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From the Bible Belt to Boston: No matter where you live, advocacy for religious freedom is essential

By Miura Rempis-Locke

Being an advocate for religious freedom as a Tennessean has always been an uphill battle – so many aspects of the day-to-day life of an average Southerner interact in some way with religiosity ranging from media depictions and discussions to legislative intent to educational policies and practices.

Religious expectation is deeply integrated with many activities in the South; your community is comprised of members from your nearest church, your elected official attends church events and uses them as face-to-face meetings with their constituents, your public school forum is begun with both the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer, and your child has the opportunity to attend a private religious  school using a tax-funded voucher provided by the state of Tennessee – you received a mailer about it over “Christmas” break.

‘What church do you attend?’

As a long-time Tennessean and an atheist, I realized these actions were encroachments – but widely accepted as part of the culture of the South. When I first moved to a town south of the Mason Dixon line, one of the first questions I was asked at my public middle school by a fellow student was what church I attended. Luckily, another new student in my grade must have sensed my hesitation, as she pulled me away from the lunch table to warn me that being nonreligious was not something that was common among our peers. Sarah was one of the first people I met at our school that I felt I could be my authentic self around, as she accepted me for what I did (and didn’t) believe. We became very quick friends and remain close friends over a decade later; my community was found outside of the church.

When I accepted a new job role in Boston at the beginning of this year, I felt relieved to have finally escaped the Bible Belt. The biggest culture shock was not so much the lack of religiosity that exists here but the ways in which Christianity is different.  Scattered across Boston are churches with rainbow Pride flags and Black Lives Matter signs in their front lawns, a far cry from the anti-gay and anti-trans messaging often heard in sermons across the South. The ways in which the communities here interact with the structure of the church seem different as well, with community and youth partnerships and aid initiatives being the most visibility that many churches receive.

Advocacy is necessary everywhere

My religious freedom advocacy will look different here, but Boston is not inherently safe from the dangers of Christian Nationalism. I moved just in time for a new presidential administration, and the implementation of many of the rumored Project 2025 initiatives that rely heavily on Christian Nationalism and complacency to implement. Less than two weeks in, DEIA initiatives have been scrapped, anti-trans initiatives have already started to roll out and pushes to replace federal employees with officials related to Project 2025 have already begun. Following public outcry of a federal grant freeze, the White House and OMB have reversed their plans only slightly, though this backpedaling signals an opportunity for hope to advocates across the nation that organizing against this religious encroachment may be possible.

What affects one of us in America affects us all – from Boston to the Bible Belt to the border of the West Coast. And even though advocacy may look different for me here as a new Bostonian, I am still a Tennessean who will not stand by as my friends and family back home fight, in some cases for their own identities and rights to their own bodily autonomy, the good fight.

Miura Rempis-Locke, an Americans United Youth Organizing Fellow, is a graduate of American University, where she received her Master of Public Administration, and an alumna of Middle Tennessee State University.

(Originally published to Americans United for Separation of Church and State on February 12, 2025).

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Life & Work with Miura Rempis-Locke of Middle Tennessee - The Nashville Voyager

Today we’d like to introduce you to Miura Rempis-Locke

Hi Miura, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story? My name is Miura Rempis-Locke, and I am an author, advocate, aspiring teacher, and avid reader of banned books. I was also crowned America’s Civic Miss in August of this year and am using my year of service to spread the importance of civic engagement in communities across the nation.

I fell in love with Public Policy at the age of 13 after becoming involved in an after-school program called “Youth in Government”—an overnight youth conference hosted by the Tennessee Center for Civic Engagement of the YMCA, during which students play-pretend and role play as representatives, senators, justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court, members of the press, and lobbyists. Several years as a youth delegate led me to eventually graduate and give back to the organization as a member of Volunteer Conference Staff during my undergraduate studies. My participation in the program encouraged me to pursue a degree in Political Science and History while at Middle Tennessee State University, which I completed in 2021.

During the completion of my undergraduate studies, I had more growing yet to do. At 19, I competed in my first ever scholarship pageant and loved the opportunity to talk in front of a panel of judges as well as perform on stage. I continued to compete for a local title while simultaneously becoming more involved with on-campus activities through Model United Nations, Mock Trial, and Speech & Debate. After winning my first ever pageant title championing a platform titled, “The Power of Civic Engagement: Voter Registration, Civic Education, and Democratic Participation,” I set out to explore new ways to promote civic engagement through the plethora of organizations that helped to shape me.

