Alabama’s gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam
Can’t you see it
Can’t you feel it
It’s all in the air
I can’t stand the pressure much longer
Somebody say a prayer …
Nina Simone wrote “Mississippi Goddam” in 1964 — 62 goddam years ago. Or was it yesterday?
There’s no denying that we are seeing the reemergence of the Old South — or call it the New Confederacy. Republican super-majorities are gerrymandering Jim Crow racism back into law and dissecting great cities into powerless, nameless parcels “represented” by rural white men living 150 miles away. If you’re Black or a Democrat (both or either), your vote means nothing. And that’s the whole point. It’s a naked power grab, an overt attempt to establish insurmountable one-party rule.
In Tennessee, home to 7.3 million people, the state’s two largest urban areas — Memphis and Nashville — have a combined population of approximately 3.5 million, meaning almost half of the state’s citizens will soon have no voice in Congress, thanks to the most recent gerrymandering.
The state is already an autocracy. The governorship, both houses of the state legislature, the state Supreme Court, Congressional representatives, and the two senators are all controlled by Republicans. The only current exception is Memphis Congressman Steve Cohen, who was gerrymandered into retirement two weeks ago after 19 years of service. Power in Tennessee is now rural and white. Period.
It’s the same for most of the other former Confederate states, where, over the past few years, the Republicans have been actively putting the dicks back in Dixie. Let’s take a look at how that has worked out so far.
Healthcare and Medicine: Obamacare, the country’s most affordable healthcare system, which offers federal funding to all states, has been rejected in most of the South, meaning millions fewer people have health insurance, leading to the closures of dozens of hospitals and clinics, mostly in rural areas and small towns. Abortion is basically outlawed, forcing doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, and pharmacies to conform to a religious doctrine; rape victims of any age must carry their rapist’s baby to term. Vaccinations have become demonized, leading to the return of diseases that were mostly eradicated.
Education: State voucher systems pour millions of tax dollars into the pockets of parents who use the money to send their kids to private academies and religious schools, while public schools are starved. Education test scores are lower than in the rest of the country. Books deemed politically incorrect are banned in public schools and public libraries. State colleges are monitored to ensure that speakers and student programming and curriculum are in line with state government preferences, leveraged with the threat of state funding cuts.
Gun Control: There is none. Guns are sacred totems. You can buy a pistol in 15 minutes and walk out with it strapped to your body. You can carry guns in restaurants, stores, state parks, and most other public spaces. Mass shootings by disturbed humans carrying legalized weapons of war are merely a necessary sacrifice to the Holy Church of the NRA.
LGBTQ Rights: Southern state legislatures have advanced dozens of anti-LGBTQ bills, primarily targeting transgender rights by restricting gender-affirming care, regulating bathroom access, and eliminating any mention of LGBTQ issues in schools and library books.
Quality of Life: Salaries are lower in Dixie than in the rest of the country. The poverty rate is higher. Hunger is more prevalent. More housing is substandard. More people are on public assistance. Crime rates are worse. Alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes kill more people. The infant mortality rate is higher, and life expectancy is lower.
Bottom line: The American South is being pushed back to its darkest historic era by Republicans determined to turn their states into one-party banana republics, taking away the voting power of any who dare to color outside the lines. The actual health and welfare of the people is of little concern. A mean, repressive ideology trumps all else. Welcome to 1964, Part Two.
Can’t you see it
Can’t you feel it
It’s all in the air
I can’t stand the pressure much longer
Somebody say a prayer …