Someone Should Write a Book About This…

Oh, They Already Have.

A New Year dawns, and with it, hope rises, possibilities seem endless, and optimism is boundless. For each of you, I hope your dreams are fulfilled, your needs are met, and you persevere with your resolutions, at least through January. For our broader society, I hope we once again embrace history and civics (we seem to have forgotten much), remember our roots as a country of immigrants, and choose democracy over authoritarianism. However, given the aspirational nature of those goals, it is perhaps prudent to evaluate our point of origin.

As I have ruminated about the events of 2023, I continue to conclude that you can’t make this craziness up. And yet, pondering the dystopian worlds of Atwood, Orwell, Burgess, Huxley, Bradbury, and more recent dystopian authors such as Chan, Collins, and Dalcher, it becomes clear that the human imagination is prolific. Unfortunately, I often fear that we have crossed the Rubicon from artistry to reality. Lack of abortion rights, banning LGBTQ+ health care, proliferating gun access, book banning, hostility to immigrants, reduction in social welfare programs, ethical violations by the Supreme Court, and one major political party that is incapable of governance are the realities of our current situation. The plot similarities between reality and dystopian hell are rebarbative.

Let’s begin with the relatively rapid erosion of abortion rights in the year since the Dobbs’ decision. In the recent past, I would have argued that the graphic descriptions of physicians being killed for previously performing abortions, as described by Margaret Atwood in The Handmaid’s Tale, was inconceivable, “The men wear white coats, like those worn by doctors or scientists… Each has a placard hung around his neck to show why he has been executed: a drawing of a human foetus.”  And yet, what, in the recent past, appeared to be a chasm between fiction and reality is now more of a shallow gully. Consider Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s comments threatening physicians and reminding them that following a judge’s ruling “will not insulate hospitals, doctors or anyone else from civil and criminal liability.”  Bills introduced in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, and South Carolina since Dobbs have attempted to legislate that life begins at conception and those interfering are guilty of murder. Each of these states still retains the death penalty for murder. And while many of these bills will not pass, the leap from reality to fantasy has narrowed. You can connect the dots.

It appears, however, that we are not inclined to sit idly by and watch our rights be destroyed as those in The Handmaid’s Tale did. As Atwood describes, “That was when they suspended the Constitution. They said it would be temporary. There wasn’t even any rioting in the streets. People stayed home at night, watching television, looking for some direction. There wasn’t even an enemy you could put your finger on.”  Rather than nonchalantly waiting for the proverbial “next shoe to drop,” ballet initiatives to protect the fundamental right to an abortion have exploded. Continuing the winning streak of 2022 when California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, and Vermont either protected the right to abortion or defeated initiatives that would have codified bans in constitutions, the citizens of Ohio in 2023 also overwhelmingly voted to protect abortion rights.

“There wasn’t even an enemy you could put your finger on.”

Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale

I’m sure you remember that in his concurring opinion in Dobbs, Justice Kavanagh insisted that his decision was grounded in the idea that states, not the federal government, should determine the future of abortion. In what would have been a humorous inconsistency for the right (not that unusual) if it were not so monumental, it appears that states want the authority to control abortion, but they really need their citizens to make the “correct” determination at the ballot box. Consequently, some leaders in Ohio, fearful of defeat, swiftly attempted to change the rules on constitutional amendments – and were roundly rebuked. However, it remains clear that some leaders in Ohio have little faith in the democratic process – the “wrong” decision might be made. As Orwell explained in Animal Farm, “He would be only too happy to let you make your own decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?” The opinion of those on the right seems to be that states should make decisions on abortions – as long as they are the “correct” decisions. You can connect the dots.

Alongside the apocalyptic hellscape that has become the battle over reproductive freedom, book banning has gained momentum. The 2022-23 school year saw an increase of 33% in the number of book bans, and unsurprisingly, most of these books have characters of color or LGBTQ+ characters. Florida and Texas lead the way, with Missouri, Utah, and Pennsylvania rounding out the top five. Areas with local chapters of groups such as Moms for Liberty are much more likely to face challenges to school and community libraries. A quick search of the Moms for Liberty website (which sells an amazing amount of merchandise) states, “The organization's mission is to organize, educate, and empower parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.”  In addition, the website prominently quotes John Adams, who said, “Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom.”  I’m not sure that either the mission or the quote by Adams is particularly offensive – a clever mechanism to hide behind what appears to be a mundane undertaking. Of course, their propaganda presupposes that only one correct set of parental rights exists. I struggle with understanding how they can determine what books every child reads without trampling the parental rights of those desiring their children to have access to the banned books.  I would be remiss if I also didn’t ask if the “principles of freedom” that co-founder Bridget Ziegler and her husband Christian Ziegler were interested in teaching involve rape and video voyeurism – copious levels of hypocrisy.

