Today marks the 37th anniversy of the Supreme Court ruling on Roe V. Wade, which finally allowed safe and legal access to a reproductive choice long practiced in back alleys, with dangerous medical complications. I'm not going to get into the myriad of reasons why I think women have a basic medical right to access safe and legal abortions, other than to say, My Body, My Choice. Oh and also, Trust Women. And perhaps I should also add, Don't Like Abortions, Don't Have One. Oops, mustn't forget, If You Can't Trust Me With a Choice, How Can You Trust Me With a Child? And, perhaps my favorite, Every Child a Wanted Child.
Maybe some other time I'll break my support down for you in more detail, but honestly, though these slogans are pithy and catchy, they really capture the deeper meaning of the movement for me: the complex (and personal) decisions women make in their lives, the value of having protected reproductive choice in this country, the struggle for gender equality, the lack of resources and care that many born children face. One day, I sincerely hope that anti-choice people can start caring as much about the infants and children out there in this world as they do the fetuses in women's bodies. Furthermore, I hope that they can also realize that women, with the help of doctors and counselors, are perfectly capable of making up their own minds.
Keep Abortion Legal.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Blog for Choice Day: It's the Meaning That Counts
Thursday, January 14, 2010
What's Happenin' Here?
So, as you all know, I've started a new blog project to chronicle my give back: Ten Thousand Minutes. I'm trying really hard to keep that blog up-to-date and that might mean that I post less here (like that's even possible!). The two blogs are totally different--this one is more of a political, social platform and the other is more of a diary. It would be nice if writing in one made me want to write in the other, but let's face it, I only have so much time in the day. In fact, I only had time to post right now 'cause I'm home sick from work.
But... I hope y'all keep checking back here (and there!) every now and then, as I really enjoy sharing my snark. And let's face it, every minute of the day gives me something new to criticize, as long as Fox News is still on the air. Ha! I crack myself up!
Surprise, Surprise
Thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people, died yesterday in Haiti due to an earthquake. Thousands more will die because of lack of water, medical attention, and other basic services. The world, including the US, is answering the call for help. As we should, because it's the right thing to do. But what do conservative "Christian" pundits go and do? That's right, they spew off ignorant vitriol that I'm sure would make their Jesus cringe in embarrassment.
Pat Robertson: (my paraphrase of the video below if you just can't stand to hear the ignorant asshat speak) The Haitians were punished because back under their colonial rule of the French, they made a pact with the devil in order to get the French out. But, because of this pact, they have forever been cursed.
Me: Riiiiiighhhttt! Obviously the Haitians haven't had trouble after colonization cause of, well, the effects of colonization. It was *totally* the Devil. Oh wait, that was redundant.
Rush Limbaugh: (again, my paraphrase if you are physically unable to stand this dude's voice) 1) Obama is only pretending to care about Haiti because he wants to look good to black people. Both the light and dark variety, might I add. 2) Why do you have to see where to donate through whitehouse.gov? It's a conspiracy! We already give Haitians money through income tax (har har har). Oh yeah, and no one is allowed to complain that we don't do enough for Haiti 'cause some church missions here and there go over and try to help.
Me: dkjldfjkladsfjkadjkhfhjkgfjkdkajlfjkdkjfhjkgahjkajkf!!! ::head smacks keyboard::
1) Seriously?! Turning this into a race issues makes a point how? If Bush were president (God that made me feel sick just to write), even he would try to give something 'cause this is too serious to ignore as one human to another human. His giving wouldn't be about race, would it? He'd just be showing his Christian values.
2) You're right, Rush, some people in this country on days that aren't disasters do care about others and spend their time and resources and money to try to help. Sure, the cynic in me says that they also are doing so in order to convert people and get into heaven, but I'll quiet that voice for a second and say that I admire the people who, for whatever reason, take time out of their lives to care. If I believed in a higher power, I think the appropriate line would be, God Bless Them.
