Bill of Human Wrongs

“Thanks to you at home for joining me at this hour. If you haven’t heard this yet, the Senate Bill 1257 was released this past Friday and it is loaded with amendments to your constitution that you should be aware of. Let me backtrack for a moment. Happy Memorial Day. I normally wouldn’t be broadcasting tonight, but this bill is something that has the capabilities to change all of our lives, so I want to use every night this week to address its different components and what these changes could mean to your life. I don’t mean to disrespect the memory of our service men and women, but I feel that you will understand after the show.” Rachel put her hands to her head, and ran her fingers through her hair. Laughing, she said, “And, I owe you an explanation as to why my hair is completely drenched.” She picked up some papers and played with them. It was a trademark of hers.

“My intention with the coverage this week is to inform you and entice you, all of you, to call your Senator and tell them to vote NO on this bill, the vote of course, taking place on Friday. In fact, my Friday show will be devoted to this. Yes, that’s right. We’ll have a camera at the Senate chambers. Think of it as the Rachel Ross CSPAN Show.” She laughed. “Oh, yea. My hair. Many cities around the country have had protesters in the streets since early this morning, people with signs for both pro and anti 1257. I was out there a few minutes ago to give you a feel for what’s going on in the streets. It just so happens that we’re having a wonderful rain storm here in D.C. Hence,” she ruffled her hair, “the drowned dog look. We will show the clip of me in the streets later in the show.”

Rachel smiled into the camera, her trademark snarky expression to let the viewer’s know how she felt about her next remarks. “But first, let me start with tonight’s topic, a little change to our constitution that brings religion into our government. Oh, yes. You are hearing me correctly. Religious rights would no longer be separate from our government. And if a person that wanted to buy something from the store keeper down the street somehow made the clerk fear that customer because of, oh, maybe the color of their skin? Well, you guessed it. The store owner, or clerk would be able to refuse to do business with them! Wait, what does this remind you of?” An old clip from To Kill a Mocking Bird began playing, a scene where a black man was not able to shop in a store. There were signs that said, Whites Only outside restaurants and other establishments.

The clip finished and Rachel continued. “It was 1964 when the Civil Rights Act was enacted by Congress.” She began using her fingers to count the years. “Yup, it was a little more than 50 years ago. Fifty years, folks! Now, this bill being voted on this Friday, 50 years later, will bring back some of the insane actions against certain groups of people. It will be legal to refuse services to a person who looks scary. Let’s see, my hair is mighty short, and when I wear my goofy glasses, I might look pretty scary to someone. So I can’t buy a pint of ice cream if my looks frighten the store keeper?” Rachel took a deep breath. “This SB 1257 is the new Bill of Wrongs!”

“Ok, let’s get someone in here to settle me down. My first guest tonight is Senator Mund from the great state of California.” She turned to face her guest. “Good evening and thank you for coming on the show, Senator. You’ve read this bill, tell me if I got this part of it right.”

“Thank you, Rachel,” he laughed. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to help you feel better. You laid it out perfectly, and yes. It would take us back 50 years or so. The Republicans are trying to sell this as a bill that will ensure safety to the American public, but safety to whom, and from whom? I’ve never seen anything like this in my career. It is important, as you say to have constituents calling their Senators every day this week, all day long. This bill would take away many people’s rights as they know them today.”

Rachel leaned into the table that was between them, “This is what I need to hear. Not that you’ve helped me to feel better. But I did need to know if I had read this correctly. Senator, I want to thank you for coming in with such short notice. I have always had a lot of respect for the way you do your job and feel it’s an honor to have you on the show.”

“Thank you, Rachel. It’s my pleasure to help with this one.”

Rachel looked into the camera, “All right, we’ll be right back. And we’ll show you the tape of me out in the storm with the people in the streets. I think you’ll enjoy it.” She smiled into the camera and gave her signature clap that signaled to her viewers that an intermission was next.

She looked across the table and again, said to Senator Mund, “As you know, Senator Winslow lost a dear friend today, so your coming in at incredibly short notice was awesome. Thank you so much.”

“As I said, it’s not a problem. I like what you’re trying to do, Rachel. We can’t let this thing pass. As I understand, it’s Senator Winslow who will probably be the deciding vote. This one is partisan right down the middle. I have a lot of respect for her though. In the past, she’s taken a lot of heat from her side by voting with her belief system as opposed to what they tell her to do.”

“Well, we can only hope, can’t we?” Rachel shook his hand to dismiss him, knowing it was near her time to be back on the air.

She saw her cue, and sat up straight for her next segment. “Welcome back to the show. And now, what you’ve all been waiting for, the film of me in the rain earlier tonight.” She smiled and turned around to watch the clip with her audience.

“Good evening,” Rachel was yelling into her mic to be heard over the demonstrators. The rain, the sound of thunder contributed to the disposition of angry people around her. “Signs from both pro and opposing sides of SB 1257 are out tonight, actually they’ve been in this weather since this morning. Can we get the camera over here?” The scene was like a flashback to the late 1960’s when anti-war movements reigned in the streets. Chanting could be heard over the sounds of the storm, police were out to redirect traffic. Many arterials had been blocked off. “I think the most impressive part of all this is the peaceful mood of these folks. They’re mad as hell, but surprisingly serene. Not only are they demonstrating their feelings over crucial political ideals, but also, they’re dealing with an angry Mother Nature.” She laughed. “Perhaps, the harshest activist here is Mother Nature. Hmm, that’s a thought. After all, some of this bill’s amendments deal with deregulation. Maybe Mother Earth has had enough of this nonsense. Many of the far-right folks are global warming deniers. I can see where that might upset the queen of elements.” She moved closer to a marcher. “Sir, what is it that inspires you so to stand in this storm?”

“This bill is going to make me and my family safer, we won’t have to be afraid of thugs anymore. It will give me the rights that I need to protect my family. I work hard to put food on the dinner table. Then, some lazy thug comes along and wants to take it away from me? I don’t think so. Finally, I’ll be able to protect my family.”

“So you’ve had problems with thievery, Sir?”

“Well no, but I hear about it in the news a lot. Now, I can be ready to take care of my family. I’ll have the right to keep them out of my hardware store so my customers can feel safe. I’ll have the right to shoot them if they try to harm me. This is the biggest step in the right direction I’ve seen in my lifetime and I want to be part of helping it pass.”

“You must not have been around prior to 1964, Sir. Am I right?”

“Don’t give that liberal civil rights crap. This is a safety issue.” He turned his back to Rachel, dismissing her and their talk.

She found another marcher and held the mic up to him. “Sir, what brings you out in the weather tonight?”

“This bill is a nightmare for this country. It changes many people’s rights as we know them. It will suppress many, bringing into law religious views that don’t match the way I feel. There’s a reason why our founding forefathers wrote the constitution separating church from state. I’m an atheist. Does that mean I won’t have any rights?”

“Alright, Sir. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with my viewers.” She looked into the camera and finished the segment, “There you have it, two opposing assessments of SB 1257. Don’t go away, we will be right back.”

When the commercials were over, Rachel was dry, and happily sitting in her studio. “Tomorrow, we will discuss another change this bill offers, one that could abolish the NRA. Yes, that’s right. No need for that organization anymore if this passes.”

She clapped her hands together. “But for now, I want to finish the show with this next segment about our fallen heroes. Today is Memorial Day, we owe so much to the many men and women who have put their lives on the line. Many who, in war, have lost their lives. I have here with us General McClowd to share some heart wrenching stories of these champions. General, thank you for coming onto my show.”