Not for anyone...bur for our nation.
I'm sorry if some people are going to get all riled up by that statement, but I don't care. Over the course of forty years, beginning with the reign of Ronald Reagan (y'all talk about how great the 80's were, but you seem to forget how willing that administration was to flat out ignore people of color and the LGBTQ community) and including three attempts to seize power illegally (the fixing of the 2000 election, the fixing of the 2016 election, and the out-and-out coup of last year), the Republicans have turned their back on serving the country in favor of installing themselves into permanent power utilizing a religious movement to disguise their true intent.
And the GOP is operating in opposition to the intentions of the Founding Fathers--people who fled Europe to avoid religious oppression and wanted every citizen to have freedom to worship--or not worship--what they wanted. They are taking very specific words to justify their desires and the wishes of their paymaster, refusing to take into account the words that surround those phrases that give them context. They're willing to tamper with basic rights in their bid to destroy democracy. They're not willing to compromise, they're not willing to negotiate; they have made it clear their intentions are to replace what the Founding Fathers wanted with a fascist dictatorship in theological trade dress.
That's something we have to keep in mind--the GOP has made up its mind, and it's not going to be swayed with words or compassion. They think they're in a war and are using tactics of war including propaganda, disinformation and terrorism to press their offensive. And until we realize we're in a war, we're not going to make any ground.
I do feel that right now the best mode of attack would be to build a legitimate third party that could serve to eliminate many tactics the GOP is using to stack the deck and force both parties to consider the negotiation and compromise we need. I've actually thought about this a lot; I've even thought of calling it the Third Rail Party to represent something vital to moving forward that can be dangerous if you use it carelessly. Until then, all the things America needs to move forward--a viable minimum wage, universal health care, a better social support system, an effective education system (and I'm not counting things we need that will be tougher to enact, like term limits for Senators and Congressmen, an end to the fillibuster and an updated code of ethics for all branches of the government including the Supreme Court)--can only be put on pause while we vote for the lesser of two evils long enough for the apparatus that will enable us to get them can be in place.
Johnny Cash, to me, is what a Christian is supposed to be. He wasn't a perfect person, being a drug addict and an adulterer before becoming Christian, but when accepted Christ into his heart, he walked the walk. He wore black not because it was fashionable, but in solidarity with migrant farm workers. He gave free concerts in prison to inspire and preach to those like him who had lost their way. His work embodies his beliefs right up to his last day.
So tomorrow, I will wear black...in consolidation with every woman and man whose life is being threatened because their sexual orientation, race or religion is not in keeping with the attacks of a political machine who is hiding their desire to line their own pockets behind the deluded, twisted ideology of people who claim they are Christian when they are anything but.
