Tag: democracy

The Proposed Amendment Opens a Window to Erode Human Rights

On By AnnIn Activism, elections, politicsLeave a comment

Did you know that any US citizen residing in Kansas who is 17 years old can register to vote? If their 18th birthday falls before the next election, they can vote in that election.

I learned this two years ago. A friend I’d met on a trip abroad moved to Kansas on a student visa to study at university. He fell in love with a young woman who was born and raised in Kansas, married her, and he was on track to complete his US citizenship requirements. His final ceremony would happen between the deadline to register and election day in 2024. Thus, his situation resembled that of a 17-year-old with a Halloween birthday. He was not legit by the registration deadline, but would be before the election.

Could he, I wondered, register pending his citizenship completion? A call about this to our county clerk prompted her to call the Secretary of State.

Turns out, no, he could not register before he was a citizen. To do so was a felony offense.

Don’t our Republican state house representatives already know that non-citizens can’t even register to vote? The proposed amendment on our November 3 ballot is unnecessary and frivolous, a waste of tax dollars. Per our current constitution, only US citizens can vote in Kansas now. To vote fraudulently, or even register, carries stiff penalties.

Why do our elected representatives keep throwing amendment proposals at us? Ulterior motives maybe? A slight change of wording here, add a word there, and you have an opening to change definitions. Those who know more about constitutional language than I do have suggested that the new language, if approved, would allow our extremist legislature to define who can—and who can’t—vote in Kansas without the people’s approval. It’s a sneaky attempt to strip rights from some segments of our population.

For instance, women.

Pat Proctor, who is running for SOS against Jennifer Day, is known for his proposals to limit voting rights. Remember the bill he sponsored that eliminated the 3-day grace period to count mailed-in ballots? Thankfully, our courts have put it on hold for now. How about “family voting” where the male head of the family casts a vote for everyone?

Or the infamous SAVE act registration restrictions? It’s no secret that extremists in the US want to require birth certificates or passports for voter registration. For women, this is problematic, since women often take their husband’s surname when they marry. Their married name doesn’t match their birth certificate. The required supporting documents cost money. Passports are expensive too.

For those of us already registered, if we move someday in the future, our new address would require a new registration.

It’s part of a broad effort to concentrate authority in the hands of rich white men, ultimately an issue of control. The US is getting a reputation for repressing civil rights. The 70th Annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) was held in March this year at the UN headquarters in New York. Hundreds of participants from 45 member nations around the world attended. For the first time ever, the agreed conclusions (a document pre-negotiated by member-states) were put to a vote. The document passed with overwhelming support and only one vote against—that of the USA.

Why? Because the US had proposed amendments regarding DEI, the effects of climate change on women and girls, the definition of gender, and reproductive health rights for women. The amendments were rejected by the rest of the world.

The lone “No” vote among all the United Nations came from our country. Who are we anyway?

Lately, the men in charge want to whittle away rights: voting rights, bodily autonomy, health care, and legal defense. But “Liberty and justice for all,” right?

Only if you are the right gender, the right ethnicity, the right color, and have the right ideas and goals.

Early voting in Cowley County starts today, Monday, October 19 at the courthouse annex. You can see a sample ballot at myvoteinfo.voteks.org/voterview. Read that amendment proposal yourself. It is an unnecessary attempt by our statehouse leaders to fix something that’s not even broken.

Vote No on the amendment. Vote for Jennifer Day for Secretary of State to protect elections for all of us.

Grieve and then Resist

On By AnnIn Activism, elections, Loss and Grief, social justiceLeave a comment

Here we are, one week post-election, one week post D-day (diagnosis day for our flailing democracy.) Most of you share the horror and grief I feel after the count, so I’m “preaching to the choir” so to speak. If you happen to be someone who felt smug and victorious after the tally, I don’t know what to say to you. When my nephew was left homeless after a hurricane ravaged his mountain town (Asheville) 400 miles inland, when cousins in southern California find their neighborhood threatened by raging wildfires, when my Cuban friend’s parents near Havana have been without electricity for weeks, I am dumbstruck to realize so many of my countrymen would vote for an aging insurrectionist, convicted felon, rapist, and conman when one of his first orders of business is to increase the drilling and use of fossil fuels.

Are you one who would object, “But wait, I didn’t vote for him!”  Yet at the same time, you couldn’t bring yourself to vote for the one candidate who had the best chance to defeat the ugliness and destruction that’s bound to happen. Since my first visit abroad in 1977, I have worked to disprove the myth of the “ugly American.” Yet with this election, you have helped engrave it deeper in the history of the world.

Most of my friends, though, feel as I do. We’re compatriots, we’re family in a broad adoptive sense of the word, and I take comfort from our conversations and correspondence. We need each other to talk to, to share our mutual pain, our disbelief, and our fears. It means a lot to me that we have connected, not only during the weeks before November 5, but in the days since. Bolstering friendships has been one positive thing to come from this heartbreak.

A couple of thoughts about the outcome. I find a smidge of agreement on one of the MAGA points, though the target is polar opposite of theirs. We should beware one certain immigrant from South Africa who just bought a president with his billions.

