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Today I'm angry. Really angry. I don't ever blog about politics or religion but sometimes you have to break your own rules so here we go.

Over the years I've heard a lot of silly statements from vintage lovers.

"I was born in the wrong era"
"Thing were so much better in the 1950s"
"That was such an innocent time".

 Behind the image of Coca Cola picnics and gingham sun dresses were terrible moments in human history. Segregation, discrimination, internment camps and genocide. As we all learned from our history books, the eras that we love for fashion were certainly not some wonderful jive and wail soda fountain fest.




I write about this today and share these images because we share a common interest. We listen to old music, watch old movies and wear old clothes but by "living in the past" we must also look to our future. This week, politicians in Arizona and my home state, Missouri have filed legislation that would allow business owners to refuse service to patrons based on religious beliefs. They're calling it "the anti-gay bill" but its so much more than that.




Our grandparent's generation decided that it was okay to separate white facilities from other races. They signed laws to allow the round-up of Japanese American men, women and children into internment camps. A hard working black man could be refused a job because of his skin color.




If a gay couple goes to lunch, will they be refused service? If I go to lunch with my sister and am seen giving her a hug and smiling, could we be refused service because someone thinks we're a couple? Will my Wiccan mother not be allowed to go grocery shopping if the store owner notices her? Will we allow our government to round up families that don't conform to their religious ideas and force them to live in muddy villages under armed security? Regardless of your race, gender, sexual orientation or religion, these decisions impact all of us.

Love the past but live for the future and never let history repeat itself.

Read more on the proposed Missouri bill .  The Arizona Bill has been vetoed and you can read more about that here. While it's a victory for civil rights, it also took a lot of money and power to make it happen, which is sad. I hope that we all keep a very close eye on these kind of events and that by writing letters, signing petitions and speaking out for what you hold dear, everyone does their own part to make history.