What a time for Sandra Day O'Connor to retire. Right before the 4th of July weekend. A time when we should all be remembering what our country stands for, a time when Congress is on a break for the holiday. Or are supposedly on a break for the holiday, that is. Seems many managed to break into their holiday celebrations in order to do the Sunday-morning talk show circuit.
Democrats are saying that the nominee must answer all of their questions.
Republicans are saying that certain questions may not be asked.
The Republicans are back to talking about the nuclear option. I guess the compromise reached a couple of months ago (a compromise that was not a victory for this country, regardless of what the Dems were saying) means nothing.
And of course, let's not forget that this is the 4th of July weekend. A weekend of war movies and fireworks. A weekend to remember how we all came to be in this country, why this country was founded in the first place.
Freedom for all, right? Well, not really. Our founders didn't want to follow the rules of England anymore, but they didn't really want all people to be free. Just the rich white folks. And even then, "freedom" was only as defined by those same rich white folks. We tend to forget that little factoid.
African Americans were slaves (and don't fool yourself into thinking that African Americans in the North were living the good life). Women had zero rights. And actually, women were given rights as citizens after the slaves were freed, owning property, and voting.
So back to the Supreme Court. Conservative that she is, Sandra Day is actually often the swing vote that ends up giving us many of the rights we have today. Her vote, for example, has kept Roe v. Wade from being overturned. Though the current administration would certainly deserve another conservative appointee who ends up voting with the liberals on many big votes, there's certainly no guarantee that that will happen this time. It's just as likely—actually even more so—that we'll end up with someone who will vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.
I know that's a great thing to some. But honestly, I don't get that. I do get not believing in abortion. I totally get that. I do not, however, get letting some over-privileged folks in Washington decide whether or not a 16-year old girl who's pregnant with her own brother (with, not by… though by works here, too) has to have that baby. Or whether a woman who's been raped has to have the resulting baby. Or whether a middle-school girl who's looking for a little unconditional love should have to have her baby. Or whether a woman who already has more kids than she and her husband can emotionally, physically, or financially handle has to have her baby.
And see, the thing is, it doesn't work to say that some women are allowed to have an abortion and others are not. It doesn't work to say that the 16-year old who's been raped by her father can abort, but the tipsy college girl can't. It doesn't work to say that the responsible family-woman who took precautions but got in trouble anyway and just cannot afford another mouth to feed can, but the 20-something who didn't bother with protection can't.
It's legal or it's not. It doesn't work to say "sometimes" and then attach a bunch of strings. It doesn't work to say it depends. Because to say it depends, well, who decides? More over-privileged, mostly white, mostly male judges? That would never work. Not to mention the logistics. These are decisions that have to be made much more quickly than the court system can handle.
No one has to agree with me. I never expect that the whole world will see things my way (oh what a different world it would be if they did!). All I want is for people to think about things. I see so many who make knee-jerk decisions on really huge, complicated issues. And given the whole never leaving school thing (in other words, given that I'm generally surrounded by a wealth of really, really young people), I see so many who have never actually decided for themselves. Instead, they believe whatever it is that their parents believe. That frustrates me to no end. They're in school, the whole point is to think and to learn. And yet, there they all are, spouting off things they've heard their parents say without thinking about them at all.
So anyway, none of that was my point. My point is, the woman just announced her retirement a few days ago, and Congress is already doing it's thing. They're already puffing up their chests and arguing via talk shows. There's no nominee yet. There's no hint of a nominee yet. But they're already putting on the holier than thou act and saying how it's going to be.
The Republicans want to rush it. I have enough issues with life-time appointments. If we're going to have them, they certainly should not be filled via a rushed process. Take your time and get the right person in there. No rushing. The Court will be just fine if it comes back one woman less come fall.
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