Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Wrong Side of History

 

As the voting rights battles continue to spread in states controlled by the Republican Party in 2022, it isn’t lost on those of us who actively participated in the civil rights movement in the 60s that these were some of the same battles Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., waged 60 years ago.

Now, as then, certain conservatives try to restrict minorities and poor people from exercising their right to vote without acknowledging the racism and classism inherent in their efforts.

Instead they make excuses about trying to prevent fraudulent election results, when in fact they are the ones perpetuating fraud by erecting logistical hurdles that making voting difficult for others.

This will stop only if and when a solid majority of conservatives make it stop. Because a society cannot legislate the end of hate. As MLK’s birthday came and went again this year, it was a reminder not only of how far we have come in the U.S. but how far we have to go.

Structural racism is a persistent factor in the current voting rights struggles; otherwise they could be dismissed as simply a competition between two political parties for power. 

Even then, if the only way one party could win was by artificially suppressing the vote by members of the other party, that would be a shallow victory, one that would be on the wrong side of history and the wrong side of the quest for justice.

TUESDAY’s NEWS:

TODAY’S LYRICS:

“Dream Lover”

Bobby Darin

Best Cover: Rick Nelson

Every night I hope and pray
A dream lover will come my way
A girl to hold in my arms
And know the magic of her charms
'Cause I want (yeah-yeah, yeah)
A girl (yeah-yeah, yeah)
To call (yeah-yeah, yeah)
My own (yeah-yeah)
I want a dream lover
So I don't have to dream alone

Dream lover, where are you
With a love, oh, so true
And the hand that I can hold
To feel you near as I grow old
'Cause I want (yeah-yeah, yeah)
A girl (yeah-yeah, yeah)
To call (yeah-yeah, yeah)
My own (yeah-yeah, yeah)
I want a dream lover
So I don't have to dream alone

Someday, I don't know how
I hope she'll hear my plea
Some way, I don't know how
She'll bring her love to me

Dream lover, until then
I'll go to sleep and dream again
That's the only thing to do
Till all my lover's dreams come true
'Cause I want (yeah-yeah, yeah)
A girl (yeah-yeah, yeah)
To call (yeah-yeah, yeah)
My own (yeah-yeah, yeah)
I want a dream lover
So I don't have to dream alone

Dream lover, until then
I'll go to sleep and dream again
That's the only thing to do
Till all my lover's dreams come true
'Cause I want (yeah-yeah, yeah)
A girl (yeah-yeah, yeah)
To call (yeah-yeah, yeah)
My own (yeah-yeah)
I want a dream lover
So I don't have to dream alone

Please don't make me dream alone
I beg you don't make me dream alone
No, I don't wanna dream alone

No comments: