Soapbox

This is a scary moment. This term, the 6-3 hyper-partisan supermajority on the Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments on some of the most consequential cases of our lifetime. These cases open the door to gutting gun safety laws, further rolling back a woman’s right to choose and undermining clean air protections.

Our fundamental rights hang in the balance. But there’s a way to fight back, which is why I’m urging Congress to pass the Judiciary Act of 2021.

The Judiciary Act would rebalance the Supreme Court by adding four new seats, giving us 13 judges in total. It’s just what we need to move away from extremely partisan rulings and make the court a more unbiased institution –and its been done before. In fact, Congress has changed the size of the Supreme Court seven times already in our nation’s history.

It’s time for Congress to get on board with this crucial bill before it’s too late.

– Donald Wiseman, Bayfield

Learning not to divide

Listening to a recent episode of “The Engines of Our Ingenuity,” author Andrew Boyd gave a historical look at our coinage in the U.S. and how it represents our culture. He wrote: “Liberty. Out of many, one. In God we trust.”

U.S. coins offer a fascinating perspective on American culture. U.S. citizens are free to act as they choose – members of a republic founded on individual liberty. Yet, e pluribus unum recognizes that the many must band together as one for the common good. And though the nation strives toward the highest ideals, it constantly grapples with conflicting principles. “In God we trust” is a foundational belief for most Americans, but for some, it violates the separation of church and state. Yet there it appears on one of the great symbols of American power.

As I heard this, I thought about the recent news coverage of Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert who publicly insulted Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Muslim, saying she was part of the “Jihad squad.” What an amazing holiday gift it would be for Boebert to reject the divisive, acrimonious, threatening, accusation-filled rhetoric of the far right, and think about the common good.

E pluribus unum, a republic that stands or falls as one. All the pseudo-patriotism I see represented by gun-toting, flag-flying “patriots” espousing freedom (but not for anyone with a differing opinion, religion or color) pales in comparison with the real patriotism of someone who can work for the common good by trying to bring us together. Those coins we hold in our hands represent diversity and liberty and union. We will struggle, as Boyd notes, with conflicting principles, but we must keep the highest ideal – the common good. Try walking your talk Congresswoman Boebert, and when you talk about “this great nation,” try not to tear down what others before you have sacrificed so much to build up.