Watching the recent Netflix release The Trial of the Chicago Seven, my outrage frequently felt as intense as I recall it being when the actual events took place. I was a college sophomore when the Chicago police unleashed its collective fury on antiwar protesters in the days leading up to the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Had I been protesting the Vietnam war in Chicago instead of closer to home, the actual footage used in Aaron Sorkin's film could have shown me being tear gassed or having my head bashed in.
I was a junior when Judge Julius Hoffman had Bobby Seale chained and gagged in his courtroom toward the end of the sham trial of 1969 that was concocted by Nixon's first attorney general, the later imprisoned John Mitchell. Even my Father - not a political progressive or racial pioneer - was appalled by Hoffman's treatment of Seale. And just before sentencing, when Tom Hayden began reading the names of the soldiers who had died in Vietnam while the Federal Government wasted time and taxpayer money inventing a non- existent conspiracy (sound familiar?), I realized for the first time in my young life how important it was to make my voice heard. I've tried to maintain that commitment ever since.
If you haven't yet voted by mail, please do so soon. Or, be safe and get to the polls on November 3rd. Just be sure to make your voice heard.
One of the great things about Colorado is the ability to vote by mail. They have been doing so I'm this state for years, without issue. Local, state, federal etc.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the typo. *In this state.
ReplyDeleteMarisa; Thanks for comment. And I appreciate the typo correction; might have struggled to understand you without that. BTW, re your Goodreads "wondering", I will likely get around to writing about "Nickel Boys" here. Often, I let weeks got by after a book lands with me - as that one did - before I write about it here. Gives me more time to process.
DeleteInteresting read this morning in the Op-Ed section of the NY Daily News about the Supreme Court, the decision/result of the 2000 election, and how it could come into play this year. A landslide victory would go a long way to avoiding the involvement of the, soon-to-be, lopsided SCOTUS.
ReplyDeleteAs I've been saying for many months, on FB, in replies to e-mails, or in any way I can possibly do it, VOTE !!! VOTE !!! VOTE !!! ... Now more than ever.
RRGRMG; Thanks for comment. Let's keep our fingers crossed that the popular vote is able to supersede the long-obsolete electoral college.
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