An American theocracy

I'm terrified for the future.

I just read this article. My stomach is now in knots. Enough that I don't know if I'll be able to eat the dinner that is currently in the oven.

The reason? This quote from the interview:

Lane: Our country might have been better off if it was still just men voting. There is nothing worse than a bunch of mean, hateful women. They are diabolical in how than can skewer a person. I do not see that in men. The whole time I worked, I'd much rather have a male boss than a female boss. Double-minded, you never can trust them. 

Because women have the right to vote, I am active, because I want to make sure there is some sanity for women in the political world. It is up to the Christian rednecks and patriots to stand up for our country. Everyone has the right to vote now that's 18 or over (who is) a legal citizen, and every person that's 18 and over and a legal citizen should be active in local politics so they can make a change locally, make a change on the state level and make a change in Washington, D.C.

This from the Central Mississippi Tea Party President Janice Lane.

Yep, she doesn't think she should have the right to vote. Because women are irrational.

Crap.

People are actually saying the thing I most feared this election cycle. The thing I was dreading hearing after more ultra conservatives got elected.

They've done a lot to restrict women's rights already. I'm not just talking about abortion, that big hot button topic. I'm talking about a systematic eroding of the rights our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers fought for.

Let me ask a question:

What's the difference between a Middle-Eastern theocracy and an American theocracy?


Answer: Not much. You can quibble about one being a Christian nation and the others being Muslim, but it's still a theocracy. It's still governing based on religion. And not everyone in this country is Christian. Not all Christians agree on some of the basic tenets of Christianity.

What are we headed to at this rate? A society where women are treated as second class citizens. Where women can't vote, own property, get an education.

Is it really a stretch to think we'll go back to those days? That headlines like this will appear with datelines in our own country?

After seeing statements like the one above, I don't think it is a stretch to think we could find ourselves in that world. And once women lose their rights, where does it end? Non-whites are feeling similar pressures. And let's not forget that non-heterosexual folks are still fighting for equality.

I don't want to see the tide turn so only white, heterosexual, cis-gendered males have rights.

Before you cast your vote this year, think about the people you are voting for. Think about if you might be giving up rights if they hold the office they are running for. Consider carefully. Because I refuse to see a world where statements like the above are accepted. Where anyone really thinks women are too irrational to vote.

Where do we live again?

I don't know what country I am living in anymore. I mean, I know this is still the US, but it sure doesn't feel like it right now. Especially for women. It feels more like we're living in one of the oppressive regimes politicians are always denouncing.

But, no, this is the US.

And, frankly, I'm scared. I don't want to live in a theocracy, but that's what certain lawmakers and presidential candidates are trying to create.

Yes, there's a War on Women. That's pretty clear, considering recent pieces of legislation. Many of these have been the result of lawmakers trying to enforce their own religious beliefs of the population at large.

Arizona will allow employers to fire female employees who use birth control if they can't prove it isn't for a non-birth control reason. Tennessee wants to publish names of abortion providers and information that could identify their patients. A Georgia politician thinks women are equivalent to animals and should be required to carry dead fetuses until they naturally go into labor. Some states want to protect doctors who lie to patients to prevent abortions. Colorado is on the way to passing a bill that make abortion or use of the "morning after" pill murder.

And these are just the tip of the iceberg of recent legislation either passed or proposed that are chipping away at the rights of women. We've been seeing increasing restrictions on abortion, reduced access to birth control, interference in women's ability to make their own medical decisions and their doctors' ability to provide politics free health care.

There have been calls for doctors to stand up for their rights to care for their patients without interference, but the full-on assault from the right continues to heat up. Now a Republican from Arizona (remind me never to move there) has stated that women should have to watch an abortion before they can have one. Never mind that no other surgical procedure requires a patient to observe one first.

Frankly, if you are female, know anyone who is female, care about anyone who is female, or even just believe women are people, you need to pay attention and remember come November. We need to vote these people out of office or we will be living in conditions worse than our parents grew up in. We'll be living in a country where being female is a crime.

If you don't want to live in an oppressive regime, educate yourself and exercise your right to vote. Learn about the candidates. An excellent, non-partisan, resource is Project Vote Smart, which collects voting records, biographical information, issue positions, and more on all federal-level and many state-level candidates.

Consider running for office yourself. The 2012 Project is encouraging women, in particular, to run for office. Write your Senators and Representatives and let them know how you feel about invasive legislation.

DO something. Because this isn't the country I want my kids to grow up in.