Thursday, July 5, 2012

NO MORE OP-EDS BY MARIE ANTOINETTE, PLEASE by Lisa Duggan

Ann Slaughter's June piece in the Atlantic entitled by the editors as "Why Women Still Can't Have it All" — undoubtedly to appease the PageView Gods — has generated more Google Juice than Kim Kardashian's love life.

But I'm not going to let that stop me from weighing in:

****************
My thoughts' on Ann Slaughter, and "Having it All":

One could summarize Slaughter's piece as her "Is that all there is?" moment, the mid-career crisis written about, talked of, and divorced over for, by men for centuries. Her "Cat's in the Cradle" swan-song. And in choosing that view, we can see Ann's turning point as an achievement — women now experiencing the same existential low-point reached by countless fathers before her, who only lifted their heads up from their desks as the kids were leaving for college.

I don't begrudge Ann her insight — but writing from that POV when stepping down from a government position, a JOB — in a time when hundreds of thousands of Americans remain unemployed for 2+ years, and/or facing foreclosure — is, in the least, in poor form.
Ms. Slaughter's caveat to privilege is inappropriate, here. She had the opportunity to see her personal struggle as the same, collective struggle of working mothers and fathers everywhere — and moreover, to recognize that she had both the power and responsibility to advance positive change for all families, at a high level.

Enough Op-Eds from Marie Antoinette. No more crying in our champagne glasses. Let's work on the problem of redesigning our public institutions and policies to reflect the change in our culture. Women work. Men work. Children need care. The era of guaranteed, unpaid childcare done by women is OVER. None of us will advance — not as individuals in pursuit of success, or this country as a world leader — until we acknowledge that reality and do something to address it.
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Friday, May 11, 2012

MOTHERS SPEAK OUT! Mother's Day Declaration 2012



Mother's Day Declaration 2012

THIS SUNDAY, MAY 13, 2012 — Mother's Day in the United States — women everywhere will simultaneously post this letter to their blogs, websites and Facebook pages, to honor the work of Mothers around the world.

YOU ARE INVITED TO ADD YOUR VOICE. To join our Mother's Day Blog-In simply,

1. Visit our Facebook Page, Mothers Speak Out, and add your name and links to your site, work or organization in the comments. (http://www.facebook.com/MothersSpeakOut?ref=tn_tnmn C)
  
2. Copy & paste this letter on your blog, Facebook or Google+ page.

3. Tweet, share and post the link to your letter using the hashtag #MothersSpeakOut

* * * * * * * 

Together, Mothers Are Powerful. 

Last month’s furor over the remarks of political pundits and candidate’s wives launched a flurry of conversation among mothers.

Mothers have a voice of their own to add to the discussion. Authors, activists and others have been writing and identifying the issues raised this political season for decades, and women have been listening, again and again.

It’s time for mothers’ own voices to be heard.

We are a bi-partisan coalition of women’s organizations, experts, and writers who have diligently worked on bringing mother’s issues into the mainstream political discussion.

Some of us are advocates, and some are community organizations. Many of us are authors and experts about mothers’ lives as well.  All of us recognize the value of a mother's contribution to her family, both the paid and unpaid work that women do.

Our message is simple: all mothers need more support.

This Mother’s Day we want to get the word out about our ideas, our work, and our priorities. We offer the following list to provide resources for real information and places for women to gather for intelligent discourse on the many problems — and solutions — to the issues facing mothers and families.

We offer this list as an alternative to the tired and cliched coverage of mothers in the mainstream media.

Please join your voice with ours this Mother's Day. Together, Mothers are powerful!

