DEMOCRATIC RULE UNDER ATTACK IN AMERICA

 By Mildred Robertson

The foundation of American democracy is the participation of its citizenry. Our history is replete with stories of patriots who fought to the death to have a say in how this nation will be governed. One would think after close to 250 years, that matter would have been settled. But alas, we still struggle with who can lay claim to U.S. citizenship based on race, ethnicity, place of origin and religion. There are those among us who wish to rebut the unfettered immigration offered as a welcome to all willing to participate in this American experiment called democracy. The Statue of Liberty boldly proclaims, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses…”

“Not so,” says the party of Lincoln.

Republicans have determined that this nation and its bounty should restrict the benefits of citizenship to those who are more melanated than the Europeans who sailed to this continent, slaughtered its inhabitants and enslaved an entire race of people. (That statement is not Critical Race Theory—It’s just facts.)

According to our constitution every native-born and naturalized citizen over the age of 18 is eligible to vote (with some exceptions such as individuals who are incarcerated or on probation.) But Republican legislatures across this country are waging an all-out war to make it difficult for qualified Americans to vote, ranging from erecting barriers to registering and casting a vote, to purging voting rolls of qualified voters.

Laws proliferating in many Republican controlled legislatures are designed to:

• reduce early voting days, which is a voting practice widely used by minorities.
• reduce the number of hours polls are opened, particularly in democratic areas.
• reduce the number of polling places, resulting in long lines, particularly in minority neighborhoods.
• Deny felons the right to vote (approximately 1.4 million denied access each election, many of whom are black or Latino).
• require photo IDs, forcing tens of thousands to obtain new ID just to vote. This places particular  hardship on the poor or elderly who may have transportation problems, or have difficulty getting off work to obtain documentation. (To illustrate the impact of such laws, the Charlotte Observer reported that, in North Carolina, as many as 800,000 registered voters lacked the necessary photo ID, and more than 556,000 had no ID at all.)
• block college students from voting where they attend school, and denying them the right to use their college photo ID to vote.
• bar people from voting over small discrepancies, i.e., women who have recently married and changed their names.
• eliminate registered voters from the voting rolls who have not voted in consecutive elections.
• hamper or eliminate mail-in voting.

Other tactics used include intimidation at the polls, sometimes using armed police; misinformation where GOP campaigns and GOP-led governments have sent out mailings with incorrect dates and locations for voting; and gerrymandering where districts are drawn to benefit Republicans, making it almost impossible for the opposition to win. That is how Hillary Clinton won nearly 3 million more votes than Trump, yet still lost in the Electoral College. And then, there is the Electoral College itself where less populous states have statistically more representation than more densely populated states where many minorities reside.

As many minorities and Democrats struggle to counter this assault on democracy, there are those who chose to sit out the fight. While this nation’s Founders may not have intended for the benefits of American citizenship to be extended to any but male, white land owners, thank God that the constitution is a living document that has matured as our nation has developed toward becoming a true democracy.

But we are becoming.  We are not there yet.

Those of us who still believe in the promise of America must not sit idly by while disloyal seditionists betray our heritage and tear our nation apart. We cannot give in to hatred, racism and minority rule. We must stand firm if we are to realize the full vision of what America can be…”One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”