On Roe (July 2022)

Read the Full July 2022 Newsletter Here.

“Well, here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why.” 
~Kurt Vonnegut,
Slaughterhouse-Five

Dear Readers,

After about 17 non-starts, I’ve realized there’s no way to write this months newsletter without talking about everything, and no way to write it and talk about nothing. Another Independence Day is here and I’m having trouble feeling celebratory after such a massive and devastating failure of government, and of us. How did we allow the worst of us to shape the next thirty years of policy and lawmaking? Political ideology, partisanship, and maneuvering has outdistanced reason, and corrupted the highest court of the land. We could all place blame and list a thousand reasons why, but it doesn’t help us move forward.

“Time makes more converts than Reason.” ~Thomas Paine, Common Sense

In 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense, a 47-page pamphlet reasoning why the young rebellion should sever ties with an antiquated monarchy. By propelling the establishment of a federal government free of tyranny, religion, run by the people and held in protection of the unalienable rights for all its citizens, this little paperback book changed the world and motivated an entire country to take on the hard and incredibly complex job of self-government. It reminds me that our greatness was not built on looking back, on nostalgia, on propping up obsolete systems and ideas, but rather on the foundations of progress, innovation, collaboration, and reason. It's been a long, long fight for equality and freedom for all, and we aren't there yet, but it dishonors the great sacrifices of our past and excruciatingly hard-won steps forward to let the little progress we've made slide backwards now.

“The common people will let it go, oh yes. They will sell liberty for a quieter life. That is why they must be prodded, prodded.” ~Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange

So.. let’s take the weekend. Spend time with people we care about. And then get to work again. Because we cannot continue to make monumental, consequential decisions based on the political ideologies of a few, blind to the erosion of universal human rights. There's a lot to do - poverty, homelessness, gun control, mass shootings, education reform, voting rights, election laws, opioid crisis, affirmative action, climate change, business regulation, healthcare, abortion. Lets read and talk and encourage the people we believe in to get involved with local government and service organizations. We need new, and a great deal more leadership.

“I’m dejected, but only momentarily, when I can’t get the fifth vote for something I think is very important. But then you go on to the next challenge and you give it your all.” ~ Ruth Bader Gingsberg

Wishing you all a Happy 4th and a peaceful July.
Cassie

*Reading List Below

Common Sense By Thomas Paine Cover Image
$9.95
ISBN: 9781557094582
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Applewood Books - July 1st, 2002

Thinking 101: How to Reason Better to Live Better By Woo-kyoung Ahn Cover Image
$28.99
ISBN: 9781250805959
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Flatiron Books - September 13th, 2022

Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City (Pulitzer Prize Winner) By Andrea Elliott Cover Image
$20.00
ISBN: 9780812986952
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Random House Trade Paperbacks - May 17th, 2022

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City By Matthew Desmond Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780553447453
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Crown - February 28th, 2017

Controlling Women: What We Must Do Now to Save Reproductive Freedom By Kathryn Kolbert, Julie F. Kay Cover Image
$29.00
Email or call for price.
ISBN: 9780306925634
Published: Hachette Books - July 13th, 2021

The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having—or Being Denied—an Abortion By Diana Greene Foster, Ph.D Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9781982141578
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Scribner - June 1st, 2021

The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet By Leah Thomas Cover Image
$26.00
ISBN: 9780316279291
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Voracious - March 8th, 2022

Transcendent Kingdom: A novel By Yaa Gyasi Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9781984899767
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage - July 6th, 2021

New Handbook for a Post-Roe America: The Complete Guide to Abortion Legality, Access, and Practical Support By Robin Marty, Amanda Palmer (Foreword by) Cover Image
By Robin Marty, Amanda Palmer (Foreword by)
$17.95
ISBN: 9781644210581
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Seven Stories Press - March 30th, 2021

Know My Name: A Memoir By Chanel Miller Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780735223721
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin Books - August 18th, 2020

Abortion and the Law in America: Roe V. Wade to the Present By Mary Ziegler Cover Image
$31.99
ISBN: 9781108735599
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Cambridge University Press - March 26th, 2020

Bodies on the Line: At the Front Lines of the Fight to Protect Abortion in America By Lauren Rankin Cover Image
$26.00
Email or call for price.
ISBN: 9781640094741
Published: Counterpoint - April 5th, 2022