Today is Election Day, and I am again putting my thoughts on my blog. This election raises so many new concerns; all baby boomers should be able to see the links to our collective pasts. The Civil Rights Act (1964), the Voting Rights Act (1965), and Roe v Wade (1973), were all  major events in our early adulthood, because we demanded it. We are the generation of change and we should not stand by and let all our efforts be in vain.

The Civil Rights Act no longer applies only to people of color. It also encompasses all minorities, middle class and lower class people of all races, and those who do not practice the “correct religious beliefs”. I have never in my life seen a President treated as badly as Obama has been treated. In previous years, the American people showed our President respect, even if he was not our personal choice. We stood behind him until we could vote him out. If there is any one thing that has diminished us in the eyes of the world; it is the disrespect  some of us have shown our Commander-In-Chief. World leaders see this attitude and see us as untrustworthy and racially biased.

The Voting Rights Act is being violated through voter intimidation and suppression. Minorities are being denied their rights because they tend to shun the GOP. There are only a small percentage of people of color who embrace the ideologies of the Republican Party. Surprisingly, years ago, most Black people were Republicans. However, in later years, when this party became the party of racial bias, much of the Black race switched parties. How do I know this? I remember when my father changed parties, because politics was important in my household. Now in 2012 this party is again trying to create an atmosphere of pre-1965.

I remember also that during the Roe v Wade debate, I told my father that I was pro-life and this is the reaction I received: if you don’t believe in abortion, don’t get one. Who are you to determine what goes on in other people’s lives? This is a cause that will be judged by God, not man. No one will be standing with you on your judgement day, therefore, this is an issue between you and God. This shaped my entire view of abortion. Roe v Wade, contraceptives, and Planned Parenthood were the beginning of the “Women in the Workplace” movement. Women finally had control over their own child bearing years and were able to branch out into careers if they chose to.

Remember all of this baby boomers when you enter the voting booth!