Baby Boomers know the origins of the phrase "Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose." The Kris Kristofferson & Fred Foster song and music was made famous by singer Janis Joplin and was considered a type of theme song for the 60s generation in political upheaval.

Now, more than ever ‘Democracy’s   just another word for nothing left to lose’.

With the executive branch of government extending beyond normal reach and the court systems cowering in the shadows, the legislative branch is clicking their heels to join the chorus.

You have undoubtedly heard about the term gerrymandering. According to an article by Zachary B. Wolf on CNN:

"Halfway between the 2020 and 2030 census is not the normal time to be talking about redistricting, or gerrymandering, but the issue has nonetheless taken over the political conversation.

Perhaps sensing some political weakness and fearing the loss of their House majority, Republicans are looking for more congressional seats. But rather than just trying to win them at the ballot box, they’re primed to conjure additional seats by redrawing congressional maps in Texas.

Democrats, tired of being outplayed, have threatened to redraw maps in states they control, such as New York and California, although it’s more difficult to accomplish in states that, heretofore, have tried to make the process less political."

In a nutshell, the government is moving towards fair and equal voting rights by dividing congressional districts in an attempt to sway voting patterns.

If you chop up a largely Black,  Hispanic, Liberal, or Conservative voter district and meld it into a district that favors your political leanings, you win the district.

The problem is that gerrymandering threatens true rights to a vote.

The U.S. Constitution laid out a system  on how members of Congress are divided among the states. A ten year census would provide for changes due to shifting birth rates and moving patterns.

The Constitution leaves it to states to determine who, exactly, those members of Congress will represent. In states with more than one US representative, the process of drawing congressional maps is known as redistricting. Some states give that power to their legislatures. Others have assigned the task of redistricting to nonpartisan or bipartisan commissions.

Republicans and Democrats both do it, but Republicans have more openly embraced the process. In practice, it’s the equivalent of politicians picking their voters instead of the other way around, which is an inversion of the democratic process.

Now, in order to sway the midterm elections in the Republicans’ favor, your President Trump has urged Texas to redistrict ahead of time in order for the Party to stay in power.

Bipartisan commissions are the least likely to move towards gerrymandering, but when it is left up to the Party in power...  ‘Democracy’ becomes less prevalent and the move towards a dictatorship is close at hand.

The problem is that many Americans today simply don’t care. The sway of conspiracy theories outweighs facts,  and if gerrymandering is the way to follow falsehoods than it becomes the tool of the oppressive.

The Republicans of today, once the   Party of democracy, has become the  torchbearer of cowardice and survival of power under Donald Trump.

The cross to bear is not  original to Trump, he is just the lackey at the top of the heap. What is scary though is the fact that Trump is the very nemesis of the conspiracy theory full blown and enough anti-democratic followers are willing  to take that path.