Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, Wives :: Texas Monthly

Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, Wives :: Texas Monthly

The link above will take you to the August 2012 issue of Texas Monthly Magazine.  The article by Texas author, Mimi Swartz, made me furious.  In fact, the article made me so angry that I sat down at the computer to write after more than a year without posting a word.  This is not a diatribe on the issues of abortion or welfare; it's about what's happening to women.

Every woman in the USA should read this article, but it should be mandated that Texas women read it.  And the next time you hear a politician tell you that "there's no war on women," remember this article.  Ladies--and gentlemen--do you realize that in Texas, and in other states, there are men who want to take away the right to practice birth control?  And they are succeeding because women are allowing it.

How did we arrive back at the place in our nation where men decide what's right for our bodies?  Where men can beat down and hold down the poor by eliminating any chance of improving and controlling their health, thus preventing them from reaching up and making their lives better?  The poor are with us; they always will be.  In these economic times, any of us could suddenly become the poor.  Surely there isn't a soul out there who thinks that continuing to provide birth control and health services to people in economic straits is less desirable than paying for the result of no birth control and no health services?

We need heroes--politicians and regular people who will stand up for what's intelligent, compassionate, and wise, and who are not afraid to man up and go a few rounds with those who would impose an agenda that keeps women barefoot and pregnant.