* * * * *

ANN CRITTENDEN
Author, The Price of Motherhood
Co-founder “MOTHER: Mothers Ought to Have Equal Rights”

DEBRA LEVY
Past President, Mothers & More






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Friday, April 13, 2012

WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SLUT? What the War on Women Really Means by Lisa Duggan


“It's as if the racists, misogynists and anti-Semites woke up when Obama was elected and felt they were being left behind.” @CarolynEdgar

The news cycle moves so fast these days it’s all a woman can do to keep up with the latest outrage. (Just Google Romney, Ann.)  It’s only April, but in this year alone there’s been a string of attacks on state and federal reproductive policies, and on the medical sovereignty of women that makes the Salem Witch trials look like schoolyard bullying. Without conscious effort on my part the individual attacks often get combined in my psyche into one giant, ominous matzoh-ball aimed at my sanity and my civil liberties, and so I have to deliberately stop and focus on one story to make sense of what’s really happening.

Today, I’m thinking about Sandra Fluke. Remember her?

Way back on February 29, Rush Limbaugh used his pulpit to call Ms. Fluke a slut — for three consecutive days — because Sandra wanted to testify before Congress about the medical necessity of contraception, and to argue for its inclusion in all healthcare plans. When I was Sandra Fluke’s age, I doubt that I possessed the emotional fortitude necessary to withstand a nationally broadcast scrutiny of my sex life. I have the deepest admiration for her, and for any woman able to hold their ground so gracefully, under such heavy fire.

But I didn’t picket Rush Limbaugh’s studio, or the headquarters of his four remaining advertisers, after his three-day diatribe. Frankly, what Mr. Limbaugh thinks about who should pay for contraception is inconsequential. Talk show hosts do not set public policy.  However, who the United States Senate thinks should pay for contraception is most definitely my business and so I turned my attention to Washington DC, and to the legislation that prompted the hearing, The Respect for the Rights of Conscience Act. Sponsored in the House by Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (HR 1179) and in the Senate by Roy Blunt (S 1467), it became simply known as “The Blunt Amendment.”

When you read the amendment you quickly come to understand that Roy and his boys were not serious about their own proposal. The ridiculously broad and porous language used, especially in lines 20-24 (pasted here), ensured that this legislation would never pass:

“[T]o ensure that health care stakeholders retain the right to provide, purchase, or enroll in health coverage that is consistent with their religious beliefs and moral convictions, without fear of being penalized or discriminated against under PPACA*.”

*The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka ObamaCare.

Note the omission of a qualifier to identify the ‘health care stakeholders’. Religious institutions are not singled out, so the statement must be taken to mean everyone who provides, purchases, or enrolls. Do you really think that Mr. Blunt, et al, intended to give all ‘health care stakeholders’ —aka every employer in the country — broad license to interpret whether a health care plan was “consistent with their moral convictions”? Can you imagine the number of lawsuits this would inspire? As the Honorable Justice Scalia made clear, the Supreme Court simply doesn’t have that kind of time. More importantly, since the PPACA already allows for a conscience clause for employers of religious schools, hospitals, churches and synagogues, no additional amendment was needed to protect religious institutions.

So, what exactly was the purpose of the Blunt Amendment?


* * * * *



This is a critical election year and the GOP is in a sorry state. They struggled to produce one unifying and credible candidate that didn’t appear insane. Hence, Romney as the nominee, begrudgingly picked last for the GOP soccer team. The political and economic power in this country is shifting — has shifted — away from entitled, institutionalized white, male privilege. President Obama’s election was the most potent symbol of that change. Gays and minorities, including women, are enjoying greater and greater political voice and the administration in place, the one seeking a second term, is helping to further that shift. The only choice the GOP has is to dig their heels in deeper, to provoke and mobilize the only voters they know they can count on — the scared, increasingly marginalized and culturally and economically irrelevant demographic of white, 44-68 year-old Christian men.

The Blunt Amendment was not an attack on contraception, nor was it written in defense of religious institutions. The Blunt Amendment was a political stunt, designed to create this powerful image: one of an administration led by a secretly Muslim, socialist President, attacking the religious freedom of a decidedly Christian constituency (sorry Rabbi, but you were the token on that panel).  It’s called “engaging your base”, and the GOP are the frickin’ Masters of the Universe when it comes to doing it. We all thought it was ridiculous, and were rightfully enraged, when not a single woman was invited to speak at a hearing on birth control. But quite frankly, Sandra Fluke was not invited to that panel because she would have ruined the GOP’s ‘money shot’.

* * * * *

I don’t blame anyone for believing that the collective attacks on women and reproductive rights around the country, or the glaring omission of women at a congressional hearing on birth control, represents a GOP War on Women — but I think we’re all missing the point here. The true sentiment behind these attacks is more unsettling. The Republicans have made an important calculation in a critical election year and it is this: 

The political capital of women is so insignificant, that we will gladly risk losing the female vote in order to keep our base engaged, and increase their rank.

The Republicans don’t think you’re a dirty slut — the reality is that they don’t think you matter at all. If insulting their own wives will win back the White House, they’ll gladly eat out for a year.  If criminalizing miscarriage and attacking birth control is going to ensure votes, they’ll support those laws.  If questioning the sexual mores of a young college student angers women, but gains them more dollars and votes, they will go for it.  

After all, it’s not like women can, or will, do anything about it.

According to Emerge America, the US ranks 84th in the world for women in elected office. We lag behind Mexico, China, and Pakistan and 80 other countries. The most recent reporting counts 324 super PACs — and none of them are called “The Super -Duper Powerful Women’s PAC”. Women are not a feared voting block, they have no majority voice in the Senate or the House, and with only 3% of women reporting for duty in the c-Suites of the Fortune 500, no collective economic power to influence politics.

By the way, it appears as if the Democrats hold this view, too. If they believed otherwise they might have defended Ms. Fluke more vociferously. Or, at all. Or had spoken up, by now, against campaigns targeting reproductive rights currently happening in over a dozen states.  If the Democrats truly give a damn about women, families and the poor, as they have long claimed to do, they would be building their entire election platform around defending against these attacks.

Thanks to an often-repeated statistic — mostly in newspaper articles around major holidays — we know that women control 85% of the consumer dollars spent in this country.

When are we going to control 85% of the vote? 
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Friday, February 17, 2012


WE HAVE A POWERFUL & INFORMATIVE post on @TheParentduJour today, written by Kristin Wald, our educational advisor: All Parents Want a Life Free From Hunger for Their Children.

Kristin attended the kick-off event for Save the Children’s report, "A Life Free From Hunger", about global malnutrition and what the global community can do about it. 

I know what you’re thinking: “Lisa, please don’t make me read another sad article about starving children who I can’t possibly help.”

YOU know how I feel about the word 'global'. I’m cautious when using it because it can create distance between you and the problem at hand, promoting the feeling that the problem exists “over there”, not in our own communities.

I want you to read this article and learn more about Save the Children because awareness is the first step to solving any problem. 

BUT I believe that the solution to every global problem starts with a local action. 

There are hungry children living in your town, city or state, right now. There are agencies and organizations dedicated to addressing the needs of those families and children, right now — and you can contact them and begin adding to the solution —right now.

Start by Googling.

I typed in:    hungry   children   programs   essex  county

and here’s just part of page one of the results

·  NCJW Essex County Section
ncjwessex.org/
NCJW Essex County Section. ... Empty Bowls No More: Help NCJW Fight Hunger in NJ. Every night, 300000 children in New Jersey go to bed hungry. ... Become a volunteer for our new Moving Forward program, which gives teenage girls in ...

·  New Jersey Community Resources
www.njcommunityresources.info/commres.html
It provides links for tax assistance, energy assistance, child care, etc. ... Pre-screening software programs can help to determine if it is worthwhile to pursue an ... Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition (formerly SEFAN) · New Jersey Association of Child ... Family Support Organization of Essex County · Family Support Organization of ...

·  New Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition - Food Pantries - Essex County
njahc.org/essex-county-food-pantry.html
The New Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition is a program of the Center for Food Action ... and technical assistance to 75 food pantries in four counties - Bergen, Essex, ... This site provides a pantry, a shelter for women and children, transitional ...

·  Kids Cafe | Community FoodBank of New Jersey
www.njfoodbank.org/programs/kids-division/kids-cafe
No Child Should Go Hungry Kids Cafe is a program of Feeding America, ... we have Kids Cafes located in Essex, Hudson, Morris and Passaic counties.

YOU - WE - CAN help to end global hunger if we start by recognizing that “global” includes our own backyard.
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Sunday, February 5, 2012

A Letter to my Mother-in-Law, Sunday February 5, 2012

Dear Ann,

I regret that I didn't write this letter when I had the chance to give it to you in person. 
 
Even though Dad asked me to, even though I knew you had been busy writing letters to family and friends since October, making the best of the time you had left. But I chose to procrastinate because I thought by doing so I could somehow extend the time you had — or rather, the time we had together.

You were a model mother-in-law. You didn't criticize my taste in clothes, my cooking or my parenting. Although we didn't have a daily closeness, I felt I knew you, and you knew me. We liked one another and when we had those rare opportunities to be together, just the two of us (and then, the three of us with Alice), it was never a strain. It was always a good day.
 
For this family, you provided many things, one of which was constancy. We relied on your good organizational skills to help us prepare for the next holiday with the right set of decorations, or for Alice, the next grade, with just the right book. Your birthday and anniversary cards always arrived on time, often with a much appreciated check.  No doubt it was your training as a teacher that bred such loyalty to the calendar, and we all learned from your example.

You were a great teacher. You taught me so many things.
 
I will never forget when you taught me how to say No to Alice. She wasn't yet two and kept wandering over to play with the blinds on the front window. I would say, No, no baby, and move her away, but she kept going back. You went and stood in front of the window and waited for her. When she reached for the chord again you held it high, looked her right in the eye and firmly said, "No." She did not cry. She moved away and never fooled with it again.
 
Although we were both saying No to the baby, you said it with conviction and that made all the difference in the world.

Your love and attention made all the difference in the world to so many people in your long career as a teacher, but never more than to those you held dearest: your amazing sons, your loving daughter-in-laws, your beautiful grandchildren and your devoted husband.

We are given only one mother in this world and we should bless her, everyday.  But we are blessed too by all the women who will mother us in this life.

I was a lucky woman to have you as my mother-in-law. We had no unfinished business between us and for that, I'm grateful. But I regret that I didn't write this letter in time, to tell you how much you gave to me and how much you meant to me — and how much I loved you, and always will.


Love,

Lisa
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Women on the Verge of Entrepreneurship by Lisa Duggan

Entrepreneurship - how sweet it is!
There’s nothing more exciting than the feeling of possibility, of knowing that something unique and new is about to be born. It’s the feeling we get at graduations and weddings, whether we’re standing on the dock waving off friends and family, or we’re the passengers on the ship that’s sailing away to the Big Next. 

Last week the Women Entrepreneur Festival at NYU’s ITP School was that ship — where I happily drank champagne from the top deck, along with 250 other fabulous women.

This is the 2nd festival hosted by ITP, the brainchild of Nancy Hechinger, of the ITP faculty, and entrepreneur and angel investor Joanne Wilson, aka @TheGothamGal. The goal of this year’s festival was to continue its inaugural mission: “To sow the seeds for a community of women entrepreneurs in NYC”, and, “to expose women who have not yet taken the entrepreneurial leap — the pre-entrepreneurs — to the women who have.”

Venture Capital is the ultimate swag.

For a post-feminist-era, Generation XXer, who turned seven the year Title IX became law (and who cries a little too hard at women’s sports events) I’m still in awe of mass gatherings of smart, powerful women.  Beginning with the decidedly personal keynote by Arianna Huffington at the kick-off, to the inspiring poem read by ITP founder Red Burns at its conclusion, the festival delivered on its mission. WE was the place to rub elbows with women in all stages of entrepreneurship.

Arianna, Joanne Wilson, and Mary Schmidt Campbell, Dean of the Tisch School of the Arts.

What I found rare about the festival (besides hundreds of women gathered in one spot discussing the value of a different kind of Ruby) was its lack of the ubiquitous, self-deprecating, female framework that requires women to denigrate one aspect of themselves in order to boast about another. The WE Festival suggests a future world where girls are not Either/Or — smart or beautiful — but Both; where an interest in fashion and HTML are not mutually exclusive. A future where a great pair of heels doesn’t signal that you’re superficial, but super-savvy.

“Great shoes! Now, can you tell me where you found your web developer?”
This year the festival (not conference, it’s a celebration after all) focused on makers — knowledge makers, taste makers, change makers — and offered three morning and three afternoon sessions. Attendees were invited to circulate freely among the overlapping sessions, which many intended to do, but most women commented that they couldn’t tear themselves away from any panel. (Another rarity about WE — what’s the last conference you attended where you didn’t need Red Bull to stay awake for the afternoon program?) And no one dared miss the rousing and informative Investor Panel that concludes each festival, this year hosted by the incisive Janet T. Hanson, Founder and CEO of @85Broads. (Girls just want to have funds now, Cindy Lauper. Time to update our anthem.)

We’ve made tremendous progress between the time Gloria burned her bra and Brandi Chastain exposed hers. Women now have unprecedented access to the education and connections necessary to build companies that men used to inherit at birth, and which allowed them to dominate the economic field for so long. Greater access to Capital must be next, if we are to realize our dreams of ownership, innovation and leadership. The WE Festival points women in that direction by providing a place for investors and entrepreneurs to meet and mingle.

Winning!
And as my work focuses on parenthood, I’d add another critical component to our success as women entrepreneurs: childcare and eldercare. Women are still expected to assume the role of caregiver in heterosexual unions, even when their work is equally or more rigorous than their male partner’s. It’s difficult (but not impossible, as so many women have proven) to focus on innovation if you’re constantly worried about who’s greeting the 3 o’clock bus.

Reliable, affordable, sustainable, quality solutions to the caregiver dilemma — both from the private and public sector— are needed to allow women now, and our daughters later, to move forward with their ambitious plans. Encouraging men to consider becoming the full-time caregiver is one solution, i.e., proposing that your husband become a stay-at-home Dad, a route which an increasing number of dads are choosing.  A Parent-Fund is another: a tax-deductible savings account similar to a college fund, that’s to be drawn against when our sons and daughters ramp off for parenthood, and require funds for childcare, eldercare, continuing education or — to start a new business. (I'm waiting patiently for someone to create this investment vehicle…)

If you’re looking for more inspiration, I urge you to read through all 250 bios of the attendees found here and then read the list of speakers, panelists and moderators here.  But FIRST read my very brief list below (in no particular order) of some of the incredible women I met, learned from and laughed with at this year’s #WE. 

Their collective, infectious energy will keep me moving forward for months to come.

* * * * *


Ilysse Rimalovski is an ideator, collaborator, journalist, copywriter, coach and extra-lucky for me, a neighbor, who was happy to share the ride in from New Jersey. I first met Ilysse when she was presenting a new business idea in the health and wellness sector for our area. We’re now committed to meeting 1x month for support and inspiration for our respective business ideas. You can find Ilysee on Twitter @ThriveWell.

Katie Clegg is Founder & Chief Eating Officer of Foodiacs, whose tagline, Live Voraciously, I had tattooed on my butt this morning. Katie & company know that food is here to serve us, not the other way around.  Foodiacs is, “dedicated to connecting our members with gourmet food artisans and culinary tools and experiences.” Members enjoy exclusive information and access to exquisite food from around the country. Plus? She founded and runs the company with an ex-boyfriend — and they get along swimmingly. Keep your eye on Katie.

Amy-Willard Cross looks a little like Carrie Fisher (sane, young, Carrie Fisher with very cool eyeglasses) and has the hardboiled energy of Kate Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story. Which seems just about right, as she’s a journalist, world traveler and founder of Vitamin W, a curated news site where you can get your daily dose of “news, business and philanthropy for women.” You can also contribute to the advancement of women and girls everywhere through your Vitamin W membership. Vitamin W is, “100% Kardashian-free. Guaranteed.”

Nancy Rielle is the CEO and Co-Founder of VerveCards, maker of “ecards for savvy senders.” The idea for her company was born when her choice for a belated birthday e-card was reduced to, "This one doesn't totally suck.” I like their link-less format – the card appears on your screen immediately. I’ll be sending one to my cousin Louise today, in hopes that it will stop her from sending me a Jacquie Lawrence e-card ever again.

Sarah Chipps is a JavaScript developer and the founder of Girl Develop It which, “Teaches low cost web development classes geared towards women.” Sarah recently hosted a hack-a-thon for women that, she reports, smelled way better than one populated by her coding male-counterparts. During the Knowledge Makers panel I asked Sarah if she ran a summer coding-camp for my eight year old daughter. My question prompted the lovely Adda Birnir, founder of Balance Media, to lean over and hand me a deck of cards stamped Digital Divas, with a glossary of web technologies (so clever!) Digital Divas is, “an educational experiment whose goal is to make technology more accessible to everyone (especially the divas).” 

The indomitable Tereza Nemessanyi, aka @TerezaN, was also in attendance. Tereza is a WE alum and founder and CEO of Honestly Now, a Q&A gaming site that is quickly gaining users and popularity (warning: it's highly addictive!). I'm designing a bitchin' holster for Tereza, so she can carry her multiple mobile devices (two phones and a camera!) with style — and to thank her for connecting me with a potential partner on the spot, via said devices. (You can read more about how Tereza combines motherhood with entrepreneurship on The Parent du Jour, here.) 

I also got to meet, IRL, the amazing Whitney Johnson, president and co-founder of Rose Park Advisors. Prior to WE, we had only "met" online when Whitney asked me to guest-post on her Dare to Dream blog (which becomes a book, DARE-DREAM-DO: Remarkable Things Happen When You Dare to Dream in May 2012) and I asked her to share her family with me, virtually, on The Parent du Jour. Whitney is a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review and a TEDx speaker. Follow her on twitter at @johnsonwhitney. 

Lastly, but certainly not least, a one-liner I tossed off to attendee and software engineer Véronique Brossier has become the name of her blog: Let Them Eat Code.  As technology continues to make more and greater opportunities for all 21st century entrepreneurial Divas, digital or not, that's excellent advice we all should take.

* Photo source: my own, or those captured from Twitter, at #WEFestival.



Check out The Parent du Jour, my 365 day web project, featuring mothers and fathers from around the world. It has been described as, "An online book being written one day, and one parent, at a time."Thanks! - Lisa D.
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Our Children Would Be Safer If They Were Baby Seals Or Dolphins

Today's post was written by our new friend from the North, Maggie's Bear.

*Mr. Bear and I met the way people and animals usually meet. He followed me home on Twitter, then I fell in love with his blog. (And he was kind enough to contribute a profile to The Parent du Jour.)

MB is a rare find, and not just because he's a talking ursus arctos horriblis. Flip through the pages of his blog; you'll find informed commentary on everything from politics to parenting.

That's right, informed commentary. It's not extinct.

Here, he talks about how we put entertainment, politics, commerce — just about everything else — ahead of our children's safety and well being.

* * * * *

THERE ARE MANY ways to gauge the health of a society. The condition of its economy, the effectiveness of its political leadership, how united or divided the people are on the issues they face and so on. How a society treats its most vulnerable is probably the most accurate form of measure because it speaks to the heart of that society’s

There is no more vulnerable group in our global society than children and we aren’t measuring up.

I wrote yesterday about children in Greece being abandoned by their parents because of the tough economic conditions that country is facing. In Saudi Arabia, a man was arrested and charged for trying to sell his son on the Internet for $20 million and in Canada, a father and his wife and son are on trial, charged with the murder of the father’s three daughters and their aunt.

This isn’t something to be found only in developing countries, this lack of concern for the welfare of children is becoming endemic across all societies.

Yesterday, it was reported that an Occupy protester was arrested for leaving his baby in a tent in sub zero weather. Penn State is in the grip of a huge child sex abuse scandal and so many children go missing in North America, we’ve created a unique system called the Amber Alert just to try and recover them.

Pedophile porn rings abound on the Internet and children all over the world, some still infants, are routinely victimized and terribly abused so that some can make money feeding the sick perversions of others.

In 2005, the last year for which there are accurate statistics, there were 66,500 children reported missing in Canada alone, a country of only 35 million people.  In the United States, the number is almost 800,000. Globally, the number is in the millions although nobody really knows for sure just exactly what the true number is because some countries don’t track the statistics.

Four children die every day in the United States from abuse and there are proportionate numbers in other developed countries around the world.

These are children and they are at risk but what are we focused on? Based on what is being talked about online, and somewhat passionately and even stridently, we seem to be focused on everything but our children. 

There are those who send out tweets every day to save baby seals, dolphins or (insert mammal of choice). Others are intent on proving that the Republicans /Conservatives or the Democrats/Liberals are the agents of Satan and must be defeated or else we are on the Freeway to Hell.

Quite a few are committed to making fools of themselves with inane comments about their hair, their sex lives or the sex life they would like to have with another tweep while others are burning with the light of Jesus to save the world from an oil pipeline, greenhouse gas emissions and melting polar ice.

There are thousands of messages advertising how to make money online, how to increase your social network presence and about this new high tech toy or that.

The economy consumes many people while showing others how to profit and make money in this current economy is the mission of more than a few. Football, hockey, the UFC or (insert sport of choice) are the passion of those taking a break from whatever else they usually comment on.

Anonymous brags on the Internet about how it shut down a child porn ring and then moves on to its next grandstanding moment.

In between are countless quotes from famous dead people and the bible and while all this chatter goes on an average of more that 2000 children in North America alone will go missing that same day.

Yes, there are people who are concerned. Some devote their lives and their careers to doing something about it but most of our societies have other, more important priorities. A few people fire off a quick tweet donation to some mysterious website in support of abused children but then it’s back to the chatter.

I understand and appreciate that we can’t be talking about only this topic every day, all day. We live our lives to the best of our ability and we have many things that interest us, that we consider important and that we want to discuss and share with others.

But what I don’t understand is why the safety and care of our children isn't a priority. In fact, I question why it isn't even on the political agenda.

There isn’t one political candidate talking about this, not one PAC, lobby or community group, newspaper, television or radio station or political party putting pressure on government to address this problem. We’re more outraged and defensive about SOPA and the possibility of government imposing restrictions on the Internet than we are about what is happening to children…our children in our communities.

You can tell much about a society by its priorities and it’s clear that our society is more concerned with saving animals and the Internet than it is with saving our children. We've become more focused on proving our point, whatever it is, than we are with protecting the most vulnerable in our society. I'm not surprised, this is the same society that steps around the homeless while donating to protesters living in tents. Yesterday a baby was endangered thanks to the negligence of one of those protesters whose priorities were focused on something other than the welfare of his child.

Sadly that seems to say pretty much all you need to know about our values. It makes me wonder how we can ever hope to build a successful society on them.

© 2011 Maggie's Bear
All rights reserved
The content of this article is the sole property of Maggie's Bear but a link to it may be shared by those who think it may be of interest to others
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