Thus, “Smarticle Particles and the Power of Civic Engagement” was born—a children’s book series intended to teach students civic topics including the US Constitution, the Women’s Suffrage Movement, and the Civil Rights Movement, as well as a Constitution Week workbook, which was created to use in Elementary and Middle School classrooms during civil celebrations that take place in September each year. The series has blossomed into my biggest creative project, and thanks to a collaboration with Dr. John Vile, Dean of the Paul W. Martin, Sr. Honors College of MTSU, a fourth installation is in the works featuring encyclopedic content for the upcoming semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) of American independence from British colonial rule.

After finishing my Master of Public Administration and Policy from American University, I set my sights on obtaining my Tennessee secondary education license with endorsements in History and Government, and will soon begin my work on a Doctoral program for my PhD in Public Policy and Political Theory. I currently spend my weekends in one of two ways: working on lesson plans, or traveling the nation to visit all 50 state Capitol buildings and donating a copy of one of my children’s books.

I am incredibly excited for the opportunity to build upon the work I have done and am even more enthusiastic about the young advocates I will get to help uplift through civic education in years to come.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome? All things worth doing have their own struggles.

Pageantry and political advocacy are, to some people, antithetical activities. I am thankful that for the last 6 years, I have had the opportunity to change that opinion for many others! Through several different fellowship opportunities such as Civic Influencers, SheVotesInc, and IGNITE National, I have had the privilege of talking with fellow pageant-queens-turned-activists and have been fortunate to help uplift the causes they champion during their time as titleholders.

An unfortunate truth of politics is that women are expected to behave and dress one standard way. The oxymoron of it all is that when pageant queens are dressed the part in these political spaces, they are often still not taken seriously. Fighting through this antiquated social practice has been difficult, but as more and more women fight for representation in political spaces, this challenge is changing for the better.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work? Voter registration and civic education go hand in hand—what first started with civic education in an after school program later became years of youth voting advocacy that altered the trajectory of my academic and lifetime career. Now, I am seeking to return to the classroom as a facilitator of civic education through teaching history and government.

I knew that someday I would return to the classroom when I accepted that the most fulfilling thing I’d ever done was create the Smarticle Particles Constitution Week Workbook. In the creation of the series as a whole, I fell in love with the writing process (which is done in a rhyme-scheme couplet format similar to the works of Dr. Seuss), and it was then that I decided to create the Workbook to fill a gap in educational standards surrounding the Constitution Week celebrations that happen each September. Children are plenty capable of understanding concepts of “right v. wrong” and the golden rule of “everyone is equal”, so bridging the gap in educational instruction felt like a necessary next step that I was called to take.

Civic education can be taught at all ages, which is something I have taken very seriously in my own journey with my personal and pageant platform. Smarticle Particles was just one avenue for civic education that I created. I sought out fellowships that helped me facilitate voter registration drives. I spoke in classrooms and to different organizations about the importance of voting, and further that voting is really only the first step in the democratic process. To a lot of people, “Miura” and “voting” always follow each other in conversation.

I have chosen to do these initiatives through pageantry for several reasons, with the primary reason being that as a woman my rights and representation are severely lacking in political spaces. Where better to access and activate other women who are passionate about a given topic than in organizations where they dedicate an entire year of service to their respective platforms donned with crowns and sashes? It has been a longstanding goal to encourage pageant women in these spaces because they are already change makers with goals and connections of their own—how better to engage others in the democratic process? As America’s Civic Miss, I aim to share my story with all young girls and aspiring leaders, as well as share educational resources for civic engagement.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us? Smarticle Particles and Constitutional Articles was written and published during the first initial Covid-19 lockdown. I had ended my internship with the Tennessee General Assembly through the Tennessee Legislative Internship Program early due to the pandemic, and instead threw myself into this creative endeavor (in addition to declaring a second academic major area to give myself something to prioritize).

More than the things that I personally did, Covid-19 changed my, and others’, outlook on social and governmental actions for better and worse. We watched as people died from preventable illnesses, as employees were deemed “essential” without changes to their wages or equipment, as the government was precarious with its duty to protect and provide for its citizens who pay tax dollars for that very reason. Covid changed a lot of the nation and the world.

