Today’s posting isn’t about things that make me laugh. This time it’s about things that make me pay attention. That’s what I did when I saw the photo of the panel in this House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on the contraceptive coverage rule. –> All male panel at Congressional hearing. Where are the women?
Here’s my nomination:
CONGRESSIONAL PANEL TO DETERMINE
CONTRACEPTION COVERAGE
AND VIAGRA FUNDING POLICY:
My family tree includes roots of Pilgrims, Presbyterians, Catholics, and Quakers, and branches of Jews, Unitarians, Methodists, etc. It makes for a great Thanksgiving table! This is one country where we all have the right to practice any religion we choose, (even none), with none endorsed by the state and none imposing its beliefs on the other. But this Congressional hearings group, and the actions behind it, makes me feel like I’m looking at the Taliban!
I’m blessed to have a loving, ethical, responsible dad, husband, brother, and sons. Would they make good choices for my religion or my body? Probably. Will I permit them to make my choices? No. I may consult them, and consider their input, but in the end, decisions about my faith and my body are mine. I may choose to have as many children as my body allows. Blessed with 19 children Or I may choose to have none, or just one, and be thankful for that blessing. Birth control is a personal choice, as is religion.
If do not permit my own beloved men, whom I trust, to make determinations about my body, I certainly will not permit politicians to do so. There are, sadly, men, fathers, brothers, politicians, and even religious leaders in this world who’ve proven appallingly dangerous to women. Just see the links at the bottom of the page 🙁
Why shouldn’t men be able to make choices about women’s bodies? Well, first, these bodies belong to us, and no-one else. We women will choose differently from each other for our bodies. But we have the ability, right, responsibility, and power to make our own choices about them.
Therein lies the problem, for some: power.
Ah, power. Birth control allowed it to shift. And that makes some people very uncomfortable; some, abroad and at home, are willing to to anything to change it. Gender and anatomy no longer determine what a woman might choose to do with her life, or how long she has to accomplish her goals. Stepping into a time machine – “It’s all dudes.”
A paternalistic society enables some to believe that men have the right to use power over women, (see links below) and may even cause some women to believe it, too. In the long run, this isn’t healthy for women, or for men. Our sons and daughters all deserve to live a life of kindness, compassion, and respect, as do we.
When good people in any country cease their vigilance and struggle, then evil men prevail.~ Pearl S. Buck
So, where’s today’s silver lining? It’s in literacy – I just read multiple sources on this issue, from all different points of view, in order to be informed.
And the silver lining is drawn with a pen; as a start, I wrote to my Congressional representative.
I’m grateful that I saw this sight today~
Links on why women must preserve their right to self-determination:
