Below are two pictures[i],[ii]
of voter intimidation and one of them has been sanctioned by the Supreme Court.
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| Scarecrow used to imply Vote and Die. |
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Map of the United States with district lines affected by
the repeal of Voters Rights Act.
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Having lived in the South, I have watched the redistricting
battles rage since the census of 2010 was complete. With Southern states being
an overwhelmingly one party state and the census creating the impetus for
redistricting, a systematic plan to negate minority vote has been underway.
With the Supreme Court decision on the books, this voter discrimination has
been sanctioned by the highest court in the United States.
On Tuesday, June 25, 2013, the Supreme Court repealed
Section 4[iii]
of the Voters Rights Act (VRA). Section 4 was the formula that had been
utilized to give federal oversight to states who had shown a history of voter
discrimination. Section 4 of the VRA directly impacts Section 5 of the VRA.
Section 5 requires states who meet the requirements of Section 4 submit to the
Justice Department for pre-approval all changes to the voting or election laws
or redistricting of state or congressional lines. The Supreme Court has
determined that the formula utilized in Section 4 to regulate which states
should have this oversight is outdated and potentially unnecessary. It has
charged Congress to re-work the formula for Section 4. However, as long as Section 4 is deemed
unconstitutional, there is no way for the Justice Department to enforce Section
5.
Until the formula is re-worked, there is no legal recourse
for oversight by the Justice Department in matters of redistricting and laws
requiring everything from birth certificates to driver’s license to even poll
taxes in individual states. The Supreme Court has said that the state has a
right to govern itself and is capable of doing so in a fair, just manner
without interference from the federal government.
I wonder, what South they have been visiting?
The minute I heard this decision I knew with the fiber of my
being that my vote for state and congressional elections would continue to be a
token vote that indicated my disapproval of the system. I knew that my state legislators
and congressional leaders were going to continue to be influenced not by the
will of the people but by money and powerful lobbyists because the lines they
had drawn throughout Georgia were going to stand. My community will continue to
be divided in such a way that my voice is guaranteed to be a unheard one.
North Carolina provides an excellent case history for how
this is being accomplished. Despite the fact that North Carolina has 2.2
million black voters, redistricting has seen to it that their collective voice
has been overshadowed. State legislation
has carefully sliced the state up placing black and minority voters in districts
that guarantee a one party majority. They have basically rigged the elections
to ensure that those in power can maintain their strangle hold on the North Carolina
State Legislative body and on the Senate and Congressional seats.[iv]
When the redistricting of my state was complete in 2011,
Rep. John Lewis (D) stated that the redistricting was “an affront to the spirit
and letter of the Voters Right Act.”[v]
The redistricting was so skewed that one party has insured their future political
victories. This is why the Supreme Court’s ruling is so devastating. This
redistricting has been sanctioned. Although I am sure redistricting issues for
individual states will come before the courts again and will likely be found unconstitutional
and discriminatory, in the intervening years citizens will be forced to live in
an apartheid like atmosphere. In this atmosphere laws will be created by a
white, largely male minority throughout the South. Relying upon a Congress with
the lowest approval rating in our nation’s history[vi]
to find a fair way to draw district lines is like relying on a sieve not to
leak. Unfortunately it isn’t water that
is running straight through our political system, it is the rights of every
minority of sex, color, creed, sexual orientation or religious affiliation.
As a Pagan the mixed messages of the Supreme Court this week
has left my heart heavy and shaken my belief in the country and laws that I love
and respect. With state’s rights the battle cry, this war is likely to be as
emotionally scaring and traumatizing as the Civil War. This New Civil War is
one that is utilizing cold war tactics to pit us against each other. Even as
the courts proclaim we are equal in the law it is simultaneously saying
individual states have the right to restrict and disenfranchise people based on
their opinion, color, and sexual orientation. It has created a world where
living in one state over another will mean different freedoms for different
people. So many seem to be cheering around me without completely understanding
the full weight of the coming fights ahead. The Supreme Court itself has tried
to deflect responsibility to the state level only to guarantee that these
fights will reappear before them. It isn’t just voting and marriage I worry
about. It is the right to have a body without government imposed restrictions.
It is the right to worship without fear of losing a job, house or state
benefits. It is the right to have a congressional and state governing body that
accurately reflects the opinions and will of the people regardless of how
varied they are.
