“Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts… perhaps the fear of a loss of
power.”
-John Steinbeck
The North Carolina state legislature just passed a law that
overturns an anti-discrimination law passed by the city of Charlotte. Charlotte
acted to protect sexual minorities in its fair city. Unfortunately, state
legislators in North Carolina apparently believe is it okay to discriminate
against some people, to the point they would pass a law codifying it.
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| If you're heterosexual. |
They also snuck in a prohibition against any city passing a
minimum wage law.
What assholes!
Georgia’s state legislature passed a similar bill, allowing
businesses to refuse to do business with people they don’t like.
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| But probably not for the reasons you are hoping. |
Based on “sincerely held religious beliefs”.
Of course. Blame it on God.
Fortunately, under pressure from numerous corporations which
threatened to boycott the state of Georgia, the governor wisely vetoed it.
Captain’s Note:
Before making this governor into some kind of hero, understand that while
vetoing the bill, he publicly noted that discrimination against gay people is
already allowed in Georgia; there was simply no need for this redundant bill.]
Which leads the Captain to ask, “What is happening to our
nation!?!”
Here’s what I think.
It was 1919 when the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote.
That was almost 100 years ago.
And some have never gotten over it!
Opposition to the 19th amendment included the fear that if women were allowed to vote, life for men would forever be changed.
Issues dear to the hearts of women might finally become law – prohibition, child labor laws,
minimum wage laws, health and safety standards.
And it’s a “slippery slope”, as they say. Given that power, women
might even want to serve in the military, as police officers, on juries, or
even become politicians.
Gasp! Heaven forbid!
Following on the heels of that success, an Equal Rights
Amendment was set before Congress in 1923. It was written to guarantee the
rights of working women.
Opponents argued it would take certain protections away from
women – such as shorter work hours, no night work, and no heavy lifting.
Conservative Republican activist Phyllis Schlafly argued the ERA would threaten
the security of housewives, raising fears of women losing alimony and custody
of children in divorce cases; women’s colleges would have to admit men; even
single-sex bathrooms would be eliminated!
Men in the women’s restroom!
Oddly, the Captain never hears complaints by men about women in their restrooms.
Hmmm. Maybe not.
The ERA finally passed Congress in 1972 but failed to
achieve the necessary number of states to ratify it.
But there’s more.
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy proposed a Civil Rights
Act to ensure the rights of all Americans to be served in facilities that are
open to the public – hotels, restaurants, etc. It would ensure the voting
rights of all citizens, protect against police brutality, end the segregation
of public schools, grant access to public accommodations, and stop
discrimination in private employment.
Senator Richard Russell (D-GA) argued against the bill’s
passage: “We will resist to the bitter end any measure or any movement which
would have a tendency to bring about social equality and intermingling and
amalgamation of the races in our (Southern) states.”
“Social equality”? “Intermingling?” “Amalgamation of the
races?”
Sheesh!
After much wrangling in Congress, a compromise bill passed
in 1964 and was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
And there’s more.
In more recent years, the American people have wrangled over
the rights of sexual minorities – gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender.
Opponents of equal rights for GLBT argue such a lifestyle is
abhorrent to God, and they personally find it revolting.
Actually, they never admit the second part. They leave the
blame with God.
Love the sin. Hate the sinner.
Or something like that…
Opponents of same-sex marriage argue it is against God’s
will – based on obscure and otherwise ignored passages from the Old Testament –
and that it would destroy the sanctity of the institution of marriage.
Opponents of rights for transgender people are afraid a
person born male might invade the sanctity of the women’s restroom. Male
politicians and right-wing media personalities alike publicly joked about
donning a dress for that very reason.
Perverts!
We’re also dealing now with religious minorities. Long known
as a melting pot of immigrants – mostly from Christian nations, America is
facing a new wave of immigrants who are bringing their religious practices with
them. So now the Christian faith is becoming one of many, rather than the
dominant – privileged – force in our society.
And now we have a presidential candidate [who will hereafter
go unnamed, unless followed by the letters “OMFG!”] who wants to “Make America
Great Again” – not by improving our economic and moral standing in the world,
but by building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico… by kicking out all the
illegal immigrants and Muslims… by doing away with decency and common courtesy…
by denigrating women and racial minorities… by undoing treaties and cooperative
agreements with other nations (including withdrawing from NATO – a 28-nation
mutual defense treaty in place since 1949).
It is quite clear that his agenda is to return lost power
and privilege to white males.
It’s amazing that a man who claims to be so stinking rich
(some question that) could feel so oppressed. Powerless. Inadequate.
If you hadn’t noticed his insecurity before, his public boasting
about the size of his penis should have been a clue!
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| Image not to scale, says he. |
And he’s the front-runner of his party!
Here’s the Captain’s concern: Are white men that afraid of
losing power?
Think about it. First it was women gaining rights. Then
people of color getting rights. Now “the gays” and non-Christians have rights
too.
If this keeps going, who will be left for white men to lord
over? To discriminate against? To feel “better than”?
In the words of Kris Kristofferson/John Prine,
'Cause everybody's gotta have
somebody to look down on
Prove they can be better than at any time they please
Someone doin' somethin' dirty, decent folks can frown on
But you can't find nobody else, then help yourself to me
Prove they can be better than at any time they please
Someone doin' somethin' dirty, decent folks can frown on
But you can't find nobody else, then help yourself to me
Mates, it’s time to wake up. We don’t need to be looking
down on anybody.
We’ve nothing to lose – other than the privilege to be mean –
and everything to gain by embracing those who are different from us.
Sure, treating others as equals will be challenging for
some. Painful even. It’s difficult to give up power and privilege once one has
gained it.
But it’s all this fear and hating that’s gotten us into the
mess we are in now.
It’s all about power.
White male privilege.
Instead of striving to leave the world a better place, many
are (intentionally?) working to tear it apart at the seams.
Better to destroy it than let someone else have it.
Instead of fostering a sense of community in which everyone
works together for the common good and where everyone can succeed – and no, I
don’t mean participation trophies – we are instead determined to get everything
we can for ourselves.
Even at the expense of the very lives of our brothers and
sisters.
And instead of encouraging us on to better and greater
things, our elected (or wanna-be) leaders are dragging us down into the bowels
of hell.
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| Captain's Note: It would be worth your time to enlarge and read this. |
The Captain proposes that we consider a different attitude
to life. A different way of looking at our neighbors and at the world. A
different path to peace.
In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will
know peace.”
If you want to make America great again, give that a try.