For me personally, it encouraged me to become more educated, more driven, more engaged, and more ready to actualize change. I registered voters online. I attended online conferences. Once quarantine was lifted, I registered voters on campuses wearing a mask and gloves. I helped create a civic action plan for my campus to get voters to polling locations safely, and provided PPE to those who did not have it. I volunteered on election day, and I spoke on our local news about the turnout.

Though Covid-19 was absolutely a crisis, it gave many people a reason to push forward and become more active citizens, which in my opinion is still echoed today. The 18-25 year old voting block completed nearly all of either their high school or collegiate careers while observing some aspect of Covid-19, and today those voters are more engaged than the same age group from previous election cycles. We are lucky to have survived a global pandemic and are hopeful about improving our future.

(Originally published on https://nashvillevoyager.com/interview/life-work-with-miura-rempis-locke-of-middle-tennessee/ on October 28, 2024.)

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Miura Rempis-Locke crowned America's Civic Miss 2025 on August 10th, 2024.

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Young women need to run for office and disrupt the male-dominated Tennessee legislature

Young people may take a while to get into politics, but when they realize the issues at stake they step up.

I grew up in the Nashville area, and have seen a lot of toxic nonsense in Tennessee politics over the years. I’m tired of women in politics being held to a standard of perfection that only deters young women from owning their leadership and running for office. 

How is this 2023 and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn continues to get ridiculed for her hairstyle and home economics degree? There's no need for it––her political opinions and policy decisions are more than enough to critique. 

Like Senator Blackburn I came to politics with a background in pageantry –– it's given me skills like diplomacy and public speaking. I also know that a woman must be seen as "perfect" to get ahead in politics.

They can't be too pretty or too plain, we expect women to be social, well-spoken, intelligent and beautiful but they cannot be too intelligent, they cannot be too social, and they cannot be too beautiful. Politics will pull any reason out of the hat to put down a woman looking to get some political power. That's the magic trick of the patriarchy––it all becomes the woman's fault.

It's time for Tennessee women to stop waiting 'for our turn'

Young people in Tennessee, and particularly young women, don't want to "wait for our turn" any more. Already I see men my own age earning more in their political careers than I do.

And don't get me started on the state legislature's recent ban on abortion. It's no coincidence it's a body dominated by men, too many old enough to be our grandfathers. Tennessee’s young women need to run for these political seats. We need to win and we need to fix things. Until we have the same number of women in elected office as men, it'll be an unequal playing field. 

Young people benefit from learning how to legislate

I volunteer with an organization that empowers middle and high schoolers to step into the role of legislators by becoming one for a weekend-long conference housed in the Tennessee Capitol building.

Each year, students write legislation and it gets debated among their peers throughout the conference. In years past, they've passed mock legislation to change the state food to chess pie.

Young people may take a while to get into politics, but when they realize the issues at stake they step up. Our voices cannot be silenced and we deserve equal representation even if it means taking seats away from those in power.  While that might sound aggressive, it's true. And what someone calls "aggressive" when done by a young woman, they call "assertive" when done by a man.

Miura Rempis is a high school program facilitator with IGNITE National, a young women's political organization. She lives in Nashville.

(Originially published as guest columnist to the Tennessean on October 9, 2023).

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My IGNITE Journey: Youth Today, Leaders Tomorrow

My name is Miura Rempis, and I'm the 2022-2023 Nashville Fellow. I am a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University with degrees in Political Science and History. I'm currently a Master of Public Policy student at American University and a Master of American History student at the University of Memphis. I'm a legal secretary and paralegal in a state agency and a published civic-based children’s series author.

I was initially interested in becoming involved with IGNITE because of the organization's commitment to civic engagement and inclusion. In this past year as a Fellow, I have not only been able to see these values in action but have also had the privilege to work and partner with other organizations that gave me this drive as a young adult!

My time with IGNITE has been spent connecting with youth organizations that promote citizenship and government interaction while instilling the values of life-long civic engagement and participation in democratic and advocacy spaces. Youth in Government and Model United Nations conferences hosted by the YMCA of Tennessee’s Center for Civic Engagement, the Miss Volunteer America organization, the Miss America organization, and the regional League of Women Voters organization have all led me to become the lifelong advocate and leader that I am today.

