A Qualified Happy Independence Day.

Happy uh...happy fourth of...ugh...I can't even say it. Hey, do you suppose that MAGA people get that when anyone says things like "we're living in the darkest timeline" or refers to the now times as "this trash fire in which we burn" they know that there's an unspoken "because of you?" Because there is.

Pictured: everything wrong with everything.

"Ha! That's a good one. We didn't get
where we are today with decency."

-Republicans

Here's the thing. Right now, we basically living under redcap rule. Like, Trump lost the 2020 election, but thanks to the three Supreme Court Justices he somehow got to appoint, our civil liberties are getting chipped away at and we're watching helplessly as they take up a case to decide whether or not state legislatures can just throw out election results. A decision which will--baring a sudden sense of decency on the part of Republican officials--be used to install a Republican President in 2024 regardless of how people vote. 

"Sure, I believe in body autonomy,
but it really should be up to the States."

 -women, according to the GOP

It's bleak. And I just really want to know where they think this goes? Like, sure, they can overturn Roe v Wade, but women are still going to seek reproductive care, so really all they've done is made it more dangerous. Like, women are going to die because of this. And striking down New York's ban on canceled carry right after yet another mass shooting? And the EPA case? What the actual? And then Clarance "My Wife is Pro-Coup" Thomas ticked off a couple more past Court decisions he'd like to overturn including marriage equality. As though the LGBTQ+ community is going to just stop being like, super gay. 

They're anti-women, anti-gay, anti-trans, anti-democracy, and racist and what does any of what they've done or stand for accomplish other than making people miserable, and the world a more dangerous place? And for what? What are they getting out of this? Is it...is it a sex thing? Do Republicans get off on hurting people? Because I'm out of ideas here...

"Whoa, whoa, that is a broad generalization to suggest that all Republicans derive
sexual pleasure from human misery. Yes, most of us do, but others are just assholes."

-Ron DeSantis, setting the record straight

"By the authority of Nancy Pelosi and
Antifa, I now pronounce you gay married."

-what the right think 

marriage equality means

Look, I'm not saying that as Americans we can't disagree, but when one side's worldview actively excludes the other's rights we have a problem. With one side it's no abortion, no exceptions. Marriage is between a man and a woman. And guns. All the guns. With the other it's if you don't believe in abortion, then don't have one. If you don't want to get gay married, don't get gay married. Guns? Ok, but you know, within some reasonable boundaries, I mean, they're dangerous in the wrong hands. Look, I don't actually own any American flag-themed cowboy hats or Punisher skull decals, but which of the sides sounds more pro-independence?

I guess where I'm going with this is that I think we need to reclaim Independence Day before I can feel good about celebrating it again. I mean, we--the left, progressives, maybe even the few on the right who see this nonsense for what it is--are the ones who value personal freedom and choice. The right just plasters flags all over their pickup trucks and then threatens to shoot anyone who doesn't see things their way which despite everything, is not what we stand for. So I say: a qualified Happy Independence Day to you.

Which means: Happy Independence Day and expand the Court,
Black Lives Matter, Trans rights are human rights, and fuck the GOP.