Mission Statement: Moms for Liberty is dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.

“Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom.”

John Adams

Book bans have historically never been a good look. A plethora of dystopian novels either burn books, ban books, or limit who can read books. Fireman Beatty, in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, tells a woman clinging to her books, “Where is your common sense? None of these books agree with each other. You’ve been locked up here for years with a regular damned Tower of Babel. Snap out of it! The people in those books never lived. Come on now!” And while no one can own books in the Bradbury story, it is much more common to restrict women from reading. The Handmaid’s Tale allows only men to read. Vox by Christina Dalcher prohibits women from reading and limits their vocal output to 100 words or less per day before they receive an electrical shock. The main character explains, “This is how things are now. We have allotments of one hundred words a day. My books, even the old copies of Julia Child and – here’s the irony – the tattered red-and-white-checked  Better Homes and Gardens a friend decided would be a cute joke for a wedding gift, are locked in cupboards…”  Clearly, it is a slippery slope – control women’s bodies, determine what is appropriate for them to read, don’t bother with teaching them to read, and finally limit their voice. You can connect the dots.

While numerous other issues from 2023 deserve attention, I want to focus on the Supreme Court as our final topic. Chief Justice John Roberts recently released his 2023 Year-End Report (a link is attached in the references). I was astonished that the seven pages of Roberts’ comments are devoted to technology and AI.  I obviously missed this critical Supreme Court topic in 2023. The Supreme Court stories I vividly remember are related to scandals (not involving technology or AI) and not a peep mentioned in the report. The much-hyped code of ethics is also astonishingly absent.

What are we to conclude from this rather glaring omission? One option is that Roberts is of the opinion that his comments on the release of the code of ethics were sufficient, i.e., nothing to see here – it is the public that has this all wrong. However, it is hard to overlook the Thomas-Crow affair (including vacations, school tuitions, and real-estate transactions), Ginni Thomas’ shenanigans, the $270,000 RV loan, the Thomas-Koch fundraising, Horatio Alger benefits that Thomas received, Thomas complaining to members of Congress about his income, Alito’s fishing trip to Alaska, Alito and the Hobby Lobby case, Alito and the handling of Dobbs, Sotomayor’s book sales, Gorsuch’s real estate transaction, Robert’s wife and her employment, Justices and public institution fundraising, and Justices socializing with conservative political causes. Of course, some of these are more clear-cut than others, but to completely ignore the ethical issues in the report is atrocious.

Perhaps a second option is that the court sees itself above the masses. It is a dangerous opinion that undercuts the public’s confidence in the court but one that readily appears to be a possibility. Justice Alito, rather than answering questions directly to the reporters about his “fishing trip,” penned an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal. Justice Thomas has ignored most of the news and maintained that his financial reporting was simply an error based on advice he received early on from other justices (nothing like throwing your co-workers under the bus). The general tone has been we are above these shallow, petty issues – we are unique. We have life-long tenure and don’t answer to you – the public.

 I am reminded of how Winston and Julia in Orwell’s 1984 visit the home of an upper party member to find absolute luxury, signaling that we are different from you – we are unique. Orwell writes, “It was only on very rare occasions that one saw inside the dwelling places of the Inner Party, or even penetrated into the quarter of town where they lived. The whole atmosphere of the huge block of flats, the richness and spaciousness of everything, the unfamiliar smells of good food and good tobacco, the silent and incredibly rapid lifts sliding up and down, the white-jacketed servants hurrying to and fro – everything was intimidating.”  Regardless of why Chief Justice Roberts has chosen to ignore the ethical breaches, the court must be held accountable. Failure to equitably apply ethics and the rule of law leads to a dark place. When we give into the “Inner Party” concept, we have failed. You can connect the dots.

