As I drive through my rural/suburban Bucks County, PA area, I see signs that make it loud and clear who people are voting for in the upcoming mid-term elections. In my state, there are big stakes. Governor Josh Shapiro vs. Doug Mastriano. The first, a Liberal, Jewish outspoken advocate of women’s rights to abortion care. The second, a Right Wing Conservative endorser of TFG’s Big Lie who showed up at the Capitol on January 6th since he bought and promoted the lie with every fiber of his being. He believes the concept, “My body, my choice, is ridiculous nonsense.” He wants to criminalize abortion. He wants to rescind rights of LGBTQ+ people. He wants to decide the outcome of elections. Cut from the same cloth as the one who has offered his endorsement to him as well.
In the race for Senate, John Fetterman who is currently serving as Lt. Governor here in the Keystone State is also Liberal and a social justice advocate. His multitudinous tattoos represent his town of Braddock, PA (the zip code) as well as the names of those who were murdered in Braddock while he was mayor. He dresses in hooded sweatshirts, sometimes with sleeves rolled up to reveal the body art. Some bristle at his casual dress while others see it as genuinely representing the blue collar, working class ethos of much of Pennsylvania. Enter Dr. Mehmet Oz whose infomercials and being embraced by Oprah Winfrey have brought him to the fore with regard to notoriety. He owns homes, but not in our state. The home that he claims is his in Bryn Athyn, outside of Philadelphia was in his wife’s family. His primary residence is in New Jersey. He is also on the side of ripping rights for body autonomy from women.
This election is also a referendum on the existence of Democracy. How many of the Republican candidates all up and down the ballot are election result deniers? How many of them have the cajones or brass ovaries to stand for the truth that the 2020 election was free, fair and legitimate? Without that, the price of gasoline is irrelevant. Without that, every prosocial program that was created over the decades is at risk. The freedoms we have come to take for granted are at risk. If January 6th taught us anything, it was that when fired up with the fuel of fabrications, people with an agenda to pursue, will take dramatic and dangerous measures to the point of violence and murder.
As you can see, my yard displays my sensibilities, one of a few on my street who dares to express her left leanings, although I know other neighbors feel the way that I do, only they are reluctant to broadcast it. There is one neighbor who is on the other side of the political fence, although, intriguingly, he has no lawn signs out as he has in previous election cycles. We’ve never spoken, and I have heard from other neighbors that he can be outspoken with his beliefs.
I grew up with the advice of my father, “Live and let live.” The meaning has shifted for me over the past several years. It had meant that I needed to be flexible and understanding about where another person is coming from. While I know that if I had lived their lives and had the same feelings that they did, I might have the same attitudes and make the same decisions about where I stood on the political spectrum. And yet….and this is a big one…my father made no bones about anti-Semitism being an absolute evil. His parents had fled the pogrom in Russia to come here. He knew Holocaust survivors who weren’t so lucky including a rabbi who had his tongue cut out in one of the camps. He felt that he had to be protective of himself and his loved ones in the face of hatred. He and my mother taught my sister and me to stand up for ourselves and others.
I know that every decision I make has an impact on everyone on the planet.
If I smoked (which I never would), my exhalation would be inhaled by anyone near me.
If I drove 80 miles an hour because I felt like it, I would be endangering everyone on the road.
If I took something that didn’t belong to me because it appealed to me, I would be depriving someone of what is rightfully theirs.
I ask myself if what I am about to do is constructive or destructive, not only for myself but everyone I encounter.
One of many reasons why I cheer when I see signs for candidates whose values who reflect mine and jeer (from my car, finger raised in salute) at those whose stand is polar opposite mine, is that I see a world that looks different from the one they see. My ideal world embraces reproductive freedoms, human rights, enough food, clean air and water for everyone. The world of my dreams recognizes that no one has the right to tell anyone who they are and who they get to love. My utopia creates emotional and physical safety, so no child ever has to hide in fear during an active shooter drill at school and no parent ever has to wonder if their child will make it home that day. In my paradigm, no one is ever abused for any reason. Children are loved, wanted and cherished. Family patterns of abuse are broken. I picture a world in which war is obsolete and nature is respected. In my global perspective, no one overpowers anyone and instead, we empower each other to be the best humans we can be.
Why can’t those whose signs bear witness to what I think of as dangerous and distorted beliefs feel that way too? How can we change minds and open hearts that this really is a life and death matter?
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This Post is republished on Medium.
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Photo courtesy of the author