The Handmaid's Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, was published in the 1980s. It is also a TV show on Hulu. The 4th episode debuts tonight. The protagonist, Offred, is a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, which exists after the United States has for the most part fallen to right wing extremists. Offred is not he real name––it is June––but she's stripped of her identity and made to live in her "Commander's" household where she will serve as a surrogate for the Commander's wife because it is thought the wife is barren. This is the role of the handmaid.
Women have no rights. A theocracy exists where free speech is limited; homosexuals are murdered; and anyone who opposes the system is murdered or tortured. It hits all too close to home because the United States has seen efforts by the current administration to do the following: expel non-white non-citizens the "other") Trump's immigration executive order ; efforts to curtail women's reproductive rights Trump's attempt to limit the right to choose ; increased surveillance and the erosion of the right to privacy Congress can sell your browsing history ; attempts to destroy the free press erosion of the 1st amendment ; attempts to break up federal courts Trump wants to split the 9th Circuit ; and discrimination against homosexuals Trump to crack down on LGBT community .
All of this should scare anyone who loves the rule of law and the United States in general. As the metaphor goes in The Handmaid's Tale, when the water is turned up on us gradually, eventually we are boiled to death. The policy changes in the US have been fast and extreme, but it will get worse. Deprivations of freedom against many of us are occurring more slowly so that we do not see it. In may ways, we are distracted by the constant sideshow of extreme executive orders, crazy statements, and scandal du jour. Wait until people are arrested and jailed indefinitely for opposing the current administration; wait until a terrorist attack is staged as a proxy to declare marshall law; and pretty soon we will be in a police state, and we will wonder how we got there.
It could happen. It is happening.
Don't let it happen.
