GOOD OLD DAYS: They lacked basic human rights

Thank you, Susan Crowe, for your “My Turn” submission. The question you asked about “the good old days” is exactly what I also ask, “For whom?” The other question I ask is “When?” When were the good old days? I don’t want to return to the days when women had to go to back-ally doctors. I don’t want that for my granddaughters. I don’t want to go back to the days when I had to have my father sign for me so I could have a bank account and need a man to sign for a utility hook-up.

When I wonder what life is like for people of color, I think we still have a long way to go, but it’s still better than it was … ever. When I think about the ridicule, the shame, and the lack of rights for LGBTQ individuals when I was growing up, I’m thankful that more people today have learned that acceptance and love is preferable, that basic human rights are for everyone, regardless of our differences or beliefs.

When rights are taken away for any reason, that means rights are taken away from us all. Rights to think, rights to choose, rights to believe, rights to love are basic. I don’t want to go backward. Under our skin we have the same skeleton; I hope that how we treat each other will reflect that, but that won’t happen by going back to the “good old days.”

GERI HAGLER

Coeur d’Alene