To really understand my desire to partner with IGNITE and these other organizations, I need to also introduce myself as Miss Rutherford County Volunteer, a local preliminary title to the Miss Tennessee Volunteer Scholarship Pageant and the overarching Miss Volunteer America Organization. All local titleholders have a platform that we work with, fundraise on behalf of, volunteer time for, and promote as part of our year of service. My platform is called “The Power of Civic Engagement,” which exists because of my childhood involvement in the programs run by the Center for Civic Engagement at the YMCA of Tennessee.

Youth in Government was a four-night sleepaway conference with multiple roles: student delegates, who wrote mock legislation, performed Parliamentary Debate, and voted on legislative topics; attorneys for the Youth in Government Supreme Court who argued mock cases following legal procedure; lobbyists, who represent specific organizations and do research on their organizations’ policies and beliefs in hopes to sway the delegate votes in favor of dynamic mock legislation; and Governor’s Cabinet members, who ran for office and were voted upon to serve alongside the Governor and pass the final budget — the required task in order to adjourn the conference on Sunday afternoon. My time with the Youth in Government program not only shaped my path toward higher education but has ultimately led me to become a political scientist with aspirations to one day run for office — the very same goals that IGNITE works to instill into young women across the nation! It only made sense to partner with the Center for Civic Engagement upon becoming a Dr. Anne Moses IGNITE Fellow, because, to me, the two organizations shared so many of the same values of inspiring upcoming leaders to take civic and political action.

Since becoming a Fellow, I've been able to combine my three favorite things: the YMCA, my newfound love for IGNITE, and my pageant platform. I've been able to include the work and advocacy I’ve completed with IGNITE as part of my pageant platform initiative and outreach programming. IGNITE is the perfect place for these worlds to have collided, and I’m thankful to have the opportunity to bridge those communities together. I will have IGNITE (as well as these organizations previously mentioned) to thank the day I announce my intent to run for office (in 2036, y’all)! I am thankful for everything these organizations have instilled in me. Still, more importantly, I’m thankful that these organizations introduced me to the woman I would someday become and currently am. Without these organizations, Miura Rempis may not have existed in the way she does today!

I am eternally grateful to have IGNITE in my corner, and cannot wait to see what aspiring young women will join our ranks in the future. I cannot wait to vote for them!

(Originally published to IGNITEnational.org on 6/9/23 8:30 AM by Miura Rempis)

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Available on Amazon: Smarticle Particles and the Power of Civic Engagement

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What in the Hell is Happening in the Tennessee General Assembly?

What a title.

But I think it's necessary--the state of affairs that is currently going down in the Tennessee General Assembly encapsulates some of the most bigotry-motivated, homophobic, transphobic, sexist, and misogynistic nonsense the state has seen in recent years. It's a significant enough problem currently that protests happen nearly once a week across the state, email and phone campaigns against legislation take place every single day, our state's transgender and LGBTQ+ residents are fleeing for their own safety, national organizations are attempting to offer aid where applicable, and it's serious enough that I (someone who passes as straight and who will remain here for as long as I can to continue the fight for those who cannot justify staying) decided off the cuff to make a blog post about it for the first time in two years.

Welcome, if you're new. Welcome back if you've read my thoughts before... but mostly, I'm sorry if you're here because you belong to one of the marginalized and targeted groups being persecuted by the Tennessee GOP. I wish more than anything that I could stop what was happening, but unfortunately it appears that the members of the General Assembly will stop at nothing to drive out every single Tennessean, whether native or transplanted from elsewhere, out of the state permanently. Please know that you matter, that your life matters, that you deserve a life without someone questioning its validity, and you belong wherever you call home.