Some will maintain that I am being paranoid – comparing fiction to reality is a step too far. In fact, George Will, in The Washington Post today, maintains that “Overcaffeinated Cassandras continue to forecast an “authoritarian” and anti-constitutional Donald Trump dictatorship.” – I am choosing to ignore the blatant racist and misogynistic undertones of this comment, but no doubt they are present.  However, I will maintain that we should believe what we are told and act accordingly.  When someone declares they will be a dictator, we should take that seriously. Dystopian authors warn us of the peril of complacency. Dalcher in Vox writes, “I learned other things a year ago. I learned how difficult it is to write a letter to my congressman without a pen, or to mail a letter without a stamp. I learned how easy it is for the man at the office supply store to say, ‘I’m sorry, ma’am. I can’t sell you that,’ or the postal worker to shake his head when anyone without a Y chromosome asks for stamps. I learned how quickly a cell phone account can be canceled, and how efficient young enlisted men can be at installing cameras.”  You can connect the dots.

And so, as I begin 2024, I am reading another Dalcher dystopian novel – Femlandia. Surely, we are safe with an all-female community…

Remember, our job is not complete until there are nine.

Best Wishes for 2024.

LeAnn

References and Suggested Reading:

“2023 and 2024 Abortion-Related Ballot Measures.” Ballotpedia, https://ballotpedia.org/2023_and_2024_abortion-related_ballot_measures.

Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. 1985. Penguin Random House, 2016.

---.  The Testaments. Penguin Random House, 2019.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. 1951. Simon and Schuster, 2013.

Chan, Jessamine. The School for Good Mothers. 2022. Simon and Schuster.

Chief Justice Roberts Issues 2023 Year-End Report | United States Courts. https://www.uscourts.gov/news/2023/12/31/chief-justice-roberts-issues-2023-year-end-report.

Dalcher, Christina. Femlandia. 2021. Berkley Books.

---.  Master Class. 2020. Penguin Random House.

---.  Vox. First edition. Export edition, Berkley, 2018.

Dorn, Sara. “Christian Ziegler—Florida’s GOP Chair Accused Of Rape—Also Under Investigation For Video Voyeurism.” Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/01/02/christian-ziegler-floridas-gop-chair-accused-of-rape-also-under-investigation-for-video-voyeurism/.

Durkee, Alison. “Here Are All The Supreme Court Controversies That Led To Adopting An Ethics Code.” Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/11/14/here-are-all-the-supreme-court-controversies-that-led-to-adopting-an-ethics-code/.

Guttmacher Institute. Interactive Map: US Abortion Policies and Access After Roe. https://states.guttmacher.org/policies/.

Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. 1932. HarperCollins Publishers, 2006.

“John Roberts Weighs in on AI, Ignores Looming Trump Cases.” POLITICO, 31 Dec. 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/31/john-roberts-supreme-court-year-end-report-00133370.

Moms for Liberty. https://www.momsforliberty.org/.

Needham, Lisa. “Who Is Brett Kavanaugh Kidding?” Balls and Strikes, 28 June 2022, https://ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/kavanaugh-dobbs-concurrence/.

Nittle, Nadra. “Book Bans in Schools Jumped 33 Percent Last Year.” The 19th, 6 Oct. 2023, https://19thnews.org/2023/10/book-bans-in-schools-up-33-percent-2023/.

Noor, Poppy. “Republicans Push Wave of Bills That Would Bring Homicide Charges for Abortion.” The Guardian, 10 Mar. 2023. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/10/republican-wave-state-bills-homicide-charges.

Orwell, George. 1984. 1949. Harcourt Brace, 1984.

---. Animal Farm. 1956. Signet Classics, 2020.

Sasani, Ava. “Texas Attorney General Says He Will Sue Doctor Who Gives Abortion to Kate Cox.” The Guardian, 9 Dec. 2023.  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/08/ken-paxton-texas-abortion-kate-cox.

Schwartz, Jeremy. “Book Bans in Texas Spread as New State Law Takes Effect.” The Texas Tribune, 11 Oct. 2023, https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/11/texas-library-book-bans/.

“School Book Bans: The Mounting Pressure to Censor.” PEN America, 21 Sept. 2023, https://pen.org/report/book-bans-pressure-to-censor/.

Sherman, Carter. “‘Ohio Spoke Tonight’: Voters Add Abortion Rights to State Constitution.” The Guardian, 8 Nov. 2023.  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/07/ohio-issue-1-abortion-rights-vote-result.

Smith, Tovia. “School Book Bans Show No Signs of Slowing, New PEN America Report Finds.” NPR, 21 Sept. 2023.  https://www.npr.org/2023/09/21/1200725104/book-bans-school-pen-america.

Will, George F. “Opinion | A Constitution-Flouting ‘Authoritarian’ Is Already in the White House.” Washington Post, 2 Jan. 2024. www.washingtonpost.com, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/03/biden-disdain-constitution-senate/.