The leak of the draft Supreme Court opinion on Roe v Wade is the second attack on Fort Sumter. It is the beginning of the second American Civil War. Lawrence Martin writes:
Although its reputation has been bruised in recent times, the Supreme Court was the one remaining branch of government for which Americans maintained a level of trust. That’s gone now.
Not only is there a wide disconnect between the Supreme Court and the American population on this vital issue (poll after poll shows that two-thirds of Americans wish to uphold Roe), there’s also the stunning hypocrisy of two of the court’s justices, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch. Both had indicated in their Senate confirmation hearings that they would uphold Roe, but now they’ve given their backing to a draft ruling that would accomplish just the opposite. What credibility do they have now?
The decision will split the country in half. One half of the country will allow abortion. The other half will ban abortion. What will follow is a battle royal. Americans have lost faith in the last of its three governmental institutions.
Winston Churchill said that Americans eventually will do the right thing. No more.
Image: Detroit Free Press
8 comments:
There is a map of the lower 48 with prolife shaded one way and prochoice shaded differently. It looked similar to an historical map showing the Confedrate states and the Union states.
I would argue, Owen, that it is not the beginning of a second Civil War but the continuation of one that has been raging for many, many years. I think of all the measures over the years to keep Black people in their place, the gerrymandering of districts aimed at achieving certain results, the voter suppression that has long been part of American history, etc.
As Abraham Lincoln so astutely observed, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."
There are some northern states, like the Dakotas, that are poised to ban abortion, Steve. But the majority of those who object are in the Old Confederacy.
You're right, Lorne. The effect of the ruling will be to keep what Southerners used to call "the uppity" in their place.
The Americans have never really decided whether their constitutional rights apply beyond white, male land- and slave-owners. There was a time in the twentieth century when the Supreme Court thought they did, but the court seems to have returned to its historical norm as the deeply reactionary body that churned out decisions like Dred Scott v Sandford (people of African descent, free or enslaved, were not US citizens and had no right to sue in federal court) and Plessy v Ferguson (upholding racial segregation).
Cap
Precisely, Cap. This decision is a defiant march backward into the past.
I believe Lorne is right. This is just a continuation of a wound that never heals, even after some 170 some years. With any luck it may lead to some culmination, a reckoning.
As Lorne reminds us, Mound, "a house divided cannot stand." One wonders what will be left when the battle is finished.
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