So, you've read this far. What in the hell is happening in the Tennessee General Assembly? Since the beginning of this legislative session (marking the convening of the two-part 113th General Assembly, which started on January 10, 2023 and will last until May of 2024) a slew of bills and resolutions have been introduced to the respective legislative calendars in both the Tennessee State House of Representatives and the Tennessee State Senate that attack civil rights on a grand scale. These bills range from book censorship in classrooms (a continuation of policy that passed last legislative session requiring public school teachers to seek approval from their respective county school boards for every single book in their classroom libraries, and was copied in several other states, though most notably in Florida), to forcing transgender children to medically de-transition and stop gender affirming care and punish and prohibit doctors from administering gender affirming care to any Tennessee resident under the age of 18 by both traditional and tele-health means (by March of 2024, and was actually marked as the very first bill introduced in the House for this legislative session), to requiring a license to perform in drag (which promises to punish those who perform for tips with a Class A misdemeanor, which receives a $2,500 fine and up to a year in jail for those who fail to be granted a license), to a bill that allows county commissioners to refuse the certification or issuance of a marriage license based on differences of ideological or religious beliefs (quoted from the bill as, "a person shall not be required to solemnize a marriage if the person has an objection to solemnizing the marriage based on the person’s conscience or religious beliefs"). The latter bill has the ability to completely gut marriage equality, not even just between non-straight couples, but also between interracial (and, technically, any orientation that could be objected to by the commissioner refusing the marriage certificate).

Was the trigger law that outlawed abortion--with no exceptions--after the overturn of Roe versus Wade back in July not enough of an attack on the rights of Tennesseans? They had to be sure to infringe on the rights of all marginalized demographics across the state... what equality.

That’s a very big, very scary block of text that does not entirely cover everything that the Tennessee GOP is currently attempting to push through the legislature. This legislation comes after a long fight during last session in which the GOP-drawn maps gerrymandered Nashville, which has historically been blue, into three different districts and splitting the vote in favor of a three-way rural Republican win. It worked. It was challenged in our Supreme Court, which sided with the GOP. Similarly drawn maps were struck down by federal courts, stating that the lines were drawn to intentionally exclude specific demographics. Our state's drawn lines remain. Just this morning, the ability and power of Nashville was swindled from under us: the House and Senate voted to decrease the number of people sitting on Metro Council, which serves all of metropolitan Davidson County, to only 20 people. This comes after Metro Council voted against sponsoring the Republican National Convention back in August of 2022.

Also happening today, and in a very odd turnabout of events, is chatter among various news outlets, members of the General Assembly, and citizens of the state regarding uncovered comments made by Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, a Republican from Oak Ridge, Tennessee who serves Anderson, Knox and Loudon Counties (and has since 1979), on a the public Instagram of a young gay constituent, which included heart and fire emojis alongside general words of encouragement. Not only does the content of the comments cause speculation, but the constituent’s account of the actions included insight that McNally started following him and commenting on his content three years ago, meaning the interaction began while the constituent was still a minor— McNally’s office maintains the interactions were all meant to be innocent. EDIT 3/10/2023: new evidence has also been found that points to McNally having similar interactions with the public pages of locally known drag performers. While many liberal-leaning sources are using the news story as figurative gasoline on a controversial fire regarding hypocrisy, the mostly-silent conservative majority has remained just that... eerily silent on the topic.

The fact of the matter is, McNally has historically spoken out against (a very small handful of) bills that diminish the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, despite voting in favor of similar bills throughout his long tenure in office. He claims to have “friends and family” who belong to the LGBTQ+ community and that he “holds no animosity” toward the community. What's currently happening with the situation is certainly sensationalized (and I do not envy the poor intern who is likely answering phones in a corner of an office that they've been assigned to without any say in the matter), but the larger topic that's been overlooked is the actual impact of this social media discovery: if McNally was a voice of reason as an alleged pseudo-ally, the stakes will only get higher from here. McNally now not only has a party to answer to (one which will likely try to alienate him for his activity or stance on topics concerning LGBTQ+ rights), but also may politically skew his sincerely-held opinions in order to remain in the good graces of the Tennessee GOP. Should he not remain in the good graces of the GOP, they could elect to remove him from his role as Lieutenant Governor of the Senate and replace him with someone who may not reserve the LGBTQ+ community as the sole soft spot in their iron-clad conservative fortress. EDIT 3/13/2023: the Tennessee Star, a (far) right-wing conservative news source has publicly called for McNally’s resignation.

So. What's happening in the Tennessee General Assembly? Other than the complete and intentional assault on civil and human rights that the Tennessee GOP have been waging against nearly two hundred and fifty thousand LGBTQ+ citizens and one and a half million people of color in the state of Tennessee... utter tomfoolery.

