The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decided that Hobby Lobby could deny certain healthcare services to it's employees, if they conflicted with the corporation's religious views. Now I sit here terrified about the day I turn 26, because I will have to find my own insurance.
Do me a favor and read that last sentence over, this time noting the inherent irony. I am AFRAID of choosing a service to INSURE my well-being.
Here is the thing. I am not so much shocked by a corporation making profit-based decisions. Nor am I shocked that some people think their lifestyle and belief system is the only honorable way to exist. I am shocked that our SCOTUS has opened a door for corporations to claim superior rights to the religious freedoms, which were originally designated to men and women with US citizenship as individuals.
I am rattled by the disregard for an employee's own religious beliefs or lack-thereof. Why is a corporation given more empathy than a human? I am disgusted that there is even a debate on whether or not the health of a woman is seen as essential. Why are women affected by this ruling not seen as humans? You fucking tell me, because I sure as shit am stumped on this one. I thought I was a human, but ya know maybe I've been mistaken. At this point, I'd be relieved to find out I was an alien.
What really gets me the most about this whole thing is the classic trope of a protagonist being let down by their heroes. You know the story, kid grows up dedicating their whole existence to the good they see in someone. Then one day they see their faults and their heart breaks. In this case, I've seen my glorious government display a repulsive disregard for the common people, especially women.
In sixth grade, my hero became the Good 'Ol USA, when we learned the core democratic values of our nation, in Mrs. Combs history class. We got to pick a value we wanted to focus on and did about 3 weeks of studying, art projects, group presentations, and a paper on that core democratic value.
My value of choice was The Common Good. I feel in love with the people of history linked to this value—Patrick Henry, Abraham Lincoln, and Thurgood Marshall to name a few that still give me Political Science butterflies to this day.
Never had I seen such poetry in a history class before this project. Beautiful proclamations of humanity's propensity to love one another rang through my mind, as I read books and webpages and watched documentaries on so many wonderful people.
I was overwhelmed with how many people in our past have dedicated their lives to the idea that everyone deserves to feel valued, heard, and safe. And so I fell in love with the youthful spirit of our country. I couldn't get enough of these feats of victory for the Common Good over the selfishness, arrogance, or greed of individuals and/or oppressive factions.
Yes, I had a giant, nerdy, lady-boner for the government of the USA. Damn did it look fine in outfitted in rulings based of the Common Good. And yes, my cheeks flushed when the wind blew a flag just right, flashing its progressive attitude of acceptance and accommodation. (I'm sorry, this blog is supposed to be PG. I'll get to the heartbreak and skip the R rated passionate parts.)
In all sincerity though, I feel let down. The SCOTUS is a position dedicated to making choices that benefit the Common Good. I do not believe the Burwell V. Hobby Lobby ruling was made with this value in mind. It is a mystery to me how someone can forget to care for others.
The only productive thing for me to do now is work towards change. Hopefully one day my name will be a footnote in some kid's history book. Or maybe an afterthought of a historian, who just complied their synopsis of a 21st century social movement benefiting the common good. At the very least, I hope I never act in a way that makes another person feel the neglect and disappointment I do now.
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