Alarm Call: DO Something!!!
Of course this is happening, because we let it. Because as a whole, as a society and a network of communities, we have allowed apathy and complacency to carry us to this point.
I am talking about this madness of banning abortion outright. South Dakota and possibly Mississippi and Tennessee. Who knows what other states’ legislators have been waiting for this, just itching for this opportunity, lined up to send us careening into a new Dark Age, humming quietly with electricity?
This is what happens when we take our rights for granted. People fought for these rights, risked their lives, took dangerous chances, sacrificed so much, and for what? So we can act like it was always this easy? So we can let it all go down the drain and not even notice because we were all too busy watching American Idol? Survivor? Whatever the hell bullshit is on TV right now? GODDAMNIT!
I didn’t start out with the intention of spewing anger all over the place, but this is some CRISIS LEVEL BULLSHIT going on here. And I’m frustrated because I don’t really know what to do. I’ve signed the online petition (SaveRoe.com) - now what? Something - I HAVE to do something. Even if I have to do some kind of DIY draw-a-slogan-on-a-T-shirt thing, I’ll do it. Because I will not be quiet about this. I will not sigh and say “Well, what can you do?”
When I was 12 years old, I watched my cousin torture a cat because I didn’t know how to tell him to stop. When I told my aunt about it later, she told me “Your silence is your consent.” It is irresponsible not to speak up. It is irresponsible to stand by and watch us all be denigrated, put down and endangered by the distant “powers that be.” They do not know us. They don’t care about us, whether our children live well, or die miserably. They only care about maintaining their own power, privilege and comfort.
Honestly - we’ve had this lesson before, why haven’t we learned it? Prohibition - tell people they can’t drink alcohol, and what happened? Prostitution - tell people they can’t trade sex for cash, and what happened? Some things cannot be stopped. Sometimes you are better off making sure some things are done safely instead of not at all. The inability to see this tells you how out of touch these so-called decisionmakers are. Whether you think abortion is wrong or not, I think we can all agree that ‘I shoved-a-coathanger-into-my-uterus’ deaths are bad and unnecessary. I hope so.
Nothing is so simple as Alive vs. Not Alive. There’s also quality of life, and quality of relationships. Why can’t we take better care of each other?
Alicia is right, we need to find a better path through love. I’m wracking my brain trying to figure out what shape that will take for me in the here and now. Because I have to do something. Everytime I look at my daughter and the as-of-yet unconditional trust in the world that she has, I have to do what I can to make something better. She deserves better than we’re currently prepared to give her as a human community and society.
We can do better. As far as I’m concerned, we have to. And we have to do it together.
Love,
Atena Oyadi