Statistics found from the US Census Bureau. Bills referenced found from the Tennessee State Capitol website legislation search function at https://capitol.tn.gov. Sign up for bill calendar updates to keep track of legislation being considered in the Tennessee General Assembly at https://www.capitol.tn.gov/lyris/sclerk.html and https://www.capitol.tn.gov/lyris/hclerk.html. Please consider donating or organizations fighting the good fight against bigotry across the state, including the Tennessee Equality Project (https://www.tnep.org/), the Tennessee chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ALCU) (https://www.aclu-tn.org/), and the Tennessee chapter of the Human Rights Campaign (https://www.hrc.org/in-your-area/tennessee).

Thank you for reading.

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(February 19th, 2021) 

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Welcome back, if you’ve been here before. After a lot of debate and deliberation, I’ve decided to revamp this blog! With much new content and news to share, I am pleased to announce that this is the prime place to read political opinion pieces, updates from the news, commentary on current events, and bad puns. 

While you’re here, head on over to my Instagram, instagram.com/miuradorable to find information on my first-ever children’s book Smarticle Particles and Constitutional Articles (in case you had wondered wherever I’d come up with this piece-of-art-blog-name). 

Thank you for being a part of #thepowerofcivicengagement! 

NOTE: All opinions are my own, and any post made prior to this announcement is dated back to 2018. I will include posting dates in my new blog updates!

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United States: The Space Force Awakens

On a press release on June 18th, 45th President Donald Trump announced his intent to create a sixth military branch called the United States Space Force. Within hours of the Space Force being announced, news outlets, Facebook, and Twitter all buzzed with criticisms, critiques, and jokes surrounding the prospect of a science fiction sounding militia. By August 9th, Vice President Mike Pence made a press release debuting the Department of Defense plan for the Space Force, saying that the intent is to start building the foundations of the branch as soon as 2020. A newsletter from the Re-elect Donald Trump Campaign also released images of possible USSF logos as part of a fundraiser.

What exactly does this mean for the United States? Well, firstly, the act of creating a new branch of the US military would be in the hands of Congress, because an executive order cannot go in detail enough to create an entire armed forces facility, specifically in non-american territory. The likelihood of Congress passing a law that would create a new branch of the military is relatively small, given that our current branches of military function well already, dividing up various tasks that would be covered by the new Space Force upon passage of the initiative.

Secondly, the issue of resources and budgeting stands in the way of directly putting this into action. The Department of Defense currently absorbs the largest monetary amount of the fiscal year budget of federal spending of any other branch. The current five branches of the United States Armed Forces use on average over $500 billion, and for the 2018 fiscal year, the Department of Defense was allotted $655 billion. Upon the implementation of the new United States Space Force, the budget would either need to reflect the change in materials needed and money to be taken out of taxes, or our current branches of the armed forces would be forced to forfeit the money used to maintain reserve soldiers, ammunition, and military benefits to absorb the costs, though the plan is unclear; no cost has been determined yet.

Unless the new United States Space Force had immense funding, the cost of building new aircraft, launch centers, and training astronauts who were prepared to spend years in space, the American economy would be forced to pick up the slack that the federal government was incapable of paying for, thus forcing prices to raise, inflation to raise, wages to plummet, and possibly also cause trade to suffer. Also, with the disclusion of the Environmental Protection Agency from plans to create this new military branch, the environmental impact of unclean manufacturing could cause the United States’ carbon footprint to grow even larger than it already is.

A factor that has been left unclear is the United States’ intent on keeping a “standing” Space Force or Space Force Reserve, which other branches of the US military currently have. Because of the conditions of space (no gravity, no air, not much of anything to protect, currently), it would be impractical to have this new branch in space at all times. Space is already currently occupied by the International Space Station, or the ISS, which is partially owned by the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada, and the European Partner, and though it rarely has humans on it, any human life stranded in space is free to utilize the ISS for emergency response and habitation. As the only country or nation-state in the world to actually have their own space military, the US would likely find that the new branch would be not only a waste of money, but also a waste of resources.

In 1983, then-president Ronald Reagan formed an initiative called the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), which was affectionately called “Star Wars” by the public; during that period of time, the United States was still in the midst of the Cold War with Russia, and the necessity of an anti-ballistic missile system in space to protect the United States from the Soviet threat was still laughable at best. This makes the prospect of a new branch even more ironic to many Americans and non-americans alike. Given the infamous relationship that is currently held between the President of the United States and the leader of Russia, Vladimir Putin, it seems increasingly suspect that a Space Force is necessary.

