Altered States, by Martha Thomases – Brilliant Disguise | @MDWorld

January 6, 2017 Victor El-Khouri 1 Comment

Language changes over time.

When I was a girl, the word “like” was used as a verb only to indicate that the subject of a sentence had warm feelings towards the object of a sentence.  For example, I like John Lewis, the civil rights activist, congressman and comic book writer.

It was also used to indicate a comparison or a simile.  For example, my feelings about John Lewis are like my feelings about Keith Haring, in that they both challenge my assumptions and make me see the world in a new way.

Today, the word “like” is used as a verb to mean “said,” as in, “She was, like, ‘I love this Keith Haring mural.’”

It has been ever thus, and these days, only fuddy-duddies like myself complain about such things.

Similarly, expressions can change meaning.  What was once considered excessive can now be considered normal, depending on how societal norms might evolve.

Thus, I propose that progressives should commandeer the expression “states’ rights.”  Traditionally, the term “states’ rights” has been a euphemism for “hideous racism.”  States in which a large majority of citizens did not want to integrate or allow minorities equal protection under the law claimed that they should be allowed to run things in their own states their way.

There was a time when “states rights” were a basic pillar of the Democratic Party.  That time was before 1964, when Lyndon Johnson pushed through the Civil Rights Act.  Up until then, the Democrats were often Southern, and in opposition to Republicans, then the party of Lincoln.

After 1964, the GOP embraced states rights not only as a way to appeal to segregationists, but as a complementary position to their desire for less federal government.  It is still a favorite tool today, both in North Carolina and Ohio.

(The Ohio link is to Michelle Wolf on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and it’s really funny.  Go look.)

A few weeks ago, I read an opinion piece about Blue states taking back their power.  I don’t remember where I read it (probably The New York Times), nor who wrote it, and I can’t think of a good key-word to use for a search.  Anyway, the crux of the essay was that progressives should not use up all their energies on working against massive federal tax cuts for the rich, such as Trump has proposed.  Instead, we should also use our influence with our state governments to enact the kind of tax and spending policies we want to see, and let the Red states do the same.

In other words, here in New York, we have relatively high state and local taxes.  If my federal taxes go down, I would certainly support the state and city asking me to give the difference to them.  Then, perhaps we can have state programs that make up for the cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security and food stamps and education that Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell want to enforce.

And states like Mississippi and Louisiana and Arizona and South Dakota and Indiana can show us how great their economies will be without as much federal money.  Let them prove that low taxes help their economies.

We can also use the power of our state judiciary systems to promote the will of their constituencies.  We’re already seeing this here in New York, where our Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, is suing Trump for several of his questionable business practices.  It looks as if he is not alone here.  The Republicans opened this particular can of worms themselves, when they passed laws that required then-President Bill Clinton to deal with a lawsuit from Paula Jones.  It will be sweet to see that ruling turned on them for a change.

Although, it should be noted, that Trump seems more than capable of having enough worms for everybody.  It’s like he’s getting ready to go fishing for a long, long time.

Martha Thomases, Media Goddess, also recommends that everybody read this because we all have to do more than one thing.