"United" We Fall

"The United States of America" is a misnomer.

I posit that the United States has been divided over one issue or another since its founding. Slavery, racism, availability of birth control, interracial marriage, unequal treatment of women, homelessness, LGBTQ rights, COVID-19 policies, and the widening income gaps are among the many fault lines crossing this nation's landscape. One of the deepest, widest fissures is abortion.

In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Roe v. Wade that the U.S. Constitution protects a pregnant woman's freedom to end her pregnancy without excessive government intervention.

Yesterday (May 2, 2022), Politico published a draft of the proposed Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision. The case addresses the constitutionality of a 2018 Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks. Associate Justice Samuel Alito drafted the majority opinion stating that Roe must be overruled. Four other associate justices -- Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett -- sided with Alito. Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan are dissenting. It's unknown how Chief Justice John Roberts will vote.

"The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision, including the one on which the defenders of Roe ... now chiefly rely -- the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment," Alito wrote. 

The leak of the 98-page draft decision was a first. Chief Justice Roberts vowed to investigate the source of the leak. What I find interesting is the timing of the leak -- before the midterm primary elections.

Should the draft decision become official, abortion law will be left to the states. Thirteen states have "trigger laws" in place that would ban abortions immediately. Twenty-three in all could outlaw the practice. The United States would become a hodgepodge of areas allowing or prohibiting abortion. 

My stance on the issue is that, had I become pregnant, whether in or out of wedlock, I would have had the child because I believe the child is a life. But that's my belief. It is not my place to force my belief on anyone, especially on a woman of childbearing age making the agonizing decision whether to give birth.

For people who want to unite this nation, I fear that horse has left the barn. With discord over COVID-19 mask and vaccine policies, race relations, LGBTQ rights, and abortion, I'm afraid I will see this country implode during my lifetime. 

Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself

After a year and a half absence, this blog is back. I wouldn't say it's "better than ever," but this writer has grown a bit.

When I started this blog in 2008, I was nearing 50, single, and the pet parent of two cats. The latter two descriptions still apply, but I'm in my early 60s. 

The biggest difference is that I'm writing for an audience of one -- me. If you come along for the ride, you're more than welcome.

So, a few things about me. Don't say I didn't warn you!

• As you can see from my latest photo, I'm an African American woman. I'm a fifth-generation Californian whose late father migrated here from the Jim Crow South. (I call my siblings and myself "Southern by proxy.") Although I was born and raised in Sacramento, I spent nearly half of my life in the San Francisco Bay Area (Walnut Creek, Fairfield, and Vacaville) and a year in Bellingham, Washington.
• I live in a simple halfplex in an established Sacramento neighborhood with home prices ranging from the $400,000s to more than a million dollars. I don't want or need a big house. 🏡 My halfplex is a fixer-upper, but I love it. Like me, my home is a work in progress. (In a future entry, I will write about how I ended up with this house.)
  
• My Christian faith anchors my emotional and mental well-being. However, my path in following Jesus is rough, and I fall down often. My biggest flaw is that I have the mouth of a longshoreman. I take responsibility for it. If I were to explain how I got such a foul mouth with which I struggle, working in a newsroom for 12 years contributed a great deal.
• Speaking of my faith, I don't proselytize. If you ever want to know my "testimony," I will sit with you and tell you. My Christian beliefs align mostly with those of pastor John Pavlovitz, who writes a blog title "Stuff That Needs to Be Said" and wrote the book If God Is Love, Don't Be a Jerk. 
• Jumping to politics, my views are left-centrist. I believe strongly in contributing to a social net for the disadvantaged. But there has to be accountability in how all tax money is spent. And I believe that corporations and millionaires on up should pay their fair share in taxes. Close those loopholes! 
• Finally, I love animals. I have two cats and hope to adopt a rescue dog someday. In the meantime, Lady Marmalade is my "attack cat." 🐈

I'm going to try to submit my entries weekly. Thank you for coming along for the ride.

Writing Diva