In this New Civil War it is crucial that we win the fight of
exposing “state’s rights” as a euphemism for “power to the powerful” or “right
to restrict individuals in the name of sovereign government.” The principle of
our country was not that individual states have rights superseding the rights
of individuals. The Declaration of Independence said “We the people...” have
rights and no authority can willfully, maliciously and methodically destroy the
rights of us, the people. Not England. Not the United States Government. Not an
individual state or city.
These are real issues and it seems to me that now more than
every minority persons should stand together. This is why being closeted in any
minority matter is dangerous. If we are quiet, uneducated and unmoved by the
trials and tribulations of other minorities then we are easily picked off.
Women’s bodies become property of the government first and themselves second.
(Please see the current fight occurring in the Texas State legislator over
women’s bodies.[vii])
The right to love is determined by the state in which you live in. (Please note
the Supreme Court decisions do not require other states to guarantee equal
marriage under the law. You could be legally married in one state, transferred
to another and lose all the rights and even the legal marriage by becoming a
legal resident of another state.) The right to federal government allowances is
based upon an address not upon the inalienable rights we are born with. (Once
married, if you move from a state that allows equal marriage you could lose
your federal benefits by moving out of that state.) Freedom of religion could slowly
become defined as freedom of religion as sanctioned by the state governments. When we stand together gloriously revealed in
our uniqueness and unquailed by the disapproval of society, our volume and mass
will be undeniable. Difficult and dark days are ahead which makes it more
important than ever that our light with its unique hues of sexual orientation,
color, belief and opinion be set ablaze and unimpeded.
Now more than ever we should turn our discussion to fair
voting practices that must include fair drawing of congressional and state
lines so our nation can find its political identity without the forced
influence of one group. We must stand against any restrictions states legislate
that will create apartheid in the United States of America. This new apartheid
permits a largely white minority to
rule over the majority through
legislation and law because the majority is seen as less competent or desirable
due to the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, creed, opinion or
spiritual and religious affiliation. This is not just a race or color issue! We
must educate ourselves about HOW voting can be influenced by our state
legislators and work as advocates for fair voting practices.
PAGAN LEADERS AND CIVIL RIGHTS
All of that said, allow me to given an opinion about the
challenges some leaders in the pagan community may be facing. The same
challenges faced by Southern Black Church ministers during the Civil Rights
Movement. Is religion a place where politics should be discussed? What is the
role of spiritual leaders in the political fights? Where is that line? How is
it defined?
The argument seems to be that political issues should only
be approached if the other side is utilizing some religious or spiritual reason
for creating restricting laws. Pagans
support gay marriage because marriage shouldn’t be defined by the government as
it infringes on the separation of church and state. So pagans come out in force
to support this issue. Most pagans come out in force to support a woman’s right
to choose because the other side utilizes divine creation of the one God as a
reason to protect a fetus’ right above the rights of the mother. Again a
separation of church and state can be called upon. Many pagans stand up for
ecological issues because this is at the heart of our belief system because we
are, by many definitions, an earth-centric religion. So pagans fight for rights
when they infringe upon our direct religious rights and when they directly
infringe upon our strongly held spiritual beliefs (the Earth is sacred and
should be protected).
Yet when the presented with knowledge that an apartheid like
atmosphere is being created in our own country, pagans are silent.
This silence is in essence turning away from another principle
of earth-centric religion.
Thou art God. Thou art Goddess.
Our silence says, “Thou art God, if you are white or if your
issues reflect a direct impact upon my spirituality.”
“Thou art Goddess, only if your problems directly infringe
upon my religious freedom.”
And in this division, apartheid legislation will become a
norm unchallenged. It is the classic deflection and deferral, “I am pagan and I
am not black, so these laws will not affect me.” This line of thinking lacks a
foresight and vision that I feel is another spiritual cornerstone of
earth-centric spirituality:
We are one.
The Divine spark in me is also the Divine spark in the Earth
is also the Divine spark in my husband and son is also the Divine spark in
every single person I meet. It is this Divinity within us that causes me to say
in circle, “Thou art God; Thou art Goddess.” We, as pagans, can see that we are
all connected and that our success as humanity relies upon our ability to
understand when one group is failed, restricted, oppressed, at the very least
this energy invades us, affects us and ultimately by default defines us. We are
all citizens of the United States. That single energetic tie is enough to have
the oppression of others affect all citizens, all of us, regardless of our
color.
