I am Mike Miller. My preferred pronouns are him and he. I am a man. And I am sitting here writing this wearing khaki shorts and a blue T-shirt!
Does anyone really think that intro deserves to go viral? Given, some might think it is a bit strange, without the proper context but it’s hard to understand how it is controversial in almost any context. And yet, that is what happened when Vice President Kamala Harris, made a similar statement at the beginning of her remarks to meeting to discuss disability rights. You would have thought that VP Harris said something akin to “George Washington was a traitor,” the way the right-wing media went viral with a video clip of her remarks.
Now the context. She was speaking at a group to discuss disability rights. Some members of the audience were blind. Some members of the community were members of the LGBTQ community. The introductory remarks that she used to introduce herself were perfectly appropriate given the audience to whom she was speaking. The people in attendance at the meeting didn’t go nuts because of the remarks – it was the Republican National Committee and the right-wing media. No doubt it was an effort to continue beating the drum about ‘the radical left.’
The conversation should have been about ‘disability rights’ and how the government can ensure and help expand those rights. However, it is very clear that the Republicans and the right-wing media are more interested in fomenting more cultural wars than addressing real issues that affect millions of Americans. What this tells me is that the Republican party and the conservative media are not really ‘pro-life.’ If they were really ‘pro-life’ they would want to engage the disabled community in talks to find solutions to problems rather then embark on a senseless media blitz over innocuous remarks made by the Vice President.
This is all part of a larger theme within the Republican party and the conservative media who continue to bang the drum and shout slogans about being ‘pro-life.’ The country (and the globe) is being ravaged by unrelenting heat waves, wildfires, flooding and droughts, all of which have been scientifically linked to climate change. And what are the Republicans and the right-wing media doing about it? Nothing. They are blocking virtually every effort to enact legislation to address this existential issue facing the world. If this problem is not addressed – more people will die.
Gun violence has infected our society like a virus. Assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, which in my opinion, have no business in a civilized society, are available to almost anyone over the age of 18. In states like Montana, no permit is required to carry a concealed weapon, and the consequences of that law played out last night here in Bozeman. Two men got in an argument at the local Walmart. One of the men pulled a gun and shot the other. In the ‘old days’ they might have gone out to the parking lot, gotten in a fight, and walked away with bloody noses, black eyes and possibly a citation for disturbing the peace. Now there is one man in the hospital and another man probably facing a prison sentence.
In spite of the spate of mass shootings in this country and this plague of gun violence that is resulting in more than 100 Americans dying every single day from firearms, the Republicans and the conservative media go absolutely apoplectic at the mere mention of any type of control law at all. They have blocked almost every common-sense gun law that has come up and continue to be adamantly opposed to a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. Given the unwillingness of the Republican party and the conservative media to address this problem – more people will die.
While the Republicans and the conservative media dance the ‘happy dance’ due to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the maternity mortality rate in the United States is amongst the highest in the industrialized world. What is being done to address that problem? Exactly zero. The same people who are overjoyed because Roe v. Wade was overturned are the same people who are absolutely opposed on spending money on social issues such as how to improve the maternal mortality rate in this country. The net result of overturning Roe v. Wade is that – more people will die.
It is very clear to me that the Republican party and the conservative media are not ‘pro-life’ as they claim. If there were really ‘pro-life’ they would be more amenable to addressing some of these problems that are resulting in thousands of American deaths. The continued focus on starting and fueling these senseless cultural wars are nothing more than a thinly veiled effort to grab and retain power. And the Republican attitude seems to be that if it cost thousands of lives to accomplish their goals its just the ‘cost of doing business.’ Americans have become no more than cannon fodder and collateral damage.
Pro-life my ass!!!