Independence Day?

July 4 - the USA’s long standing public holiday where they celebrate their independence as a nation, something they’re very proud of. However, given recent events and the conservative corner it seems the Country is taking, it’s hard to see where the ‘independence’ is? The word ‘independence’ is bordering on inappropriateness.

Why do I say this? Well mere days before this holiday, a majority of Supreme Court Judges decided women no longer have the right to independence over their own bodies by revoking the constitutional right to abortion - or more accurately leaving it to the discretion of each State…meaning if you live in a red state, you’re f*****. In Missouri you won’t even get an exemption for rape or incest. Where’s the independence? Where’s the ‘free will’ if you have to carry your Uncles baby for 9-months and subsequently raise it?

On the day itself, there was yet another shooting, a 22-year old took his assault rifle and shot dead 7 people at the Highland Park parade in Illinois. Where’s the independence in a Country where you’re in fear of leaving your own home for fear of being shot by some lunatic whose been able to acquire a gun and shoot at you.

How can a country boast about its right to freedom and independence, yet have some evil twist to it, that facilitates freedom to shoot innocents because the law promotes gun ownership. How does Congress square an Uncle raping his niece, yet the biological outcome has to remain? I mean was the assault not traumatic enough that the victim now has to bear the child? This is perhaps the most extreme case, amongst many others, but if you can’t have independence over your own body then I question what the July 4 celebration is really about?

How can a state like Texas be anti-abortion (against killing) yet promote gun ownership and usage, which promotes killings, as we experienced a few weeks ago when the mass shooting took place due to legally purchased guns and ammo.

I found Trevor Noah’ recent quote very appropriate where he said “The US Congress is more preoccupied with protecting the constitution than it is the people who the constitution is there to protect”; very accurate.

You can already see the sharks circling around the Supreme Court who also just added another road block to climate change by ruling the US could not use existing powers to phase out coal-fired power generation without clear congressional authorisation. What’s next I wonder? A u-turn on same sex marriage? Banning divorce? Banning contraception? Are we going the full Handmaids Tale?

When it comes to conservative minded people and the Republicans, I always wonder why they’re so extreme. I’m very open to other people having their own opinion, it’s their right after all but with Republicans they always feel the need to impose it on others. Abortion as a prime example. I completely get how people can be against it and if you feel that way, then you never have to have one. However, not everyone thinks the same or has the same opinion, after all we are individuals. However, before the abortion law changed last week, you had the option. You could chose to have one or not. However, now there isn’t an option. It’s just one-sided now. This is the problem with extreme society these days. People can’t accept an alternative opinion or perspective to their own. If such a debate takes place on social media, it’ll very quickly start to become very personal, often with your family, ethnicity, etc brought into the debate regardless of its origins. Is this the American Dream? Is this freedom?

This is all Trumps swan song to a certain extent, instating pro-Trump Judges into the Supreme Court, all while he’s banging pornstars.

It’s debatable though if he did get one thing right…to build a wall. The only error in that statement was he needed to build it in his own Country. ‘United’ States of America is by far the epitome of a Country, which is anything but United. It’s like a dysfunctional family whose only common ground is that they share DNA. The Country is so divided on EVERYTHING. No country should name themselves United. If they truly were ‘United’ surely life would be easier? The United Kingdom couldn’t agree on Brexit to determine if they wanted to be part of the European ‘Union’, another inappropriate word.

For me, you build that wall. Reds in one half where you can shoot each other and keep hold of your Uncles baby with the blues in the other where you can visit your abortion clinic without the fear of being shot on route.

Since the Supreme Court seems inept on saving a broken country one can only hope for divine intervention. The irony is it makes you question if you really want to bring kids into this world in the first place…thanks for that America…you’re quite the A-hole!