When they show you….

There are many phrases and cliches throughout the course of our life that, as they continue to be heard, can appear to be like a soundtrack in your life.  

You know the ones that seem to make it from generation to generation, like:

“Can’t nothing fail but a try.” “You can make it, if you try.” “What you put in, is what you get out.” “What you see is what you get.” “There is a sucker born every minute.” “Everybody plays the fool.”

Every now and then, these phrases emit warnings and life lessons that are designed to direct us, correct us or protect us. 

“Wade in the water.” “Stay on the wall.” “Keep your hand on the plow.” “Experience is the best teacher.” Or is it, “History is the best teacher.”

History has shown that Abraham Lincoln’s Republican Party led to civil war and the abolition of slavery.  The perception of emancipation created an allegiance to this party by black voters until the 1960s.  

History has shown that John Kennedy was believed to have given aide to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr by placing a phone call during one of his incarcerations in the south.  The perception of that call shifted black voter support to the Democratic Party during the civil rights era.

History has shown that the visible atrocities of segregation thru lynchings (Emmett Till), church bombings (16^th Street Baptists’ four little girls), fire hoses and dogs turned on children (Birmingham), and murders of people promoting voter rights (Medgar Evers, Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner) changed the mood in the country about Jim Crow laws and the doctrine of separate but equal.

Southern democrats, or Dixiecrats as they were referred to, began to flee the party to become republicans.  Since it was no longer tolerable to be blatantly biased, the language morphed from “segregation now, segregation forever” into the more socially acceptable war on crime.  

Slowly and methodically the work to dismantle freedoms that had been hard fought for proceeded.  It is not beyond comprehension to see the common thread of exclusion and power in the midst of all of this. Lincoln hoped to encourage blacks to join in the fight during the Civil War.  Kennedy won the presidency by aligning himself with civil rights.  The Dixiecrats rebranded themselves as staunch protectors of law and order.  

Civil War led to access.  Civil Rights led to access.  Voting rights led to access to power. The battle for voting rights is a battle for power and who should have it.

Changing your style does not change who you are. Changing your voice does not change who you are. Changing your hair does not change who you are. When you are against my right to have access and my right to exercise my power in the ballot box, I am compelled to look at who you are and what you stand for.

In this country, the only people who have been consistently against these ideas have operated with bias, bigotry and a blatant disregard to the Constitution that declares that we are all created equal.

This reminds me of this old phrase:

“When they show you who they are…believe them.”