My Constitutional Rights!
My sister, Debbie, and I still laugh about a story she told me 30 years ago when my son, Malik, was about 11 years old. One afternoon, he and his buddy, Gabe, who lived across the street, were caught jumping up and down on our sofa hollering, laughin’, and having a funky good time.
For a little while, Aunt Debbie just stood there and watched. When she could stand no more she told them to get down but, Gabe kept jumping and yelled in an authoritative voice,
“Hey Woman, I do whatta’ want!”
Oh! Oh! Malik said as he jumped off. At that point, Aunt Debbie snarled at Gabe. ” Boy, I’ll slap your ass off that couch, ” and with wide eyes, he immediately jumped down. And, and what did Gabe do after that I asked my sister. She laughed, “He sat his ass down”.
Little Boy Are You Crazy?
I was still laughing as she resumed the story. “Later, Malik told me I had traumatized his friend. I probably told him ‘too bad.’ He’d traumatized poor Natalie (Gabe’s mild-mannered Step-mom), and anyway, he should have sat his ass down.
I’m sure no one had ever talked to him like that before, she proceeded, “But, he deserved it.” What I know is that Gabe should never have opened his “I have my rights!” mouth because my sister is no slouch.
My Freedom of Speech.
My Freedom of Expression.
A few Father’s Day ago, a nephew in Sudan posted a cartoon on Facebook of a husband dragging his wife across the floor by her hair. I guess, to symbolize men’s rights. Ha! Ha! In protest, I wrote that it promoted violence against women, and wasn’t funny at all.
He typed back, “I have freedom of speech!”I responded, “Boy, you live in a dictatorship! You have no freedom.” I don’t think he appreciated my comment. So all around the world, even under the rule of oppressive regimes, we’ve got people claiming they have “freedom of speech.”
A Bunch of Cry Babies in America.
Overnight, it seems, people across this country have turned into hardheaded bleating little boys and girls. Whenever I hear them express outrage and holla’ about their rights, I recall Gabe’s protest, “I do whatta’ want.” There’s a desperate need for Aunt Debbie.
The “My Rights” choir.
First: I don’t wanna’ wear a mask; my hands are clean. I refuse to live my life in fear. It’s my right! You can’t make me!
Second: I can call 911on any person, especially a Black one, I feel poses a threat. That’s my constitutional right!
Third: Kick all the immigrants out. Hunt down all the illegals. Lock their kids in cages. They don’t belong here. I’m an American dammit!
Fourth: It’s my Second Amendment right if I want to carry my 9mm semi-automatic pistol and shoot up the mall. Mind your business.
And finally, from the American wanna’ be Mafia Don President, “It’s my prerogative as Commander in Chief to declare war on any U.S. citizens if I whatta!”
Sidebar: Whoa, Mr. President, that might be taking it too far according to some former and current military Generals including Colin Powell and even Trump supporters.
Don’t all Americans have “Constitutional Rights”?
Yes, they do except when it comes to disagreements on the rights of others. Then the Constitution and Bill of Rights, become irrelevant.
1. Take Roe v. Wade. The landmark legal decision issued on January 22, 1973, in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Texas statute banning abortion, effectively legalizing the procedure across the United States.
2. The Court ruled that a state law that prohibited abortions except to save the mother’s life was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment.
3. As a result, there hasn’t been a day since it passed when the religious right and “pro-life” groups haven’t tried one way or another to get that decision overturned or at least restricted.
What a bunch of hypocrites.
So what happened to a woman’s constitutional right to do what the hell she wants with her body? Consequently, why should a fetus’s rights supersede hers? I mean, spare me. The day a fetus walks out of a uterus under its own steam and gets a job, I’ll consider their argument.
Have You Even Read The Entire Document?
A. Most Americans have not. I haven’t read it in its entirety and, I’m sure you haven’t either. Average Americans saying they read it in full is as ridiculous as hearing Trump supporters say they read the entire 700 pages of the Mueller report.
B. What the majority of Americans know about the Constitution is the teaspoon they learned in school. They told us about the Bill of Rights, and maybe we had to memorize the preamble to the Constitution.
C. Psst…by the way, Black folks, those original tests didn’t include you. As for you, women, your country has still not passed the Equal Rights Amendment.
We didn’t mean you.
In the meantime, tens of thousands of Americans are in the streets to protest unjust practices that deny Black people their Constitutional Rights. People have the right to peaceably “assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
All Things Are Equal Until.
It’s like religious folks who pick and choose which passages benefit them most. For example, the Koran says. Women and Men are different but equal. But, lots of Muslim men violate the words of their Prophet every day when they subjugate women.
Likewise, Christians are not exempt, either? Evangelical preachers condemn “unchurched people” for their sexual preferences and infringe on their fundamental human rights. They judge other people based on their spiritual and political perspectives. Behavior that is clearly condemned in the Bible.
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So, in celebration of the Bill of Rights, I’m going to’ do whatever I want today. Say what I want, jump up and down on my sofa, watch what the hell I wanna’ watch on TV, take ten naps and leave dirty dishes in the sink for my husband. Nah, I’ll do them. They’re all mine anyway. But, I could if I wanted. I’d only be exercising my Constitutional Right to be lazy.
To-Do List.
During this pandemic, I suggest we all take the time to read those three documents. Go ahead; it won’t take long, and then when you open your mouth to whine about your rights, you’ll know what they are. Or watch the “School House Rock” videos on how our government works and school yourself.“