Plans have been set in motion for the introduction of legislation about the new military branch, and we will likely know more about it down the road. Regardless of the arguments against it, there will likely be a long feud to be fought between Congress and the Executive branch regarding the Space Force, and given the history of the tight-knit relationship that takes place when there is both a Republican Congress and President, well…. Never tell me the odds.

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You Need To Vote In Midterm Elections

If you live in the United States, you’ll have a basic understanding of how elections work; this article will work on the assumption, however, that you may not have a full understanding of greater government and why your vote matters in congressional elections, because unfortunately midterm elections have an average turn-out rate of less than 40% (according to fairvote.org’s study).

After our most recent presidential election (2016), where the losing party actually won the popular vote by more than three million votes, many frustrated Americans questioned the necessity of the Electoral College, saying that it was undemocratic and that elections were unnecessary if the Electoral College gets the ultimate say in presidential elections. First, I’ll explain why the United States has such a unique system of voting, then I’ll explain how this pertains to midterm elections.

In the year 1804, Congress voted to pass the 12th Amendment, which instituted the Electoral College in order to help even out the vastly different regions of the growing United States; Men in the country were less likely to be able to participate in voting than those who lived closer to the then-metropolitan areas of a given state. In theory, this helped moderate voting so that everyone’s voices were heard. This is not dissimilar from the attempt Congress made with the institution of the Connecticut Plan (which combined the New Jersey and Virginia plan, giving Congress a Senate of 100 people and the House of Representatives however many congressmen that could represent the population of each state), which was aimed to give the individual states themselves more representation. Given the population dispersal across the US at the time, the institution of the Electoral College aimed to ensure all rural votes counted as much as urban ones did.

Fast-forward to how the Electoral College operates today. Ultimately, the Electoral College operates the same as it always has, but now has unintended side effects; the EC now has more power than the actual people voting do. The EC now overinflates rural votes and functionally disables the popular vote, meaning that the votes of Electors are not operating equally under the laws of the United States. THAT is a blog post for another time…

When you go to the polls this November, you will be voting on who gets to make laws in Congress, thus confirming the people that choose the citizens who get to vote as an Elector of the Electoral College. Keep in mind that technically speaking, neither elected members of Congress NOR Electors in the Electoral College are under any legal obligation to vote in the direction of their state (called “faithless electing”) and this is extra frustrating when your party is the minority party of your state.

In a future where all of the students and citizens reading this both meet the age requirements set in the 17th Amendment and wish to cause measurable change, we can find a way to pass a new amendment that changes congressional accountability and repeals the Electoral College… But until then, the best first step you can take is to continue to vote in midterm elections. Your future depends directly on your vote!

Those not registered to vote, please visit ://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote before November elections. And remember, though “con” is the opposite of “pro”, Congress does not have to be the opposite of Progress.

(Several sections of this post have been edited for clarity (2020) (2022). The original was uploaded to The Odyssey Online in 2017 under a similar name, without clarifying edits.)

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In Constitution We Trust?

A bill passed by the Tennessee 110th General Assembly back in April has resurfaced in infamy due to the proximity of the upcoming school year. The “National Motto in the Classroom Act” (also known as Tennessee House Bill 2368), sponsored by District 57 Representative Susan Lynn, calls for all educational institutions both public and private to display the national motto, “In God We Trust” in a visible spot for students to observe. This bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated 49-6 and can be found at http://www.capitol.tn.gov/legislation/.

Why is this problematic? For starters, this bill should have been flagged as unconstitutional by the Tennessee Attorney General under the establishment clause of the first amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” While this is indeed one of the national mottos of the United States, it is not the only motto; on the grounds of “patriotism”, as suggested by the necessity of this bill, the motto “E Pluribus Unum” (Of Many, One) would not only be more Constitutionally binding, but considerably more appropriate for display in elementary and secondary education institutions for historical purposes.

