SOCIAL JUSTICE MINISTRY NEWS
Knowledge is Power
HELLO FRIENDS. Knowledge is Power! We have seen Texas turn farther and farther to the right with laws passed that are opposed by the majority of Texans. Texans do not want government in the doctor’s office or the bedroom. Finally, we have the information we need. CNN’s recent “Deep in the Pockets of Texas” revealed a dark secret: two billionaires in West Texas are controlling Texas politicians and ordering the uber-right laws.
Texas is one of only ten states that allows unlimited campaign contributions and two billionaires have taken full advantage. Conservative State Senator Kel Seliger explained, “Texas is [now] a Russian-style oligarchy, pure and simple.” These two West Texans have put in huge amounts of money, (one, $15 million; another, $11 million so far) to get their candidates in office and order the bills and the votes they want. Politicians are punished if they are not “100 percent” voters for the oligarchs’ dictates. These bills are anti-GLBTQ+, anti-“critical race theory”, ban abortion, offer bounties for turning in neighbors, ensure unlimited access to assault weapons, among others. Claiming the US needs to be returned to its origins as a Christian nation, the oligarchs next target is reducing/eliminating public schools so children will attend Christian or home schools. Seliger bluntly stated, “They are wealthy people willing to spend a lot of money to get policy the way they want it, and they get it.”
What can we do? First, we MUST get out the vote! Our vote matters more than ever. Second, we MUST elect candidates who don’t answer to mega-donors. Third, we MUST work on a bill limiting campaign contributions, so politicians answer to voters, not billionaires. But MOST OF ALL, we cannot get discouraged! We CAN use this knowledge for power. Power to get this turned around. According to Babe Ruth, “You just can’t beat the person who won’t give up.” Texans: we need to be those citizens, the ones who WON’T GIVE UP. We won’t give up until we return Texas to a representative democracy!
