Confession:
I'm having a 24-36 hour period when I start to wonder if my soul is too breakable for this world.
Don't worry, my life is fine. Privileged even; the things that are breaking my heart aren't things that impact me directly, but they're part of a more complex picture showing how far we haven't come in our treatment of those who are less privileged by virtue of circumstance, gender, or skin color.
Yesterday my "home" state passed SB2- a bill containing the most restrictive abortion laws in the country and severely restricting access. If you are someone who believes that women are using abortion as a form of birth control, I urge you to go volunteer at an abortion clinic with your mind open. You'll find it's not a decision that anyone reaches lightly, and there truly are times that it's a medical necessity. And while it's easy to try to take the moral high ground and say, "It's not something I would do, but I don't have the right to impose my morality on others," the truth is that YOU DON'T KNOW unless you're walking in those shoes. My less sanguine comment is that it exasperates me that a man who did not have good enough grades to get into veterinary school (Rick Perry, I'm looking at you, man who was on Scho Pro most of his years at A&M) thinks he's smart enough to tell the women of Texas how to make healthcare decisions. Women deserve to have access. Period. And they don't need your or me judging them for it.
Tonight a jury in Florida (state of my birth) found George Zimmerman not guilty in the controversial killing of Trayvon Martin. When they came back asking for clarification on the manslaughter charge a few hours ago, I figured that meant they were going down that path. Evidently not. Meanwhile our justice system remains profoundly inequitable on grounds of race from so many perspectives...and with the Supreme Court decision about the VRA two weeks ago, who knows what will happen to minority voting rights and with voter suppression in 2016.
Justice and equity in our society feel a long, long way off right now- at least from where I sit, and I've got it awfully, awfully good.
Now listening: Rodney Crowell "Fate's Right Hand". Seems there was a damn good reason this album came back on my radar this week.Labels: random thoughts