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Independence Day
Maintaining Freedom Is A Never Ending Fight
“That all men are created equal” with the right to “Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness” may be “self-evident,” but it’s not automatic.
The rich control the government, the media, the law
To make some kind of difference
Eradicate the fascists, revolution will grow”
– Queensrÿche
Sitting in a theater last weekend watching the final installment in the Indiana Jones saga, I was struck by how outdated one of the storytelling devices used in the series has become. When Raiders of the Lost Ark was released in 1981, the appearance of the Nazis was a quick setup for the audience to identify the bad guys. In today’s America, a significant portion of the country has no problem backing a leader who asserts that a group chanting “Jews will not replace us” can still include “very fine people”. It is almost as if the brutal killing of 11 million is seen as a character flaw instead of Hitler’s defining sin.
The explosion of anti-semitism permeating today’s America is not the only example of Hitler’s hatred permeating one half of the political landscape. While homosexuals wearing pink triangles were brutally singled out by both their captors and fellow prisoners in Nazi extermination camps, our modern society has made unprecedented progress in securing equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community. In 2008, voters in deep blue California outlawed same-sex marriages. Just seven years later, the Supreme Court struck down these bans in all 50 states.
Yearning for a time when bigotry against the LGBTQ+ community was the norm, GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis is leading the march backward. He planted his rainbow-free flag with the “Don’t Say Gay” law, stripping the right of parents to have their…
