What do you do when you see your neighbor? Do you tell them what you think their kids should be reading? Do you insist that they consult you before making their personal medical decisions? Do you insist that they stay home during elections because you think they’ll vote “wrong”?
Think of it. That person is the same one who you sometimes see by their mailbox, or pulling into a driveway near your house, or packing groceries up your apartment building’s stairs.
That’s your neighbor.
Imagine now that your neighbor spots you at the café or down at the park with your kids or catches you where you work and starts telling you how to live your life. Well, that’s exactly what’s happening right now in the Idaho Legislature.
Your neighbors—the politicians-next-door—have pushed through your front door. They’re thumbing through your bills and canceling your doctors appointments. They’re sorting through your paperbacks to make sure nothing’s too racy. (God forbid your kid takes up an interest in reading.) They also want to make sure your boys only have well-armed toy soldiers to play with your girls’ mathematically challenged, skinny-armed Barbies. (I know, Mattel, you’re doing better these days.)
I think most Idahoans agree that neighbors should not intrude so deeply into each other’s lives.
This week we’ve seen a bill aimed at giving the government the final say over a woman’s personal medical decisions. Man or woman, it’s none of your neighbor’s business what your reproductive health care decisions are. It is definitely none of the government’s business. This bill takes away every woman’s rights and cedes those rights to her neighbors.
We’ve seen a bill that ignores doctors’ medical advice regarding transgender kids. That’s none of your neighbor’s business either. Doctors and families have also warned that the bill hurts kids. That’s simply horrible.
We’ve seen a bill to punish librarians for throwing open the doors of knowledge to our communities. If your neighbor only let’s their kid read dog-eared copies of “Fun with Dick and Jane,” well, they shouldn’t be allowed to make that terrible decision for your kid too.
And, it’s easier to install tyrannical politicians if it’s harder for the rest of us to vote. So, the worst of Idaho’s politicians are passing laws that make voting harder for people who are constrained by long work hours, childcare demands, or any of a number of barriers that come with ordinary life.
Right now, our rights are under threat. That’s because of what’s happening in our communities, our neighborhoods. And, here in Idaho, it may be true that we choose leaders from among our neighbors. But, more and more, we have been selecting that loud minority of politicians who don’t truly share our beliefs.
And, by the way, it’s fine when neighbors disagree. Actually, we are richer when we have many voices helping guide our decision-making. Disagreeing is rarely a problem when we respect each other’s personal liberties. But it is a problem now.
Good neighbors have much more respect for each other than this.