Furthermore, this is problematic due to the nature of the bill’s introduction. Congress- woman Lynn gave an interesting opening speech to introduce HB2368 by saying that the intent of the bill was historical, stating that, “It’s really important that children understand the foundation of our government,” and followed by stating that “Congress passed the national motto in the 1940s… It’s just a really good thing to display our national motto.” [Transcript taken from News Channel 5 online.] The issue with this is that both of these statements of justification are incorrect. Congress originally passed a bill to change the national motto, which was signed by then-president Dwight D. Eisenhower, in 1956. Therefore, the motto was also not fundamental to the foundation of the United States government, as it would not be officially made into our country’s motto for more than 180 years!

Lastly, and this part is the vital one, but the motto “In God We Trust” was implemented as a scare tactic during the Red Scare. When passed by President Eisenhower in 1956, the Cold War had already been taking place for 9 years. It was at this time that the threat of Communism became overwhelming to many western countries, which resulted in the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in order to provide opposition to the Soviet Union’s forces, which were invading the Republic of China. Effectually, the United States’ response to the spread of Communism was fear, and the best way to curb fear was with reassurance. The United States public was fed propaganda during what would later be called the Red Scare, or the desperate spread of anti-communism. One of the reassurances that the scared public were given was that Communism was inherently non-religious by nature and therefore a religious motto would prevent the government from falling victim to the perils of Social Communism. Therefore, “In God We Trust” was voted as the United States’ new national motto by a congressional assembly terrified of being falsely outed as Communist to their peers.

And so, “In God We Trust” can be found on all paper money and coinage (as well as the words “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, which were added in 1963). Regardless of whether or not a majority of citizens are religious, they are all still members of a nation with a Constitution that binds them to justice and gives them the responsibility to uphold that justice for all of their neighbors and peers. And while it is not surprising that a bill with blatantly religious intent could be passed in a state where being religious is somehow still a requirement for office holders according the state constitution, it should cause concern for all Tennesseans who value the US Constitution.

Representative Lynn’s seat, as well as the other 98 state Representative seats, is currently up for election. Please exercise your voting rights this August.

(Find the original post at https://www.theodysseyonline.com/in-constitution-we-trust)

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Well this is problematic.

King George III upon reading the Declaration of Independence (via the-libertarian-hellblazer)

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Gallatin High School senior Miura Rempis has had her eyes set on politics since middle school, when her active journey in Youth in Government began.

And her hard work has attracted the attention of Youth Legislature's leaders. On April 9, she was selected among 25 teens statewide to attend the YMCA's Conference on National Affairs (CONA) this summer.

"That's considered one of the highest honors," the 18-year-old said. "I was so shocked and I cried."

She had 10 days to submit her proposal for a change in public policy, which she will take through the processes to pass and enact at the conference.

"The second I got home from the Youth Leg conference, I started writing my proposal," Rempis said. "I started looking up foreign policy and current issues on the Tennessee Technological library website."

She decided to propose changing the number of people that sit in the House of Representatives "so there is an equal proportion for all people in the electoral college," she said.

Her adviser Baker Ring, who teaches government, was proud to hear Rempis was selected to attend CONA.

"She's an outstanding student and has the potential to do whatever she wants to do in life," Ring said.

All this comes after a separate bill passed through Youth in Government's House and Senate at the Youth Legislature Conference, and was signed into law by the Youth in Government governor.

Her bill would allow transgender citizens to change their gender on their birth certificate after birth.

"We are one of four states in the United States that doesn't allow that," Rempis said.

Although the bill wasn't signed into law by Gov. Bill Haslam, it has been published and could be sent to a congressperson to submit it.

"If I get all my ducks in a row, I could end up running for representative or senator someday," Rempis said. "So even if it doesn't happen (now), it could happen when I do it."

Rempis has been involved in a variety of extracurricular activities through her high school career, most recently as the student body secretary, treasurer for YIG, treasurer for Key Club International, treasurer of Honor Society and field commander for the marching band, in addition to working a part-time job.

But she has especially enjoyed attending the Youth Legislature conferences each year.

"It's the one thing I've stuck to really hard," she said.

Rempis plans on attending Middle Tennessee State University this fall to major in political science and minor in music.

Reach reporter Jen Todd at 615-575-7143, jtodd1@gannett.com or on Twitter @jentoddwrites. (Originally published to the Tennessean on April 17, 2017.)

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Me with Portage, IN Mayor James Snyder in 2007 with Mrs. Jennifer Peele's 2nd Grade class.