Cassie Craven:  No. Truth Is Not For Sale. 

Perhaps one of the greatest quotes of all time –

Rosa Parks: “No.” 

On a frigid, December night in Alabama, Rosa Parks would not give her seat to a white passenger. She would change politics and policy through her reclamation of her space even in the face of persecution and arrest. 

She paid the bus fare and took an empty seat in the area of the bus marked "coloured.”

When the bus driver demanded the seats of four individuals, including Rosa, three of them stood. Sitting alone, Rosa refused.  

Rosa later commented, “I did this because I felt I was being violated as a human being.” 

It’s hard to know if she fully understood the repercussions of her actions in the moment. Perhaps she stood up because she felt, in her soul, that giving up her seat was wrong.

Not only did she have a physical need to rest her body after a long day’s work, she longed to be recognized as her own autonomous being. She, as an individual, had rights to be honored from the highest source, not the sways of political correctness, trendy norms and customs.  

She had to have known that in moral law, she was an individual woman who had every damn right to sit in that seat.  

Only 70 years ago, a woman stood up for, or rather sat for, her right to her own space, safety and security. She demanded recognition as a human with rights of autonomy and independence.  

Blacks were told at the time they didn’t exist as humans with rights. They were subjected to a secondary classification and treated out of convenience by the establishment, subjugated and disrespected.  

The new feminist movement models this in many aspects.  

The days of the “pussy hats” at D.C. marches are out. Some of the flavors of feminism of the past were a bit out there, I think we can all agree.  

These days, feminists are more aligned with Riley Gaines and others who stand up for women’s-only spaces and the protections of Title IX.

Then there is a subset of leftists who adopt the propaganda that “trans women” are “women.” This is a semantic game to indoctrinate people into believing that a man who would like to identify as a woman can force that interpretation upon those with different speech and religion.  

These leftists confuse “inclusion” with “intrusion.” This is an important distinction because intrusion means we belong to a born gender and some spaces are identified sacred – women’s only groups, bathrooms and sports.

To ignore logic blindly in the face of political pressure is absurd and akin to Orwell’s 1984, wherein the Speech Police will soon arrest if we use an incorrect pronoun. 

Most of these people are unwitting pawns in a larger game.

Society has been propagandized into subordinating our God-given rights to placate societal norms. If we don’t resist, great peril and detriment will result. In fact, it could cost you everything. The war against women parallels the civil rights movement. 

How about “no.”

How about, I will not live your lie.  

During Wyoming’s legislative session, leftists argued that the laws regarding transgender issues shouldn’t be in place because they can’t be enforced.

“Will someone be doing gender checks?” they railed. “Who will the vagina police be?”  

The fact that we have to have laws now to bring back semblance to common sense is horrifying. And to be honest, I find it a sad waste of time.

But here we are. The issue’s importance is too critical. Holding the line is too essential. Protecting children and informing society cannot stop.  

Those who dare stand up and question the system face silence, punishment, and, legally, starvation from their day in court. You must decide that darkness can take nothing from you and continue the fight, knowing how the story ends. Don’t be afraid to say “no,” even when the cost is high. Truth is not for sale. 

Cowboy State Daily columnist Cassie Craven is a University of Wyoming College of Law graduate who practices law in Wyoming. She can be reached at: longhornwritingllc@gmail.com