(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Rolling With the F-Word [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-08-03 I’m glad to see that Democrats are basing a lot of their messaging on the word “freedom,” in part because that’s been one of the Republicans’ biggest lies. Here’s the GOP’s version of freedom: Freedom from taxes for the rich. Freedom from regulations for businesses. Freedom for the Religious Right to establish a Christian Nationalist country where laws and policies are geared to suppress and punish those whose beliefs and lifestyles don’t align with theirs. Oh, there’s a bunch of other times that they’ll “freedom,” too. Those are part of their ultimate goal of dividing us so people will go against their best interests by voting for Republicans. They’re trying to create an us vs. them mentality where them are the radical, leftist, socialist, elitist, immigrant-loving, replacement-theory-advocating, morally depraved, baby-killing, LGBTQ-supporting, Deep State Democrats. Fortunately, Democrats have been finding their voice on this matter. They’re telling us what really constitutes freedom in this country and which party is determined to deliver it. (Hint: It’s not the Republicans) What does real freedom look like? What kinds of freedoms should we be striving for? Which should we demand? Here are some ideas: Freedom for a woman to control and make decisions about her own body without government interference. That she has access to contraception options. That no 10-year-old girl -- raped and impregnated -- has to be taken to another state to have an abortion. That women aren’t bleeding out in emergency rooms or at home because doctors -- afraid of the legal consequences, -- won’t help them. That women facing pregnancy complications won’t be helicoptered to another state to get the assistance they need. Freedom to marry the person you love. To live in a legally-recognized union. To have all the rights and protections as any other citizen, with no regard for sexual orientation and preference. Freedom from the increasing fear of being shot to death due to Republican inaction and their NRA servitude that ignores the need for common-sense gun safety measures. That won’t ban weapons of war designed for mass carnage. That won’t limit the size of magazines – how many bullets do you need to be able to fire without reloading for God’s sake. That doesn’t see bump stocks and the hail of bullets they generate as a problem. No law will completely eliminate the occurrence of mass shootings. It’s too late for that here. But at least give us a fighting chance to survive. Freedom to live your life with clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and the existential threat of climate change blunted as much as possible, as opposed to being exacerbated by government abdication of its regulatory responsibility in service to the fossil fuel masters controlling our elected officials. Their opposition to critical plans to increase our use of renewable energy being a co-factor in these efforts. Freedom to have a fair chance to succeed. Not a handout, but as level a playing field as possible. That children are provided adequate schooling no matter where they live. That roadblocks based on factors other than a person’s ability and work ethic are torn down as much as possible. Freedom to vote, easily and without man-made obstructions like unnecessary voter purges and laws and decisions designed to make it harder for certain groups of people to go to the polls. Knowing your vote is safe from illegal machinations of an individual, group, or political party. Freedom for your child to read books that you think advance his education and growth. It comes with the understanding that another parent may ask the school to not make that text available to their kid, but that parent doesn’t have the right to deny it to other children. Freedom for your child to be taught history – with all its warts. That those who, for whatever reason, may feel threatened or upset with the truth can’t keep your kid from learning it. They can’t prevent your child from going out into the world prepared to interact and compete with contemporaries who weren’t spoon fed their education with one eye on unwarranted politically motivated censorship. Freedom for parents to make medical decisions for their children. That accepted medical procedures won’t be denied. That these efforts – done in consultation with their children, doctors, maybe even clergy members – can’t be stymied by the government, the church, or any other unaffiliated people. Freedom that comes from keeping up the critical wall separating church and state in our country. To not have religion shoved down your children’s throat while they’re attending public school. To live in a country where freedom of religion means freedom to live your life based on your beliefs, not to force your beliefs on others. Freedom from the inherent dangers of having a small percentage of people controlling the vast majority of wealth in our country, giving them outsized power and influence in controlling the direction of our nation and our lives. Reforming a campaign finance system that’s nothing more than legalized bribery leading to a cesspool of bought-and-paid-for politicians. Freedom to live our lives based on science unmanipulated by political posturing. (Think the Covid pandemic) And with that the comfort of knowing that all important decisions being made in the halls of government are based on fact and reality. Freedom to be an entrepreneur. To tackle the difficult task of starting and maintaining a successful business. To have effective, enforced antitrust laws to create a system of fair capitalism, as opposed to having a few companies controlling the vast majority of an industry, allowing them to crush their smaller competition and control prices and workers’ wages and benefits. *** Those are some examples. I’m sure there’re a lot more. But here’s something important to remember: None of these freedoms happen under Republican control. It’s the Democratic Party that champions and defends them. It’s Democrats that created things like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Who passed legislation like the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act, and the Fair Housing Act. Look at just about any piece of legislation over the years designed to help people, protect our planet, defend Democracy, or safeguard our rights. Those are thanks to Democrats. Put Donald Trump back in the White House and see what happens. Give the GOP control of both houses of Congress to boot and it’s Katy bar the door. The Republicans have lied about freedom for long enough. The truth is the Democrats own it. They must keep wearing it like the badge of honor that it is. *** Thank you for reading my post. You can see my other writings on my blog: Musings of a Nobody. Please share and subscribe for free via email on its home page. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/8/3/2260326/-Rolling-With-the-F-Word?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/