HOWEVER, just because a couple of hundred people try to make a difference does not negate that most of us don't! And that rampant social injustice and poverty exists all over this world and we need to do something about it not only when hundreds of thousands of people are affected by an earthquake. We need to do something now, not then. But, when hundreds of thousands of people are affected by a disaster, don't negate the giving that happens. Sure we should be better, but now is not the time to make that point. Now is the time to help our fellow human brothers and sisters.
Okay, rant over. I know I tend to wash people like Rush and Pat with the same paintbrush of ignorant and hateful, but I sometimes still can't believe the things that come out of their mouths and into their listener's ears.
Let's just hope it doesn't make it into their hearts or we're all doomed.
UPDATE: Also, putting my money where my mouth is, I would like to urge everybody to donate to aid efforts for the victims of the Haiti earthquake by either texting "Haiti" to 90999, which will give $10 to the Red Cross by charging your cell bill, or giving to this amazing health care organization, founded by Paul Farmer, Partners in Health. Since geography means I can't donate time, at the very least, let's donate some money.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
10,000 Minutes Project
Friends, for those that are curious and want to see how my resolution turns out, I've created a new blog. I'll continue to update my "opinion" pieces here, but will spend time chronicling what I do to give back over at Ten Thousand Minutes.
So, please, go check it out!
Friday, January 01, 2010
The Minutes to Come
It's officially 2010 and I am officially relieved. 2009 wasn't my best year, nor was it my finest moment. Although I had a lot of good things in my life last year, like our house, good times with friends, a brand-new nephew, travel, great work opportunities, I feel like I was living in anxiety quicksand for most of it. I conquered a lot of anxiety behaviors this year and gained a lot of really great coping skills, but the struggle to get to today was very difficult. It's exhausting to constantly do cognitive thinking, to reframe every thought you have, to question if your feelings are anxiety-driven or just how you feel, and then to chose the best way to respond when you really want to scream, cry, or hit something. E-X-H-A-U-S-T-I-N-G. Couple that with living in an OCD nightmare of boxes, construction, and instability and we had a recipe for me, well, flipping the fuck out. I damaged my marriage, my financial future, my career, my health... I bought massive amounts of crap to feel better, I drank alcohol to distract myself, I emotionally ate to the point that I gained thirty pounds, I checked out at work, and, worst of all, I failed to support my partner while he worked soooooo hard to make our house beautiful...
But, with a lot of support from my amazing husband, my family, my friends, my mental health practitioners, and last, but not least, from myself, I finally feel like I'm ready to live, and enjoy, the life that I want, that I worked for, even as I was drowning. More importantly, I'm ready to spend 2010 fixing my cosmic balance sheet. I took a lot in 2009, now I want to give.
Instead of making general and vague promises to "give back," I've decided to do something a bit different. I've added up all of the money that I spent in 2009 on emotional purchases and for every dollar I'm going to spend one minute doing something good for the people my spending most affected: the boy, myself, and those in my community who went without while I went with too much. In the spirit of openness, I'm going to share exactly how many minutes this actually is: 10,000. That's right, I spent 10,000 dollars on clothes, books, dvds, on crap, and now I'm going to spend 3,333 minutes helping the boy paint the trim or build the headboard or work on his art or watching movies he wants to watch or playing frisbee; 3,333 minutes eating well or exercising or taking advantage of opportunities at work or learning a new skill; and 3,333 minutes volunteering at homeless shelters or urban gardens or tutoring or job training.
It's going to be hard, not because 3,333 minutes is a lot--it's only about 55 hours--but because I'm not magically "cured" of my mental illness. I'm not suddenly anxiety free, able to handle whatever, whenever. I'm still going to have squidgy days where I don't quite know what to do and don't know how to fix what I'm feeling and make an unhealthy choice. But with everything I've learned and with all the amazing people in my life who were there for me and loved me despite me being soooooooo weird sometimes, I can do this. I know I can, because I already spent 2009 doing it, and I came out on the other side.
I'm ready, world. I'm ready.
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