For those who were all about—“Oh, the New World Order! We can’t have that. Biden has those plans in WRITING!”

Welcome to the New World Order. After the election, Elon Musk crowed on his X account, “Novus ordo seclorum” (Latin for New World Order.) And the written plan? Project 2025, which some have claimed was all lies. They aren’t even trying to deny the project now, and it has been in WRITING the whole time.

For the rest of us who are hurting and grieving over what we’ve lost—a country founded on democratic principles—I will say a few words about grief. We’ve probably all faced loss at some earlier point in our lives. As someone intimately familiar with that deepest of human emotions, I will remind you that you are not alone. Please remember that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to grieve. Allow yourself the privilege to mourn as you are called to, and then join the resistance. I caution you not to blame yourself for the election’s outcome, especially if you did everything you could to prevent the disaster. Try to avoid assigning blame to others, also. There is likely a myriad cluster of circumstances that brought this on us and we will all suffer the consequences together. Some groups will feel it first and worst. We need to support those of our friends who are at greatest risk.

From my own history of loss and recovery, I will offer this: it’s easier in small doses. One day at a time. One hour. Maybe even minute by minute. To that end, I plan to start a thread called, “Just for Today,” in which I’ll share ideas for facing the world and resisting the worst, finding resilience and ways to persevere. If you have ideas to share, let me know.

(See Post #1 Just for Today: I will find something beautiful provided by Nature.)

STOP THE PIRATES!

On By AnnIn Activism, History, Prairie talesLeave a comment

There is only one week left before we’ll know where our future is heading. If you are still undecided about candidates and questions on the ballot, I recommend staying as far from the Republican Party of “No” as possible. Even if Democratic candidates seem inexperienced, at least they are likely to be honest. Here in a state—purple even though we’re lumped in with red states—elected Democrats have to be more responsive to the needs and concerns of the people than any of their Republican opponents will be. If they aren’t, they’ll be railroaded out pronto. If you want politicians who care about your concerns, vote for the Democratic candidates. They will listen.

Take a look at what the Democratic Party has brought to us.

Women’s Right to Vote (Woodrow Wilson)

Social Security (FDR) This, unlike the hype, is a program that belongs to the people who contributed to it from their wages throughout their careers. It is not a government handout.

Minimum Wage Law (FDR)

Unemployment Insurance (FDR)

FDIC Bank Account Insurance (FDR)

G.I. Bill of Rights (FDR)

Securities & Exchange Act (FDR)

Marshall Plan (Truman)

Water Quality Act of 1948 (Truman)

Peace Corps (Kennedy)

First Man on the Moon (Kennedy)

Civil Rights Act of 1964 (LBJ)

Voting Rights Act of 1965 (LBJ)

Medicare (LBJ) Again, paid for by the workers throughout their careers.

Medicaid (LBJ)

Guaranteed Pell Student Loan Program (LBJ)

Operation Head Start (LBJ)

Motor Voter Act (Clinton)

Budget Surplus (Clinton)

Family and Medical Leave Act (Clinton)

Affordable Care Act (Obama)

Inflation Reduction Act (Biden)

American Rescue Plan (Biden)

Violence Against Women Act (Biden)

Hate Crime Prevention Act

What has Republican leadership offered? Massive tax cuts for the richest billionaires among us, and vows to fight every program and act that benefit all of us. The party of “No.”

Recognizing how unpopular their typical “no” stance is among the majority of voters, they have resorted to underhanded tactics. They flood the post office with flyers spewing ridiculous fiction about honest candidates. They resort to tricks to manage and control voters. It all reminds me of pirates.

We face modern day piracy in our recent elections. Remember the scenes from the popular Disney movie Pirates of the Caribbean? In the scene where Will Turner meets Jack Sparrow,  Jack pulls an unconventional move to disarm Will.

Will says, “You cheated.”

Jack, rolling his eyes, “Pirate.” (As if what else did you expect?)

Will answers, “You didn’t beat me. You ignored the rules of engagement. In a fair fight I’d have killed you.”

To which Jack says, “That’s not much incentive for me to fight fair then, is it?”

I can hear the same exchange between our two major political parties. Republicans are the pirates, taking steps to ignore free and fair elections, those “rules of engagement” we have in the past taken for granted. But we now have ridiculously gerrymandered lines for voting districts, purging of voter lists, challenging results of an honest election, stacking of the courts, refusal to accept a peaceful transfer of power, declarations of refusal to accept future election results if they don’t go the way  a candidate wants—throwing out the rules so that the far-right extremists can “win”. We have promiscuous lying. And the extremists already in power set important constitutional questions on the ballot in historically low-turnout elections. Every conceivable trick has been employed to control the outcome of elections at every level.

This is piracy.

The situation is dire. If the extremists on the political right prevail in next week’s election, this very well could be the Last Election open to all voters in our country. If they prevail, and continue reckless exploitation of the planet, the future for all of us—democrats, republicans, adults, children, unborn, indeed all life on earth—will be taxed to the extreme by climate crises already set in motion.

