The lyrics to an old movement song, “Pass It On,” carry the warning that freedom “doesn’t come like a bird on the wing” and “doesn’t come down like the falling rain,” then advise that “freedom is a hard won thing” and “every generation has to win it again,” with instructions to “pass it on.”
The song’s message is one which needs to be heeded today with the loss of some of our previously taken-for-granted freedoms and the concern of losing others following the 2024 presidential election.
At the top of any list of concerns regarding freedom is a woman’s right and health decision to control her own body. The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling two years ago to overturn a half-century of precedent of Roe vs. Wade resulted in an unprecedented backlash in every corner of America. From the reddest of red states to blue and those in between, there has been an outcry over a lost freedom.
The evidence is clear in every national poll and in elections where the question of freedom was placed before voters. It is a centerpiece, hot-button issue in this year’s political contests, motivating many apolitical individuals to become active participants, making financial contributions, volunteering in campaigns and having their voices heard. It could very well be the single issue that determines who will move into the White House next January.
Glenn R. Plummer
Unity