I am not someone who is often at a loss for words but yet, here we are. I will try to write something of value at a time when most of you probably feel pretty hopeless.
I am currently in JFK Airport on a long layover after spending an amazing week in Barcelona and Mallorca, Spain. I look at the place of privilege my life has been afforded by the chance of birth and circumstance. We have traveled all over Europe, me playing trophy husband and tagging along on her business trips. And while we enjoyed the freedoms of a Mediterranean Holiday we watched as a group of fanatics decided that she doesn’t have the right to her own body’s autonomy.
Now, in reality these laws won’t really affect her. We have the means to never have to worry about needing a medical procedure if it came to that. And, as a man, a straight white man born into a certain socioeconomic status at that, I can never really understand the gravity of these rulings. But I can understand that my wife, along with a lot of women, feel let down by a country they love and support.
The irony of the fact that this happened while we were in Europe is not lost on me. The conservative talking points of “freedom” and “rights” are laughable in their hypocrisy as Americans don’t really have many freedoms outside of the ability to own a lot of guns. Europeans have freedoms such as being able to travel regularly and safely, they have the freedom of safety in public from the threat of mass murder, and they have the freedom of not being bankrupted because they got sick. Sure, it’s a lot harder to become a billionaire in Europe but they also have a much better education system so they aren’t being hoodwinked into thinking that is actually a possibility. And now, unlike American women, they have the freedom of choice.
I am not offering any solutions. I am just trying to offer some semblance of understanding and empathy for what must feel like a complete betrayal. I am sorry that we have allowed our rights to be coopted by a theocratic minority intent on imposing their archaic beliefs on a dissenting majority.
I am sure you are feeling hurt and angry and sad. And I wish I could help. If you just need to vent, I am more than willing to listen. I can’t promise I have any answers or can provide any relief but I am here. And I am sorry.
