catwoman

I used this favorite retort in response to kids who denied my right to use a play space or say something unpopular. Other kids used the phrase as did grown-ups when they challenged the grocer about the price of bruised fruit, or went before the Board of Ed about the location of bus stops. Before learning about the first amendment to the constitution, I inferred that we each had the right to express and act on our right to freedom of speech, and equal access to public
spaces... I also inferred these rights were limited.

Politics used to be denigrated about "political deals worked out in smokey rooms. Compromise was fashioned and and legislation, and a presidential agenda could take shape. Come election time, party loyalty was expected. Otherwise, politicians crossed party lines, and each party encompassed membership across the political spectrum. Since the seventies the two parties split primarily over "values" and "lifestyle," too dichotomized and vitriolic bodies. The sole focused has narrowed to attaining dominance. The dirty politics of yesteryear
allowed political action even across party lines.