Let’s talk about voting rights. The vote is at the heart of our democratic system of government. While the percentage of U.S. citizens who exercise this right is disappointingly small, they still have the right.
When the right to vote was established, the group of white men only extended that right to white men like themselves. Years passed, the USA evolved (supposedly), became more humane (supposedly), and those white men were pressured into extending voting rights to non-whites (sort of) and women (gasp).
Right away, lots of these white men saw these voters would work against the privileges for so long belonging to only them. They promoted feelings of inferiority in these new voters; when those tactics failed to keep the riffraff away from the polls, they turned to violence against those uppity voters.
But alas, these new voters refused to be cowed. That was when these elites put their heads together, realized they had the power to enact laws creating roadblocks to do what cajoling and violence could not. And this is where we are today.
Once more, Congress could support rights versus stymie them. Will the fear and greed of the dinosaurs prevail, or will the people win out? Stay tuned.
