Two women I admire a great deal — Elizabeth Edwards and Connie Schultz — have my brain working overtime.
This weekend, Elizabeth Edwards said to the Silicon Valley Moms, the DC Metro Moms and the Chicago Moms:
“We don’t get the change we want unless we are willing to work for it.”
A few weeks ago, when Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Connie Schultz spoke to a group of Washington, D.C. news women, she said, (I’m paraphrasing):
Women aren’t likely to get involved in politics until more women start writing about politics.
Do I feel a call to action coming on?
But one little PunditMom can’t do it all. Women writers are still vastly outnumbered when it comes to political coverage and opinion writing. As for working for change, I know most of the time I’m swamped with the daily minutiae of keeping our lives running smoothly (or not, depending on the day). The last thing I need is another item tacked on to the “To Do” list.
But I do have a voice. And so do all of the women I know.
Loud voices. Strong voices. Opinionated voices.
And I have a blog (OK, blogs). And so do lots of the women I know.
And lots of us like to use both. So why not use them for a cause?
Sure, I personally am hoping that the blue voices would be stronger than the red ones. But you know what? I’m betting that there’s a purple voice that could really change this country.
Sally Field was right. If women ran the world, there would be no more wars. So what are we waiting for?
I acknowledge the reality that women probably won’t be running the world in my lifetime, but it’s time to get the change going. It’s time to move in that direction.
If Markos can get his voice heard, it’s time for us to do the same. When he started, he was just a guy with a blog that few had ever heard of. Now, the presidential candidates are all over him.
It’s time for us to take our place in the political discussion and make some real change.
Are you with me?
October 1st, 2007 at 8:19 pm
I’ve never been extremely political, but I will do what I can. I think it’s important that we all do. I’m tired of being a faceless number who is easily overlooked.
October 1st, 2007 at 9:32 pm
We are talking about it. It’s just the stupid mainstream media doesn’t know where to look.
I’m with ya though. Just let me know which shoes to pack.
October 1st, 2007 at 10:56 pm
I am! I can’t wait to hear what you have to say, and to chime in myself.
October 1st, 2007 at 11:14 pm
Ditto.
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:10 am
I really don’t know if I agree that women are less political online than men. I think maybe it’s the way “being political” is defined. I don’t want to generalize about all women, but for myself, I’m all about connection and when I write, I can put a bunch of topics together.
If I write about a recipe, which then leads to how I hurt my back and how much I’m paying for health insurance, and that we need better health care in this country, which will be an important issue for me when I vote for the presidential candidate, will that be considered a political discussion? Maybe not.
What is considered online political discussion is rather narrow and needs to be expanded to the way that people think about politics and how political issues impact our lives. When we are talking about those nuances of our lives, it is political.
I was a Delegate for my city at the state convention last year and blogged about it in addition to all sorts of other things that were happening in my life. Yet, I don’t know that anyone considered me a political blogger, because I blogged about more than just the convention and those narrowly defined political issues.
October 2nd, 2007 at 1:07 am
you know i am, sister. you know i am. game on.
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:55 am
Opinionated? Lil Ole me?::fervently batting yelashes::
My first opinion I will share is that the word “fervently” sounds good but looks weird when typed.
Shifting gears, a political opinion. I am in, if I can bat my lashes, I can probably bat a few other things too.
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:59 am
Oops, left off the “e” on eyelashes. Didn’t want anyone to think I had reverted back to Olde English or something. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Even if I did revert back to Olde English, I’d still be speaking English better than our current president. I hope the next president has better language skills, if not we should consider lobbying for the No President Left Behind Act.
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:49 am
You know I’m in, babe. I’m soooo in!
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:45 am
Heck yeah.
There are so many connections to be made between the challenges we all face in our daily lives and actual policy-making – from the local level all the way up to the federal level.
We can use our online voices to be heard in ways that casting ballots just doesn’t make possible.
And you know I’m a huge fan of the purple. Not that I think there’s a third party that adheres to a particular platform as the red and blue parties do, but that views across the country are much more diverse than either side of the aisle has acknowledged.
October 2nd, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Count me IN, sister.. I’m writing this up (and the League of Maternal Justice) for 5:15pm tonight at Babble. Check it out
http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerderby/archive/2007/10/02/are-you-ready-for-the-quot-league-of-maternal-justice-quot.aspx
October 2nd, 2007 at 1:36 pm
This past spring I wrote some pieces that got me in to the Presidential Debates in Manchester NH to live-blog for the local news station. It was quite an experience…while live-blogging ain’t my gig (I suck at it! LOL) writing is my gig.
So, yeah, you know what? I’m in…I’m in! I have tended in the past to stay away from politics on my blog, but I’m thinking maybe that needs to change…
October 2nd, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Absolutely! Coming from the part of the country where a large part of women vote the way their husbands tell them to, I’d love any woman who bothers with a little ‘ol thing like politics, no matter what direction.
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:26 am
I’d never been the least bit involved in anything political -other than registering and voting -until two years ago this summer when the PA legislature passed some really outrageous pay raise for themselves and I was furious. Joined a grassroots group that I still follow but much of it is way too over-the-top conservative red state type stuff for this old liberal to handle. But it did stir a lot of feelings inside me that ok, I’m only one voice, but my voice plus your voice, plus my daughter’s, plus a few others here and there -and it then can be a mushroom effect where we WILL be heard! I don’t exercise that aspect enough and will have to take steps to begin changing that.