America, The Ugly: Voter Suppression (Patreon)

Recall how Assata Shakur said, "Armed struggle can never be successful by itself; it must be part of an overall strategy for winning, and the strategy must be political as well as military…”? She was right. And that's what is so damned scary and disheartening. It's a horrible conundrum. Even though politics are one of the most impactful ways to affect systemic change, the political system is corrupt. Its highly necessary, but also highly corruptible because it's fundamentally flawed. When politics run on money and money is generated by the exploitative system of capitalism, the political system screwed. When a country is racist to its core and refuses to address that explicitly, it's screwed.

If your eyes glaze over when it comes to politics, it's time to take a shot of adrenaline to the heart. Boot and rally. Whatever it takes to open your eyes and spread the word. Our democracy is a sham. The first and most impactful thing we can do is make that fact known. But also, we must remember that "states rights" is code for "oppression without federal interference".

Something to Ponder: The results of the upcoming elections. In Georgia where I live, 53K eligible voter applications (mainly of black people) are pending due to the actions of the man running for governor against a black woman, Stacey Abrams. 

Stacey Abrams slams her GOP opponent as an ‘architect of voter suppression’ in Georgia

Sources

Suppression of Minority Voting Is About to Get Way Worse (Richard L. Hasen)

Laws to suppress black vote in US are being drafted with 'horrific efficiency' says author

Supreme Court Makes It Harder for Tribal North Dakotans to Vote (Pema Levy)