Democracy

July 4th is nationally recognized as a day to celebrate American independence from British rule. And while this is definitely a day to celebrate and be thankful, it is also an opportunity to take a step back and give our current situation serious thought.

The preamble of the Declaration of Independence states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

Inspiring words, written by many equally inspiring individuals. While the Declaration of Independence is not a legally binding document, it does state the premises that America was founded upon, and under current political conditions, it brings to mind the question of whether or not our current government is upholding those premises.

"All men are created equal." While technically at the time this was written, they didn't exactly mean every human being in the country - women were considered inferior and anyone of color was given the asinine designation of 3/5 of a person (which is stupid - how is that even evolutionarily possible?!) - thanks to the 13th and 14th Amendments that issue was legally rectified.

Unfortunately, hundreds of years later, we are still experiencing some of the same biased, unenlightened rhetoric that existed back then. If everyone is equal and entitled to the same rights and due process then why are people of color subjected to harsher judicial punishments, rampant profiling, and far higher instances of death during an arrest than their caucasian counterparts?

One of the current arguments at hand is the existence of the American police force. Many groups are claiming that the origins of the police as we know it in the U.S. are slave patrols. The reality is, that fact is only true in the south or what would have been the confederacy during the American Civil War.

The earliest examples of policing were night watchmen in the 1600s created to protect colonial shipping interests (what would now be considered corporate interests). Many of the colonial night watchmen were actually criminals given the duty as a punishment - which speaks even more broadly to corruption in the police force that dates back to its origins - but the point I'm making here is that not all police forces in America date back to slave patrols. However, since according to the preamble "when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security" changes MUST be made to our country's current outdated policing, judicial, and legal system tactics. If everyone is now truly equal under Constitutional protections, then policing efforts should reflect that fact and not randomly backslide into colonial-era mentality.

In a truly interesting article entitled "The Stylistic Artistry of the Declaration" written by Stephen E. Lucas, it is noted that the Declaration of Independence actually contains a series of five propositions each building upon the other. First, "all men are created equal," which leads to "they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights," which then leads to "among these (rights) are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." 

Those first three propositions lend themselves directly to the final two "to secure these rights governments are instituted among men" and the final and what I think is the most important "whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends (meaning the aforementioned rights of everyone) it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it."

Now obviously the American forefathers were referring to unreasonable royal rule by King George from an ocean away, but our current political situation isn't honestly that much different. America has a presidency and federal government that may technically be considered 'elected', but between the electoral college that seems to override the popular vote (which should be considered the true "will of the people") and proven foreign government interference in the electoral process, our country is largely being governed by a group of narcissistic, money-grubbing nihilists that are far more concerned with personal lobbyist payouts than the needs of the populations whom they're supposed to represent. 

This fact is especially true at the leadership level - the presidency in particular. When Donald J. Trump originally took office, there were many that labored under the delusion that putting in place someone to run the country with the strategy of a corporate business would alleviate many of the perceived economic issues. In theory, that may have sounded like a good idea, but in reality, when you put a corrupt corporate leader who bankrupts his own companies, prefers to shoot first and ask questions later when it comes to policy dealings, finds the company of totalitarians and dictators preferable to that of reasonable democratic leaders, and seems to think that all White House staff and advisors should be treated like contestants in his former reality show (complete with weekly firings and social media bashings), you've literally created a situation that sends America straight down the road of tyranny that our forefathers fought so hard to eradicate.

So what can we do? First and foremost, Speak Up. No matter whether it's phone calls and letters, opinion editorials, news interviews, taking part in peaceful protests, testifying at your local and state hearings, or (especially!) the simple act of voting - the only way we are going to turn this governmental travesty around is by making the people's voices heard. 

That last point, VOTING, is incredibly important. 

Vote to end the electoral college (which was created in the late 1700s when this country was widespread and vastly undeveloped to ensure that those who did not have access to information about the presidential candidates were properly represented in the voting process - which is obviously now a moot point and has been for a long time). 

Vote to ensure term limits. It's far more likely that someone who only is allowed to hold an office for a few terms will put forth and enact legislation in the best interests of the people that they represent instead of the interests of the highest paying lobbyist that approaches them.

Vote to remove blatant corruption from elected office. The cast of players that currently hold power looks a lot like a Shakespearean tragedy. Thieves (example: Richard Burr - NC), villains (example: Mitch McConnell - KY), and groups of despots (prime example: Donald Trump, et al) abound.

Change happens one small step at a time, and even though sometimes it feels like for every step forward there are two steps back, it's all worth the effort when that perceived cha-cha of effort ultimately gets us where we need to be. 

So on this national day of thankfulness and remembrance let's be thankful for the sacrifices of those long before us that gave their lives to ensure our freedom - and let's also think and move forward to make sure their sacrifices did not go to waste!


~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress