When the Biden vs. Trump campaign was in full swing, we began hearing the term Blue Wave. The Blue Wave was going to be caused by the liberal and independent – and hopefully crossover – voters, pulling the presidency and control of Congress back to the democrats. They were successful in 2020. Not by huge margins of course, but successful, nevertheless.
Then came the Big Lie. And an insurrection. Democracy, battered and bruised, held. For the time being.
Now it may be time we coin a new phrase considering all that is occurring in this country. Slowly, methodically, we are being shifted back to the pre-civil war days of the mid-1800s. The era of State’s rights. The GOP has been incredibly patient and focused. Always moving the needle, a little bit at a time, where they could, when they could. When Trump became the 45th president, well, the floodgates were gleefully opened, even if some found him to be a vile, narcissistic, and belittling person. He was the person to help move their agenda along. The GOP, and their supporters, knew that.
Trump whittled away at our relationships with other democratically controlled countries and engaged with, and heaped praise on, dictators he envied. He began dismantling many of the rules and regulations imposed on large business – those pesky regulations which provided workplace safety measures and non-pollution standards. He disregarded calls for a minimum wage increase, choosing to follow the Reagan route of trickledown economics (which hasn’t worked to this day). He pulled us out of the Paris Climate Accord. He began releasing formerly pristine federal lands to oil drilling. He castigated those who promoted wind and solar power, championing coal and gas and oil. He mitigated the threat of a pandemic, leading to the avoidable deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. And, with Mitch McConnell’s help, he stacked the Supreme Court. That was the ultimate coup.
In four years, he shredded this country into hateful factions. And the rich kept getting richer.
Silence and complacency are no longer options.
The Black Lives Matter group, and others like it, will be critical in getting people of color engaged, motivated, registered, and to the ballot box. They know exactly what’s at stake as the GOP tries to shift control back to individual states. They know what’s at stake more than most of us. They’ve lived the horrors. And continue to do so.
Workers, aware of the increasing disparity between their wages, their CEO’s earnings, and corporate profits, need to join in the fight for unionization and workplace equity. Their votes will be critical to encourage corporate entities to do the right thing for the working class which, ultimately, will keep their profitability intact.
Religious groups – excluding the evangelical radical right – need to get their voters out as well. Those voters who believe in their personal religious freedom, but also believe it’s not their right – nor their mandate – to tell others what to believe. Those who believe in love and compassion and lifting others up. They will be a critical voting block to putting our democracy back on the right track.
But it’s women, in my opinion, that are going to take this Blue Wave and create a Blue Tsunami. The GOP has kept their eye on the prize over the past 60 years – working toward shifting governmental control back to the states. Their goal is to minimize the federal government’s reach – the “don’t tread on me” mind set – and allow the states to decide how to legislate within their state, based on their voter’s desires. Except they’ve also figured out how to control and manipulate the votes to stay in power and get the results they desire. And, lest we forget, once certain states regain their rights, they will begin to seek the federal government’s help to step in and inflict their beliefs on other states which don’t fall in line with their ideals. Their main goal is, and always has been, control. Which stems from overwhelming greed, manifesting as utter disregard for humanity. It’s a power play, nothing more, nothing less, but we can clearly see how effective it is.
This is not really a red/blue, right/left, conservative/liberal thing. Or it shouldn’t be. What we should all be advocating for is humanity. Equal rights for all. Religious freedoms for all. The ability to make choices and decisions in our personal lives without an outsider, regardless how well-intentioned, telling us what we can’t and can’t do, based on their moral standards. Because we can clearly see, in the example of the abortion debate, how outsiders attempting to control others is not necessarily taking the moral high ground. While the pro-life groups would have you believe their goal is to save lives, reality tells us that’s not true. If it were, those same groups would be fighting for additional educational resources for all children; healthcare for all; equality and protections for Black lives, Brown lives, Asian lives, LGBTQ+ lives, immigrant lives; gun control; the elimination of the death penalty, the elimination of war. That’s a pro-life stance.
I would ask that you think about the country you’d like to see. If you truly believe in state’s rights and that little or no federal intervention is necessary, then you must accept the consequence of that, the protections you’d be losing – those federally protected rights and provisions. Like civil rights, equality rights, social security and Medicare, federal healthcare support, infrastructure support, farm subsidies, environmental protections, etc. What are you willing to give up? How much do you think some of our poorer states like Kentucky, West Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, or Arkansas can afford to fill the void created by the loss of federal support and subsidies? What happens when you move from one state to another? What matters to you?
Or, perhaps you wish to see a country that moves forward, protecting all people, not just from each other, but from climate change, pollution, greedy and unethical corporations? A country that works toward enhancing the standard of living and safety for all, and prioritizes education, security, infrastructure, compassion, ethical behavior, integrity? A nation that creates and maintains a social safety net that anyone can draw from as circumstances warrant. Haven’t we all needed, or won’t we all at some point need, some form of federal governmental help?
Your federal tax dollars pay for a good portion of our social programs and protections, as well as ensuring we can move freely from state to state and expect similar protections. I suspect if many of the federal programs we’ve come to rely on are removed there may more than a few disgruntled citizens.
Here’s my suggesting: do your research. Do your due diligence. Seek out the truth. Face reality head on. No more big lies. No more conspiracy theories. Look at the facts. Then decide what type of society you want to live in. Vote your conscience. Actions create consequences, consequences we must be prepared for. I think, if we work together, take action together, we will create this Blue Tsunami. An almost undetectable swell beneath the surface, barely seen or felt until it crashes on to shore, until it’s too late. The GOP naysayers won’t even know what hit them. Then we’ll have an opportunity to right this tilting ship called Democracy and prove the American experiment can be successful, for all.
I believe we can do this.
~jwb~