Losing our freedoms on the road to becoming the Divided Fascist States of America



Chris Preece
Thu, July 7, 2022 

I enjoy my freedom as an American, free speech, freedom to worship how I like, and the comfort of knowing my kid will have opportunities to reach his full potential. This America, the one we have loved but had some tough times with, may be ending. Likely ending sooner than we think.

My wife, many loved ones, and half our population had their right to bodily autonomy (to do with their own body as they see fit) recently ripped from them by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and Kentucky State Legislature. Kentucky’s law on abortion has NO exceptions for rape or incest and only a narrow exemption for the life of the mother. Our wives, daughters, mothers, and friends now have their bodies controlled by our government. This is the first time in American history that SCOTUS has taken rights away from people regarding bodily autonomy.

Access to an abortion had been upheld by SCOTUS for 49 years under the view that we have a right to privacy and bodily autonomy. Since the right to privacy and bodily freedom are being whittled away, Justice Thomas has expressed interest in reexamining our right to contraception (condoms and birth control), as well as our right to marry whomever we love. All these cases center around sex. Do you want the government in your sex life? I do not.

Also, if we do not have a right to privacy, the government could start invading our cars, homes, phones, or worse. Yes, this is extrapolating to make a point. If SCOTUS is not afraid to strip reproductive rights away, how far are they willing to go?

SCOTUS has agreed to hear a case next term (Moore v. Harper) about state legislatures being able to control federal elections, potentially going as far as to allow state electors to cast votes for whomever they like regardless of how we, the people, vote. If SCOTUS allows state legislators to control these elections, the states could make up their own rules and ignore our votes. Then we would no longer have a democracy. Let that sink in. We could potentially no longer have a democracy. Each state would have its own rules on federal elections, and our country would be even more divided Red v. Blue.

Our lives have increasingly gotten harder. Harder to buy gas, food, and a place to live. This is designed to keep us regular folks too busy to pay attention to politics. Now, I ask you to stand up and fight back against SCOTUS and their decisions to strip away our rights and democracy.

You may feel that your actions don’t matter, but they do. We all have a voice and a vote. When we talk to our friends and get more people involved, we amplify our voices. I help organize a group of concerned citizens, Bluegrass Reproductive Justice Coalition, to push back against our government. Check out our Facebook page. If you want to push back against our government in general, you can start your own group or join groups like Kentuckians for the Commonwealth or The Poor People’s Campaign.

Actions you can take now: join a group with a common cause, start your own group, contact all your friends and get them informed and engaged, contact Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin to abolish the filibuster, expand SCOTUS, codify Roe, and pass Voting Rights and US Term Limits.

America needs us all to stand up for our freedoms right now. If we don’t fight, fascism will gladly take all our freedoms, leaving us as the Divided Fascist States of America.

Chris Preeece is a high school science teacher in Berea, comic book creator, new dad, and former Democrat candidate for U.S. Congress in Kentucky’s 6th congressional district.