Guest column: Celebrating freedom felt different after Roe v. Wade reversal

Aaahh, the Fourth of July. The American holiday that finds us trading turkey for hotdogs, sweaters for shorts. Most of us take a moment of awed delight to remember the courage and bravery it took to build this nation. It’s nothing short of a miracle.

This year felt different though. I felt different. In the wake of such sweeping decisions from the Supreme Court, there was a little less pleasure in this season of celebration. Many of us are left wondering where this country is heading and are asking ourselves if this is the freedom that we have heralded as the greatest in the world.

I watched every confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court nominees in recent years. I heard each nominee give testimony that Roe v. Wade was a well-established right for women that had been upheld in numerous challenges over the years. They presented themselves as jurors that would not take extreme action should they be sworn in.  Many of us felt nervous as we watched the Republicans pack the court with conservative judges, but we heard them ourselves. We should trust that rights would not be taken away.

Then small things began to change. The American flag seemed to become used as a symbol of the Republican brand. The definition of a patriot began to describe those willing to fight for a man declaring a “stolen” election.  The voting rights of Americans came under fire while election officials were questioned and vilified. Black and Brown communities became targeted with difficult voting restrictions. When efforts were put in place to make voting safer during the days of COVID, Republicans angrily looked for fraud and denounced outcomes. They stoked fear and division.

Now we have had Roe v. Wade overturned. We are to let each state decide how a woman’s reproductive rights are defined. After the jarring decision, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a statement that seemed to invite additional challenges to the question of rights to birth control, private sexual practices and same-sex marriage. These rulings came as I watched Justice Thomas’ wife, Gini Thomas, being scrutinized for her involvement with the Trump White House during the election challenges and the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The Supreme Court passed rulings that restrict state rights on gun control, turned decades of federal Indian law concerning tribal sovereignty on its head, made decisions that weakened environmental protection and chipped away at the separation of church and state. All of this has left me to wonder if we are turning the clock back to a time long past.

These court decisions came down as I watched the January 6 Committee investigations. Witnesses described the actions of a desperate man trying to hold on to the power of the presidency while fueled by his delusional ego. The Founders fervently wanted to built a country where the peaceful transfer of power would be a hallmark of our democracy. Trump instead encouraged a riot and endangered our Congress and traditions. The Founders would have viewed him as a traitor. The Republicans have so aligned themselves to this man and his mantra that it will take a lot of courage to separate from his ideology. Those that try to right the course of the party are sure to be bullied by the most corrupt president in our history.

So, here’s to the land of the free, the home of the brave. It will take a lot of brave Americans, of every political persuasion, to ask themselves this: Is this the direction that America should be going? Will we stand idly by as our human rights are delegated to the conservative thinking of Republican state leaders? Will we blindly accept that there are plans in place for voter suppression in the upcoming elections? Will we shrug our shoulders and say…. at least there are still some states that allow women the right to choose? If so, we will be fooled again because this is only the beginning of a greater vision for the conservative agenda.

Or, might we recognize that women’s rights are human rights and once given, should not be taken away and that we have the right to feel safe in our schools and public spaces? Will we accept that we are a nation of changing demographics that can’t, and won’t be suppressed? Will we imagine an America where religious differences add a rich depth to the honoring of God? Will we recognize that love is love, regardless who the lovers are?

And so this holiday, I hung the flag on my porch with a little less enthusiasm than I usually do. I thought of our forefathers and the struggles they suffered to carve out life in these United States. I wondered if there are still patriots living among us who are willing, brave and strong enough to take up a new battle for the red, white and blue. I wondered what next year will bring for the most powerful country on Earth, one in which I am not sure is still the best in which to live.

We must question, we must challenge, and we must vote for a better America, better than what is being handed to us.

Jeary Smart Seikel moved to Oklahoma City in 1973, the same year that Roe became law. She registered as an independent after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Guest: Amid Roe v. Wade decision, celebrating freedom felt different