I'd estimate at least half the Bible Belt is made up of people like me. In Kansas, the toughest among them are elderly women. They give politicians at the state capital hell like no one else. The most hateful people in the Bible Belt get most of the media coverage, so we all get stuck with a bad reputation. Opinion journalists love feeding the hate and paranoia with bizarre conspiracy theories (legal if they throw in a quick disclaimer) until some small civil unrest occurs, then they show off the zealots as a kind of freakshow.

And really, the ultrasounds are just a tiny part of Governor Brownback's attacks on abortion. He has been going after it since he took office. Right now there's a bill to ban the dilation and evacuation procedure that has a good chance of making it. If it doesn't die here, it will probably end up at the Supreme Court, and I doubt they'll quash it.

The protesters aren't the main threat to abortion in Kansas anymore, at least in their older form. Nowadays Kansans are having to duke it out with Koch Industries, a majority made of deep red politicians and skilled pro-life organizations. Kansans for Life even helped write the bill I just mentioned.

There really isn't a barrier between religious nutjobs, corporate interests and our state government anymore. They all worked hard to oust moderates and pro-choice representation. The misinformation they spread about abortion (and almost every other issue) boggles the mind. It's gonna be a rough few years. I fear it's gonna take a huge hit to education before enough people get activated that we can start taking back the state. Some areas still feel pretty raw about the school finance reforms of the 90s. The superintendent of my K-12 district maneuvered around the reforms for years, but ultimately we ended up losing two elementary schools. Mine was one of them. The first protest I ever participated in was right by my school when I was ten.

I have faith in Kansas, but other Bible Belt states are heading down similar roads and I'm not well-versed in each one's unique political climate. Kansas has a long history as a proving ground for upheaval and that's a point of pride for the people.