For every action in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. –Newton’s Third Law of
Motion
There is a social political epidemic persisting through the ages in the United States and it is not enough just to label it racism.
With the passage of Texas’s Senate Bill 8 (SB8), it is tempting to call it racist misogyny but even that doesn’t get to the core problem we face. Looking at how SB8 delegates enforcement of the abortion ban to the populace at large, we can begin to peel back the sanctimonious curtain shielding the oppressors’ intent. Turning us against one another gives oppressors the strategic advantage and imbalance they need to overthrow the masses. But when we organize with the intent to gain political power, we win, not just for the here and now but for there and then. When the forces fueling racist, misogynist nature push against the health, safety, and well-being of the masses, we, the people can respond with equal and opposite force.
Outlawing abortion does not stop it. Banning the medical procedure that terminates pregnancy only makes it unsafe for those who cannot afford the privilege of finding and paying a qualified physician. Women have terminated pregnancies when the procedure was legal, and when it was illegal. The difference between the two is whether the women live after having the procedure or not. The fact that one in four women have had an abortion means that many of you reading this message have had an abortion, and all of us know at least one woman who has. It also means that in our churches, women in those pews sitting next to their fathers, husbands, brothers,mothers, sisters, children, and grandchildren have safely terminated a pregnancy and lived to love and be loved by family and community. That is the true right to life.
While the thin veil of sanctimony turns brothers against sisters and sisters against one another, the powerful few are diminishing our ability to build political power and influence local, state, and federal institutions. Dear
Democrats, the fight is at our doorstep. We must activate and mobilize our community to elect people who will represent our values at every level of government. We must fight the force hiding behind the veil of sanctimony, the powerful few cannot win if we organize and turn out en masse. Bernalillo Democrats, let’s stand together in our power!
Yours in the fight for our democracy,
Flora