I’ve been thinking about what my mother and my sister Kathie would be doing at a time like this.
Rosemary would be doing everything she could to elect Democrats, from rallying voters in her precinct to driving candidates between campaign events to making phone calls and writing letters and whatever else she could.
Kathie would be doing some of those same things, and if necessary she would sit down in an intersection and block traffic, as she did one night in 1972 in Iowa City when civil disobedience was necessary. She risked arrest and moved on only when a state trooper lifted her to her feet and physically forced her to move on.
These two set the bar pretty high, and they were gone too soon, and we need people like them more than ever.
Do what you can to stand against oppression by those who are stripping away our civil rights – your individual rights – based on their deeply flawed or deliberately distorted views of the U.S. Constitution. They will undo whatever constitutional amendments they can, ignore others, and overturn more precedents they dislike to turn our democracy into a pseudo-Christian, racist theocracy.
Do not underestimate your individual power and value in this fight.
Do not underestimate your individual power and value in this fight. Start with something you can do today, like contacting the lawmakers and lawbreakers who represent or purport to represent you in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. Demand that they act to protect your rights and tell them what you want.
For those of us who live in Colorado, support Democrats who share your values. Look here for ways to get involved.
I no longer trust the current Democratic leadership to do what needs to be done when it comes to the filibuster and the Supreme Court. Biden, Pelosi and Schumer have had multiple opportunities to end the filibuster, expand the court, and even impeach the justices who lied their way onto the court and otherwise failed to live up to their oaths.
We need new leaders. We need people to stand up and demand better.
We need to demand better and accept nothing less.
B.J.
The Smith Compound 