"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent on things that matter." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Today my three daughters and I were part of history. We joined millions of other women, men and children across our great country and around the world stand in solidarity for social justice. In one of the reddest states in the country, 12,000 Oklahomans marched at the State Capital. It was a remarkable event. It was peaceful, uplighting and reassuring to know there are many other like-minded individuals in our state and country that will fight for the rights of ALL PEOPLE! After reflecting on the march today and watching and reading the news from the other marches across the globe, I am convinced that we have started a movement. This is not a one time event -- we got the attention of the nation, the world, future generations and our political leaders today. We will not back down to injustice and we will fight to protect the rights of all Americans as our constitution guarantees.
Conservatives, especially conservative women, have been pretty dismissive of this march. They claim they do not know what the march was about because the message was unclear. I would argue that the reason they don't understand is because, by in large, conservatives think small and narrow while progressives think large and wide. We had many reasons as to why we marched. We show our concern for all not just in words but in our actions within our neighborhoods, churches and government by showing compassion and empathy toward others. Here are a few reasons of why I marched and why I brought my young daughters to our state capital...
- I marched for women and girls. I want our government to pass and enforces laws that grant women and girls a safe way to report sexual harassment and sexual assault to the authorities. I marched because I want to see laws introduced and passed that require employers to offer mothers (and fathers) paid family leave after the birth/adoption of a child. I marched so women are paid equal pay for equal work and that our government leaders understand the need for quality affordable childcare for families, especially single mothers. I marched so that women can make their own reproductive health decisions and have access to preventive healthcare/screenings, birth control and counseling. Abortion rates are statistically lower (check the CDC) when Democrats are in office because progressives invest in education and birth control access which are the key components to preventing unwanted pregnancies.
- I marched for the rights of immigrants and refugees no matter their country of origin or the religion they practice. I am the great-granddaughter of Italian-Catholic immigrants. Not so long ago in America, Italians and Catholics experienced harsh discrimination, were killed and persecuted based on their nationality and religion.
- I marched for affordable healthcare for everyone -- because we all have preexisting health conditions and we should not be denied coverage for any reason.
- I marched for teachers and quality education for everyone. A child's zip code should not dictate the quality of his or her quality of education or class size whether they live in the urban core, a wealthy suburb or in rural America.
- I marched for the middle class. We need to invest in jobs and infrastructure, re-train the work force in areas hit the hardest by lost jobs and industries, lower taxes on the middle class and raise taxes on America's wealthiest.
I marched for so many others reasons, too. But my biggest reason was these 3 girls...
"The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice." - MLK
And we're gonna keep on marching!
