It is no coincidence that women’s healthcare and environmental regulations are two issues under siege right now. No surprise. After all, women and the earth are two of a kind. Fecund, powerful, life-giving. And pretty scary for some people.
It seems to me that there are a lot of folks who think that all women and all the earth's riches need to be brought totally under control and into the service of profit and private ownership.
There is a real battle going on in our House of Representatives. It's called 'cutting the deficit' but in reality, it's about pushing an ideological and cultural makeover. Those new faces in the House are determined to rein in women's access to health care by blocking funds for Planned Parenthood. They are just as determined to overturn the constraints of regulatory agencies on corporations' use of the world's resources without regard to the attendant polluted mess.
I thought we’d gotten past the idea that both women and the earth must be controlled for the benefit of the constructs of men. Wrong. This Congress is against women and for business. Both center on control and conquest of the feminine part of life.
Take a moment to remember that the ground we walk on is often called 'Mother Earth'. Typically, Mother provides and is a power greater that we, her children. These days a lot of men and most certainly international corporations don't believe in Mother. The earth is a resource that until very recently always replenished and offered boundless plenty.
And, yes, women tended the hearth and made homes in which fellow human beings found nurture and a safe place to grow. Today, if you look across the globe, women are most often doing what they do under great financial, emotional and physical duress.
We live in very angry times in this great land of ours. Power is shifting and newly elected officials are not thinking about the common good or common cause and certainly not common decency. Those of us who might be thinking of the common good are too busy working for stagnant salaries or minimum wages in order to provide for our children and hopefully to pay the mortgage.
Article comments
1 - Mary Jane Taegel
Hansen's well-reasoned essay clearly defines The Problem. As we in America are appalled by treatment of women in the Middle East, we must turn our eyes inward and take stock. Conservatives, who created the fiscal problems in the first place, now want to slash spending by cutting programs that affect the most vulnerable among us -- women, children, the elderly. They are blind to looming environmental crises. Where did these greedy, grandiose, fact-denying fools come from?
These are scary times indeed.
Mary Jane Taegel
2 - Al Barger
Oh my God, what a bunch of hysterical HORSESHIT. And might I add, grossly dishonest horseshit, starting with the euphemism "women's health" when what you mean is ABORTION, as if it is great oppression if the government doesn't pay for it. You want to kill your baby, maybe you ought to pay for it yourself. Plus, I might add, abortion is certainly not good for health of the aborted baby women.
Ms Taegel, from what part of this article did you derive anything vaguely mistakable as being reasoned, much less "well-reasoned"? And who are the "fact-denying fools" - Democrats and liberals happy to absolutely watch the social welfare net destroyed in order to demagogue their way through one or two more elections or the Republicans who are trying to save the system and make it sustainable?
Also, as to a "violent backlash." That would much better describe the slow motion rioting and destruction of pinkos in Wisconsin than a mild mannered policy wonk like Paul Ryan with his charts and graphs explaining patiently the details of why we have to get the budget under control.
3 - Boeke
Nevertheless, Al, the republicans seems to be using the tiny 3% support that Planned Parenthood supplies to abortion as a stalking horse for attacking 100% of the womens health program that Planned Parenthood supports.
4 - Barry
I never think about this types of issues. For the women is the world. The sentence could be jealousy for some people. But I have nothing to do. But middle east should be changed.
5 - elita
i fear that this fight to be heard by legislators who keep trying to take over women's lives (and they are not all male), has been repeated so many times that those who joined the challenge to be heard in the past are wearied and not stepping up. the young do not know what it is to not be heard in these areas of greatest intimacy and importance to our existence.
we will overcome, although it seems an endless battle.
6 - Boeke
#5 elita:
So take over the legislatures! PLEASE!
"i fear that this fight to be heard by legislators who keep trying to take over women's lives"
I, for one, would be glad to vote for smart and sensible women to replace many of the male dummies we now have.
7 - Barry
This is and endless battle. But people should know the actual law and importance for women. Women for the environment and environment for the women.
8 - Dr Dreadful
Is "Barry" actually under the impression that his comments have any substance whatsoever, or is he simply the most inept spammer on the planet?
9 - zingzing
they're wonderfully surreal. i can't imagine the thought process behind them.
10 - Barry
This issues is very important in the world. All man should know about women's right.