Editorial: Supreme Court wounds Lady Liberty

File Photo By Vandana Ravikumar/Cronkite News: Supreme Court justices Wednesday grappled with whether Arizona death-row inmates can raise new appeals in federal court, a move the state argues is barred under the Antiterrorism Effective Death Penalty Act.

File Photo By Vandana Ravikumar/Cronkite News

Column By Melissa Martin 

Melissa Martin

A cry of anguish surges from sea to shining sea. Circling the planet, the cry returns to our nation’s Capital but finds no home. Cast afar— akin to “A Man Without a Country,” Freedom falls to her knees. And weeps. 

Lady Liberty bleeds on the floor in a man-made building in Washington, D.C. A slab of her heart sliced and diced. The U.S. Constitution sobs. Why have the citizens forsaken me? The flag rips apart between the stars and the stripes. Why have the citizens forsaken me? The Liberty Bell breaks into chunks of bronze. Why have the citizens forsaken me? 

Choked by mandated vaccines in the highest courts of the land; one lung of liberty collapses. By a vote of 5-4, the Justices granted the Biden administration the power to enforce a vaccine mandate for health care workers at facilities that receive federal funding.  

Am I dying? groans Democracy. Why would the blessed country of the United States of America want to kill me? 

Wait. Freedom still has a heartbeat as Justice Clarence Thomas tries to stop the bleeding by filing a dissenting opinion – joined by Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett. Four wise leaders of liberty.  

The remaining five will not be arrested, charged, or jailed. They deny any crime against injuring Freedom. Her blood is not on our hands. 

Two conservative justices — Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Brett Kavanaugh — joined with the three liberal justices to form the majority. Why did Roberts and Kavanaugh betray Freedom?  

Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan kicked our Lady of Liberty in the teeth. But, for how long will her voice be stifled? 

Millions of Americans have been denied the right to choose whether a needle full of liquid is shot into their body. Refusing is the same as being fired, shunned, rejected. And will the boosters for federal healthcare workers be mandatory in the future as well? If so, how many and when will forced vaccines and boosters end? How many jabs will Americans tolerate before saying enough is enough?  

What’s next in the Biden battle for control? Supreme Court-mandated vaccines for children to attend public schools. Forced shots for pregnant mothers and newborn babies delivered in hospitals? No child left unvaccinated.  

Stand strong sweet Freedom. The Supreme Court blocked the federal mandate for private workers to vaccinate or test. And remember the Revolutionary War – the fight for American independence. Lady of Liberty, millions of Americans will defend you.  

“True freedom requires the rule of law and justice, and a judicial system in which the rights of some are not secured by the denial of rights to others.” – Jonathan Sacks 

Melissa Martin, Ph.D., is an opinion-editorial columnist and author. 

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author.