Dreams reside in an amazing corner of our minds. Some dreams surface when we’re fast asleep, that deep, deep REM ‘kinda sleep. Other dreams come along creatively when we’re wide awake. Today, I write of eyes wide open dreams.
Today is Election Day in the country formerly known as The United States of America. I dream of a tomorrow with the hope I can delete the word “formerly” from that sentence.
In that tomorrow, I dream my late-arriving baby-boomer colleagues can leave behind the total mess created by two generations who marched to the drums-beat of apathy and ignorance during the last four decades. I’m not sure that dream will come to fruition as the partisan bickering (both directions) seems to have become our new national pastime, covered by cable networks with no moral compasses and huge financial stakes in the games being played.
While that tomorrow might not come along for months or years or decades, today, I dream of peace. We’ll see what tonight and tomorrow and the next day bring, as darkness falls so early in standard time but our election’s outcomes might not be clear for weeks.
That said, I’m not so naive that I think the results of one election will be the cause of any major change. The sides have dug in deeply and the past four years will remain with our (formerly) United States for decades to come because of the appointment of narrow-minded judges in an all-new judicial system, including the Department of Justice’s blinded by power leader who has set us back in honor and trust of our government and its laws.
I’m not so naive that I think this one election will stop the childish name-calling, tweeting, the quiet gerrymandering (now left to the States) and the blatant voter suppression. The latter drives a stake into my heart as my late father-in-law spent the early part of his career fighting the good fight for equality for the African-Americans of Hattiesburg, Mississippi and their right to vote.
In his book, Count Them One by One, Black Mississippians Fighting for the Right to Vote, the late Gordon A. Martin, Jr. explained in great detail the uphill battle he and his fellow justice department lawyers fought against prejudice in Forrest County, Mississippi.
As my brother-in-law explained in his recent article paying tribute to his Dad (posted Nov. 2, 2020), the uphill battle was daunting and dangerous.
“My father always told me the heroes of U.S. vs. (Theron) Lynd were the brave African-American witnesses who came forward at great personal risk to demonstrate the unfair voter registration practices that had made Forrest County, Miss., one of the most egregious examples of white supremacist rule in all of the South,” said Peter Martin in Civil Rights activists remind us, there is No Democracy without the Right to Vote.
The book is a very interesting read, especially because such a brilliant legal mind shared his knowledge and first-hand experiences to help educate a new generation of those who respect and/or study the law. The landmark case was based on the fact that in 1961, 30-percent of the (Forrest) county’s population of roughly 53,000 was Black, but the Justice Department investigation found only a dozen African-Americans were registered to vote.
The article by Peter Martin explains the details much better than I can.
A clear take-away, however, is to note that sadly, the times haven’t changed. That is proven fact as a federal judge had to reject yet another Republican Party effort to invalidate 127,000 legally cast ballots in Harris County, Texas just this week. The uphill battle fought in 1961-62 is still being fought today, as those ballots were from largely minority (Hispanic and Black) precincts.
At a recent debate we heard the temp at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave is “the least racist person in the room,” eh? I wondered why he denigrated his wife, family members and supporters with such a comment? They were all in the room where he said it and, face it, he’s displayed nothing but racism throughout his 77 years.
I wonder if he dreams in Black & White?
The most famous of Dreams, the ones held by Martin Luther King Jr., hoped for better days and equal rights. The year 2020 has proven there is much work to be done. Ever-growing racial injustice, from centuries of systematic racism, has walked step-by-step with the COVID-19 pandemic to make this year the worst of our lives, by far. It’s set us back, mightily, by the high cost of taking innocent lives.
On one hand, we dream and hope. On the other hand, we click the buttons of a remote and watch utter nonsense, hear never-ending lies, outright manipulations of the truth and half the population accepting “alternative facts.” The ever-present hypocrisy is televised live and in color from taped press conferences and Congressional hearings. The politicians seem to forget, we keep those video tapes and file them one-by-one, every day of the year.
A peaceful place, or so it looks from space,
A closer look reveals the human race
Full of hope, full of grace, is the human face
But afraid we may lay our home to waste. - Bob Weir
What will come of it all?
What will this day and the rest of this week bring to the USA and the world? After all, the whole world is watching us stumble.
Should we dream of an improved and agreed-upon affordable healthcare plan, one to protect our fellow citizens from greedy insurance companies surely ready to pounce on profits from pre-existing conditions?
Should we dream of US States working together with the Federal Government to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic that has taken 230,000 Americans (according to Johns Hopkins University research) while striking down more than 1.2 million globally.
Should we dream of justice reform and a better system to address the goals of the Declaration of Independence, which stated, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Maybe it should’ve written clearly, Black Lives Matter.
What will it be?
Ashes, ashes all fall down or the realization of our Dreams?
I voted today with a Dream, so hit play.