THE FOREST — The Weekly Opine

Individual trees are beautiful. A forest is magnificent. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

A basic vote

The upcoming election presents a circumstance as rare as snow in the desert. What we face is a moment where your vote can be summed up succinctly. You are either for democracy or against democracy. The choice is as plain as a country boy from Oklahoma.

The myriad issues Democrats and Republicans disagree on, such as abortion and sensible firearm regulation, are symptoms of the larger issue we face. Voter suppression, a condition afflicting a growing number of states, is another symptom.

Voter suppression, abortion and gun control are ‘trees’ whereas the ‘forest’ is saving our democracy from deranged MAGA Trumpers like Doug Mastriano, Majorie Taylor Greene and Tommy Tuberville. (Hershel Walker is too dumb to be considered a real threat, although his ignorance and reflexive lying are epic.)

Republican Liz Cheney is an example of someone who understands the stakes have not been this high since the 1860s. She is thoughtfully setting aside policy differences, to focus on doing what’s right to save our country from evil criminals who have infiltrated the Grand Old Party. Unapologetically, Cheney implores all citizens to vote for Democrats.

The midterm vote, which is underway and concludes November 8, is unquestionably about saving America from treasonous, anti-democracy fraudsters who parrot Trump’s lies. It is still jaw-dropping, witnessing the number of formerly reasonable, level-headed Republicans who’ve become mindless, bootlicking robots. Nowadays, MAGA Republicans spew Trump/Fox Lies talking points with the same ease a fifth-grader recites the Pledge of Allegiance.

It is worth considering for a moment, before you head to the polls (or mail in your ballot), exactly what is on the line this November.

Nearly 60 years ago, this country passed the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. The Voting Rights Act was intended to give every American citizen unobstructed access to participate in the most basic tenet of our democracy. Everyone 18 years and older is supposed to be free to vote in fair elections.

Less than a decade later, a woman’s right to have an abortion became the law of the land, in 1973. In the intervening years, unprecedented access to healthcare was made possible with the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. Gay marriage became legal in 2015.

Those were among many steps, such as the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote in 1920, the Social Security Act of 1935, and the 1954 Supreme Court ruling ending separate but equal in America’s classrooms, that thrust our society closer to fulfilling the sentiment and values written in the Declaration of Independence.

With each generation laws of the land, expressed in the U.S. Constitution, were passed or amended to provide the opportunity for more people to participate and thrive within the great American democracy experiment.

Two longstanding, popular social safety nets – Medicare and Medicaid – rightfully continue. These social safety nets enable many citizens to live a better quality of life than they otherwise could. To this day, the majority of Americans support the continuation of Medicare and Medicaid (and Social Security).

For decades, the U.S. Postal Service was a respected and marvelous way to communicate with family and friends living in distant locales. But now, postal workers are stereotyped as lazy, mistake-prone examples of what’s wrong with America. The truth is the Republican wing of our government has decimated the U.S. Post Office – and Amtrak rail service – with nasty rhetoric and bad-faith legislation designed to cripple two institutions relied upon by middle-and-lower income families.

Vote blue if you want America to continue. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

In reality, a vocal minority in this country have their minds set on destroying the American way of life. This minority - MAGA Republicans – disrespect the bravery, courage and valor of the men and women who fought wars to preserve our union and democracy.

Starting with eliminating many Americans access to vote, MAGAs, and those sympathetic to their cause, plan to roll back hard-earned societal gains while doing away with the Constitution and American flag. These people are nothing short of treasonous, seditious goons engaged in criminal activity at the federal, state and municipal level.

Right now, every law-abiding American should commit to stopping mentally ill MAGA thugs who masquerade as legitimate politicians. There is only one sane way to vote. Vote for democracy over authoritarianism.

To save the trees of social progress, we must first save the forest of democracy.