Last week, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4, that key parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 must me changed.  The court decided that Congress has not taken into account the current racial enviornment, and therefore, the formula that was used to determine which states must be reviewed is outdated.  In simple terms, this means that now that we have an African American President, the racism in this nation has ended and we now live in a “post racial” society (my favorite new catch phrase).  But how true is this really?  Why are some afraid of what is to come next?  And what are the ramifications of this in todays world?

When making this ruling, the Supreme Court based this on the idea that because there have been significant improvements in the areas of race since the 1960s, that there should not be as strict of an oversight on some of the states that have a history of racial profiling, mainly the South.  Just let that soak in.  The South…an area which STILL files the Confederate Flag proudly over state house grounds.  An area that has states that have the Confederate Flag IN THEIR STATE FLAG.  South Carolina is still denied to host NCAA championship games in ANY sport because they still fly the flag.  There are still segregated towns in the south.  And this is just what is done in the open, things that can not be denied or ignored.  There is still abuse of power in the south that is not visible.  Yet we are supposed to believe things are better?!?  And like any virus, these ideas are spreading to other areas of the nation.

While you let that soak in, take a few minutes and relax.  Having some trouble doing so?  I dont blame you.  So here…take a few minutes and take the test on the link below.  I dont want you gone too long though, so give yourself say 10 minutes to complete these questions.  Ok…I’ll see you in 10 minutes:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/briangalindo/could-you-pass-the-literacy-test-given-to-black-voters-in-th

Finished?  Well let me tell you now, without looking at your test, that you failed.  If you didnt read the article, you will see that this is one of the famed Literacy Tests that were administered to African Americans who tried to vote.  For those that dont know, this was LEGAL before the Voting Rights Act!!!  You need to complete each question in an average of 20 seconds.  Add that to the fact that many of these questions are worded in ways that can be interpreted in a way to disadvantage the test taker, it is literally impossible to pass this test if the test giver wants you to fail.  Even more so, those given this test typically were not able to even complete the necessary levels of education to even have a fair shot at these tests.  Its true, if this were tried now, the NAACP and various other groups would quickly get involved, and have these acts stopped.  However, these tests were done AT THE POLLS.  Therefore, any punitive actions taken would happen AFTER the election, and those that were denied the right to vote, would not be able to then have their vote counted.

This is the new form of gerrymandering that will occur.  Some states are legally allowed to take your drivers license if they pull you over, and are not obligated to return it to you until the investigation is over, even if its a small traffic ticket.  Could you not see some states doing this more frequently in the days before an important election?  No ID…no vote.  Call Republicans many things, but stupid is not one of them.  Do you think they are unaware of how minorities voted in the last presidential election?  67% of single women, 93% of Blacks, 71% of Hispanics, and 73% of Asians voted for President Obama, with the minority vote making up 28% of all votes cast or just over 36 million of the total votes.  And with a seperation of only 5 million votes, taking away the votes of minorities, women, and other groups that typically vote Democrat in strong numbers means that the few systems in place to help us will erode and fade away.

This is a serious issue.  Your voice in this country is at stake.  Think this is in the past?  Think people are not trying to silence the voice of women and minorities?  Think I’m exaggerating the issue?  Then look up what Pennsylvania tried to do in the 2012 Presidential Election, and tell me I’m crazy.  Go ahead…I’ll wait.