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The Disunited States of America

last updated: 24 June 2022 (approximate reading time: 6 minutes; 1110 words)

Anyone who has followed the news in the USA for the last few decades knows that this has been, for a long time, a nation divided. The “culture wars” pit those who value protecting civil rights, access to health care, and opportunities for all people regardless of ethnic background, gender identity and orientation, against those who wish to maintain only those rights that were afforded to Christian, property-owning men of European decent hundreds of years ago. In general, the arc of history swings towards justice, freedoms, and protections for all people, even as it has made some reactionary conservatives uncomfortable. The United States Supreme Court, which has often skewed toward conservatism, has usually also steered toward personal freedom and separation of church and state.

Taking ten steps backwards

Say what you will about President Trump, but it’s undeniable that he has been one of the most polarizing presidents the USA has ever had. And one of his polarizing moves was to nominate three justices to the Supreme Court that were not conservative in the mold of Chief Justice Roberts and other previous conservative-leaning justices. They were evangelical culture warriors with the desire to turn America into a theocracy. The big news today is that they ended 50 years of federal protection for women who seek to terminate a pregnancy. But let’s look at what they have done just this term, so far:

  • Ruled that Maine must give public money to fund Christian schools in rural areas
  • Ruled that New York cannot ask people why they want a concealed weapon permit, and must simply issue it
  • Said that police cannot be held responsible if they don’t read criminals their rights
  • Removed 50 years of women’s health care protections

Moreover, in agreeing with the decision to end Roe v Wade, Justice Thomas also wrote that he believes it’s time to reconsider protections for same-sex relationships, same-sex marriage, and contraception.

The basic defense of “constitutional originalism” that “if something isn’t explicitly protected by name in the constitution, it is unconstitutional to protect it at all” is simply inane. So many things in modern life simply didn’t exist at the time. We live in a society that has grown in size and technology far beyond what they could have anticipated. The right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” is a catch-all that covers civil rights, health care, legal protections, and so on. That concept is fundamental to the Bill of Rights. Moreover, constitutional originalism is conveniently forgotten when it comes to gun control; the actual wording of the second amendment includes the phrase “…a well regulated militia” which not only means Americans have the right to arm themselves, but the federal government has the right to regulate those arms.

But none of that matters to the culture warriors, who revel in every freedom and every right stripped from non-White, non-male, non-Christian individuals.

So where does that leave America

It has been the case for a while, but it is more clear than ever, that the “United States” are not united at all. There are about a third of American states who would, if they could, turn America into a Christian theocracy, another Taliban-controlled Afghanistan but of white European decent. And there’s another third of America that would continue to progress toward universal justice, universal healthcare, universal acceptance. And there’s another third that is generally conservative, but not to the point of the evangelical culture-warriors.

The Supreme Court’s evangelicals hide behind the idea that states can still make their own rules. However, federal law supersedes state laws, so that doesn’t work when there is a federal law that takes precedent. For example, right now, California has enshrined women’s right to whatever elective health care they need. There is no federal law that supersedes that, so that remains in effect. However, California also has a law that concealed weapons permits are only issued after a legitimate need has been proven; now that New York’s similar law has been struck down by the Supreme Court, California’s law has also been invalidated. So the federal government has overruled California’s attempts to keep itself safer from the plague of gun violence that infects the USA.

What happens when individual states want to respect more rights and make themselves safer than the federal government will allow? Clearly, one of the effects is to drive a further wedge between individual states and a federal government that no longer represents their citizenry. And when enough states feel that they have no connection anymore to the federal system, that is when the federal system itself will fail and disintegrate.

Where do we go from here?

If you are appalled by the current state of the Disunited States of America, I’m afraid there is no quick fix. The extremist justices are mostly middle-aged, and will likely hold their position for decades. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible for our country to move forward again:

  • Vote for candidates at the local, state, and federal level who support civil rights for everyone, meaningful gun regulations, universal health care.
  • Urge friends and family in backwards states to move into more progressive, rights-supporting states. Reducing the population of “red” states means that they will be oppressing the rights of fewer people, as well as reducing their overall power in the federal government by reducing the number of Representatives and Electors they get in Congress and the Electoral College, respectively.
  • Support candidates (not just with votes, but with time and money) who want to take bold action: to impeach Supreme Court justices and/or increase the number of justices on the bench, to pass a new Fairness Doctrine to combat lies and propaganda, to work toward true universal healthcare and gun control, to remove corporate money from public elections, etc. Remember, it takes a full 60 votes in the Senate and control of the House of Representatives to pass any meaningful legislation, so while supporting your local candidate is vital, it also isn’t enough.

Can the promise of America be saved?

Truthfully, I don’t know. I’d like to hope so. I live here, my family is (mostly) here, my children are growing up here, etc. I would hate to think that if my children want to live in a progressive, civilized society, their only choice is to leave the United States for Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the EU, etc. If we all try, maybe we can change things.

And that’s the thing—if we try to make American into the nation that we wish it could be, maybe we still won’t be able to. But if we don’t try, it definitely won’t change for the better.

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Category: USA 
Tags: USA  Supreme Court