Staying Engaged Through A Campaign That Lasts Forever
It does matter who votes and who we vote for, and never so profoundly as the 2008 elections when it comes to the future of reproductive rights and health.
I have the pleasure of being part of an intergenerational panel we call WomenGirls Ladies. Fabulous feminist friends and authors Kristal Brent Zook, Deborah Siegel, and Courtney Martin are the other panelists. We've just done several Women's History Month events, one at Central Michigan University.
While we were there, university folks asked us to interact with students in small classroom groups as well as the big convo that evening. Debbie and I were on our way to speak with students from the Honors Program about the challenges facing academically talented female students (they chose the topic). We stopped by the program director's office to plunk down our coats–Michigan can be freezing in March! There on his table was this amazing, completely spontaneous collage that says it all and then some.
I put it on my own blog but I wanted to share it here at Rewire so more people would see it. The symbolism of the gavel juxtaposed with "Bush's Legacy" and "The War on Choice" took my breath away. What more needs to be said about the importance of the elections ahead of us?
So I'm putting this picture on my wall. Whenever I feel like I'm getting exhausted from a primary season that seemingly is going on forever, I'll look at the picture and get an instant energy boost. It's not just the presidential election that we have to stay engaged with, but all the elections up and down the ticket wherever we live. It does matter who votes and who we vote for, and never so profoundly as the 2008 elections when it comes to the future of reproductive rights and health.
This picture reminds me it's our time to create a new legacy, the legacy of our choice.