[1]TO BE?… OR NOT TO BE…
Or, you could say to vote or not to vote, or you could say to be a democracy, or not. The problem is; most of those who are not motivated to vote, are also not likely to read this post.
Black In the United States was my attempt to break down the popular expression Social Justice, by bringing out information about the two components, Justice and Social. One has affected the other.
Concerning black voting; it has been a constant curiosity for me, why we do the things we do, or don’t do. Many answers or possible reasons were uncovered as I read through various histories. I have no expertise in the psychological effects of being black in America, but I feel certain that the “black experience” has affected our collective psyche. Perhaps this can be explored later.
The issue has been that, no novice has tackled the legal justice part; but novices are the ones who need to know it, the most. Meanwhile we chant for social justice hoping that the powers-that–be will sway, or change in favor of our cause. i.e., the George Floyd Marches and the George Floyd Act. At that time, I did not have much hope for either of these, because I understood that a President and Congress were not in place, that would support government involvement. In the Civil Rights Era, we received support for our grievances. When things eased up, so did we. Chanting won’t save us, voting and involvement will.
In looking at legislation during the 2000’s I began to see that while we were celebrating our political victories in electing Presidents Obama and Biden, and while we were experiencing progress, the right-wing-faction was busy putting adverse legislation in place that would take away future possibilities
In 2002, The Campaign Reform Act, placed limitations on political party spending. While it affected lobbying, it increased private money infusions [or buying power] of big money interests in government. That is what we are experiencing now. The Help America Vote Act of 2002 required regulation & improvement of the voting process nationwide. This is the thing DT tried to discredit during his election loss, and during a Pandemic when people could not go to the polls.
During the Obama administration in 2013, the Supreme Court gutted the Civil Rights Act of 1965, which made the current gerrymandering [manipulation of state voting districts] possible. In 2015, the No Child Left Behind Act was repealed and replaced giving states the right to address education reform. After the Biden election, 19 states passed restrictive voting policies. A Freedom to Vote Act is proposed.
Note: While a state cannot nullify a federal law, it can refuse to enforce it. An Amendment or an Act with no means to enforce it, is just paperwork. The real life-span of an Act/Amendment seems to be about a generation (its a temporary solution to a long term problem).
The rich and powerful (either or both) and those who are like-minded, have never ceased to take advantage of the common people [everybody else], in order to maintain a ruling class. The thought that there is enough for everyone, does not exist. The people of the middle class, and those at the bottom of the economic ladder, will never cease to struggle for a middle ground share for all. This seems to be a universal theme for all countries…[2]AND NEVER THE TWAIN [two] SHALL MEET!
Purchase a copy of BI-US here https://www.amazon.com/author/constancewporter
[1] Shakespeare – Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1
[2] R Kipling – The Ballard of East and West
