The campaign sign supporting Doug Mastriano’s bid to be the next governor of Pennsylvania proclaimed: Walk as Free People. The implied meaning of “Free People” is all of us–but is that really Doug’s intention? For our daughters, our sisters, ourselves, clearly not, as he would strip away reproductive rights, essentially autonomy over our own bodies, were we to empower him as governor. Neither rape, nor incest, nor the health of the mother would mitigate the power of the state to impose its will upon us, essentially tying us psychologically if not physically to our attackers (in the case of rape or incest.) For the record, Mehmet Oz, candidate for Senate, subscribes to the same mantra despite having once been pro-choice.
In the movie version of The Wizard of Oz, there is a tale of another Oz. Judy Garland sweeps back the curtain to find the Great Oz to be a sham, a charlatan, a fraud, but a skilled manipulator. Both Doug and Mehmet do the bidding of today’s version of the Great Oz, namely Donald Trump. In the end, the reality is that before inviting us to “Walk as Free People,” they might look long and hard into the mirror and admit that not only are they themselves not free, but their allegiance has been pledged. We know who is behind the curtain.
WILLOW EBY-FISCHER
Northumberland
Submitted by Virtual Newsroom