Cheating? Given the fact that there are more non-Republican voters in Kansas than those who identify as Republican, is it any wonder that they are taking every step to cheat and control the outcomes while they can? Non-Republicans include the Democrats and non-affiliated voters. In a fair fight, the people’s will would be clearly heard. But we can’t have that, can we? Republicans have taken steps to hold onto power every which way they can. Call it cheating. It certainly lacks fairness.

Yet . . . If the extremists prevail, it will be the end of Earth as a habitable planet. We have to make this election count!

Remember the pirate motto:

“Take what you can. Give nothing back.”

And they won’t.

Please vote!

Letters to the Future: Day 1

On By AnnIn Activism, Earth care, Family, Letters to SeptannaLeave a comment

October 6, 2020. Four weeks from election day

Dear Child of Tomorrow,

I think of you often. I wonder what your life will be, and what you will look like. What endearing features will light up your chubby face when you smile? Will you have the same button nose I inherited from a beloved grandmother? Maybe curly auburn hair? Or will it be wavy light brown with blond streaks like mine was? Dark eyes that sparkle in evening light? Or eyes the azure of a cloudless summer sky, like my grandmother’s?

Of course, you will be a girl—a compassionate, resilient, brave little girl growing into a nurturing role model among your peers. That is my dream.

But your name? What moniker will your parents bestow upon you?

For two weeks, I have been addressing postal cards and writing notes to people I have never met, nor will ever meet, from a list sent to volunteers around this nation. It is a humongous effort to encourage reluctant citizens to vote in the November 3 election. In just four weeks, we will decide the future course of our nation. Will we turn toward democratic values? Will people be a step closer to governing themselves? Will our elected representatives be willing to seek compromise in demands from extreme viewpoints and meet in the middle for the good of all? Will they respect and honor each and every person, to hear every voice, and cherish every soul?

Or will we be plunged deeper into chaos and despair, cowering in fear and hate, mistrust and suspicion, divided by the antics and ridicule tweeted by our current leadership? For your sake, little one, I hope democracy prevails, and grows stronger in the generations between mine and yours.

What will the world look like seven generations hence? And what name will you be known by? There are so many names on my postal list, delicious names, unique names. There are good old-fashioned names: Erica, Nancy, Vivian. And there are names I’ve never encountered in all my years. Aymee. Nashawnna, Aaliyah. Egma.

I try to imagine these people. What age of woman would Jalyssa be? What ethnicity? What is Dyhalma’s occupation? Does Mirtha have children? If so, what age would the youngsters be? How does Lesharda spend her days? What challenges does Vida face? How about Tahirah? What’s her life like? Does Ilfrid have a supportive spouse? Or an abusive one? What keeps Zhone from voting in many elections?

There are so many names on the list. I take a moment to marvel at the diversity in this country, evident even in a list of registered voters. And I remember, from early ecology studies, how diversity lends stability. We need them all. We need their strengths, their opinions, their concerns. We need them healthy and educated.

Basti and Wysline. Judieky and Yatara. We need all these people to bolster our flailing democracy—for you, sweet girl, seven generations hence.

I will never know the name given to you, so I think of my own. My parents chose simple, traditional names for their three daughters, my three-letter name the simplest of all. The story Mother told about choosing our names was based on a recollection from her girlhood. In her small-town Kansas school, she had a classmate named Euphracine. Poor Euphracine’s name was hardly simple. It was years before she could correctly spell her own moniker, to the mockery of her classmates. Adamant that her own daughters never be similarly ridiculed, Mother bestowed simple names on us, ones we could spell as toddlers. I have always wondered if she expected her girls to be intellectually challenged—me most of all with the name Ann. Three letters. A. N. N. Plain. Ordinary. Simply Ann.

But I have few regrets through the decades of my life, so Ann was okay after all. It combines well with other words and syllables. I will think of you, a great-granddaughter of my unborn great-granddaughter, as Septanna. “Sep” is for the seven generations separating us. “Anna” for the connection to my essence. You will, of course, have many other genetic connections as your ancestors are conceived. But there will be a thread that leads back to me.

With hope that we can pull off the tidal wave of change we need in four weeks, I’ll call you Septanna Hope. Tanna for short sounds good. And I wonder what the world will be in your time. In my family, seven generations span two centuries. Two hundred years from now, will there even be life left on this gem of a planet? Will compassion and responsibility prevail to change our calamitous course?

For your sake, I hope so. And so I write. I write cards to strangers and I connect for a brief moment with 200 people I will never meet, one for each year that separates you and me. I say, “Dear Ruby, Glenice, Marisol, Joyce . . . Dear Laura, Fatemeh, Karen and Casandra, Let’s join together, let’s rise up, let’s vote our future in the Tuesday, November 3 election! For the sake of our children and theirs, we must vote with hope and compassion.”

For your sake, we must prevail, my Dream for a New Day, Septanna Hope, a blip on future’s horizon.

With enduring love from your 7th generation grandmother,

Ann