If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side fo the oppressor.
If an elephant has it’s foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality,.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
The issue of voting rights legislation lights me up. And when I get lit up I can be a real pain in the ass. I’m totally ok with that. When we feel pain, we take action to treat it.
I’m directing my attention away from Senators Manchin and Sinema in my attempt to sway Senate opinions on the need for codifying voting rights into federal law. They are intransigent, indignant and immoral on the subject.
I am now focusing my personal energy on attempting to melt and break up the Senate Republican ice shelf that has built up against hearing and voting on the Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
There are sixteen Republican Senators that voted in 2006 to renew the Voting Rights Act of 1964 for another 25 years. That means that the provisions of the ’64 Voting Rights Act should be in effect until the year 2041, if I did my math right.
You might ask, as I did, why do we need new federal voting rights protections when we already have the Voting Rights Act. Read this linked NPR piece for why it is needed.
So, I’ve made it a mission to write to each of the sixteen senators who supported the Voting Rights Act in 2006, but for some reason don’t want to face up to voting Yes or No on the two bills that they just filibustered to death here in 2022.
Will it do any good. I have hope that it will especially if enough people do it. In case you decide to write to any or all of these sixteen senators, I’m including a list of the senators and a sample
It’s time to get the elephant off the tail of democracy. This might help a little. It gives me hope to feel like I’m doing something to effect change and that I am doing my part to make love visible.
Bravo!!!