As a pagan people we are seen as a minority religion within
the United States. Lady Liberty League will tell you that plenty of pagans are
fighting for the right to be pagan without that identity affecting their state
rights to housing, living without fear of violent reprisal or state’s
restricting when and where they can worship. Since we acknowledge symbiosis, is it so far
from pagan belief that the fight of what is largely perceived as a race issue
could, without warning, become an issue of your rights regarding spiritual
practices?
The persons seeking to suppress the black and the Latino vote
may not be satisfied taking out their hatred of differences by suppressing race
alone and may move to restrict belief as well. Without the Voters Rights Act in full affect, there is no minority
group or opinion that has recourse. We may wake to find this one
party system we silently endorse turned against us – pagans, witches, Wiccans,
Asatru, Druids, other spiritualist, atheists – by demanding we bend to the will
of a state government who has decided that Mormonism is the only religion
allowed in Utah or Christianity as defined by the state government is the only
religion allowed in Georgia. This subversive green light to suppress all that
is different will allow bigots to come out to our gatherings and make getting
permits difficult. Will embolden state parks to prohibit us from gathering
there. Will encourage police officials to continue to discriminate because our
cars have bumper stickers that proclaim, “Goddess Worshipper.” This one
allowance of the dismissal of the VRA could lead to a United States that is
five times harder to live in as a pagan than it is right now. The right to vote
is guaranteed under the constitution. The weakening of that right should put us
on notice that any constitutional right, including freedom of religion, can be
weaken by states and for now would be doing so under the banner of state’s
rights and with the approval of the Supreme Court.
We must be ready to ban together, each of these different perceived minorities of race, sexual orientation, creed and spiritual belief to guarantee all minority rights under the law. We must not let a forced apartheid come down and reign in this great nation. Our silence is not a refusal to engage. It is an acceptance of behavior that is outside of our fundamental beliefs as pagans. Change will come when our congress and state legislative bodies are overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of those they seek to oppress[viii].
Other Pagan Leaders Speaking Out
Know Thyself by T. Thorn Coyle; Stand for Love
Pagan in Paradise by Peter Dybing; Water Dragons, Profound Disappointment and Tears of Joy
Pagan in Paradise by Peter Dybing; Water Dragons, Profound Disappointment and Tears of Joy
If you would like to see how difficult or easy it can be to
redistrict areas to ensure one outcome over another, visit FairVote.org. The
above graphic was generated by FairVote.org whose website has several different
tools and games to help educate students and you about redistricting.
Additionally, the website Redifstricting.lls.edu is another excellent site with
information on each state and their current voter laws and redistricting
practices.
Quote and Reprint with permission to lydia @ birthinghereditarywitchcraft.com
Cillizza,, Chris. "What the Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act decision means for politics." Washing Post.
25 Jun 2013: The Fix Blog on the Washington Post. Web. 1 Jul. 2013.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/06/25/what-the-voting-rights-act-decision-means-for-politics/>.
Department of Justice, C. R. D.. N.p.. Web. 1 Jul 2013. <http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/misc/sec_4.php>.
[iv] Cillizza,, Chris. "What the Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act decision means for politics." Washing Post.
25 Jun 2013: The Fix Blog on the Washington Post. Web. 1 Jul. 2013.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/06/25/what-the-voting-rights-act-decision-means-for-politics/>.
[v] Rob Richie; Lindsey Needham, , ed. N.p.. Web. 1 Jul 2013.<http://www.fairvote.org/fair-voting-solution#.Uc3W4U7D9JJ>.
[iv]Brown, Alyssa. "Congress Approval Remains in a Slump." Gallup Politics. 2013. <http://www.gallup.com/poll/161771/congress-approval-remains-slump.asp&xgt;.
[vi]CBS, AP. "Texas Gov. Rick Perry calls 2nd special session to pass abortion bill." CBS News
[Austin, TX] 27 June 2013, 2:45 PM ET n. pag. Web. 1 Jul. 2013.
<http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57591221/texas-gov-rick-perry-calls-2nd-special-session-to-pass-abortion-bill/>.
[viii] I
recently saw an interview where another civil rights elder quoted something
similar and attributed it to Martin Luther King, Jr. I could not verify this
quote; however, you can please feel free to email me at lydia @ birthinghereditarywitchcraft.com
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