I agree more with Anna Belle than I do with Jezebel, but both pen deft analyses of how the Left is losing the "Progressive" PR war.

Anna Belle's analysis of the media madness surrounding Glenn Beck's rally is published at Peacocks and Lillies.

Jezebel's analysis of how the Left is losing Feminists is here: in the NYT.

Of course, NYT's editors want to believe the understory to Jezebel's piece. Namely, that Conservative women have no claim to Feminism. So she gets a primo spot in their opinion section.

But Anna Belle is actually more spot on, as she queries:

"When is the left going to realize that these heroes of America’s past belong to all Americans, that they are not the comfort toys of the left, which is how they treat them when they say that some Americans can’t appreciate them? "

I mean... shouldn't we want ALL Americans to celebrate the lives of Martin Luther King and Susan B. Anthony? Do we really want (more of Anna Belle's words here)

King (to be) like a Dora doll for the Sharpton marchers; (or ) like a dead and honored American by Beck and his ralliers, who paid no mind to the reactionary march Sharpton scheduled only after Beck’s rally was scheduled. Isn’t it worth asking during all this why Sharpton and other civil rights leaders didn’t see fit to honor King’s memory with an event of their own this year just because King was worth it, rather than reacting to a bunch of Americans who want to exercise their rights as well?

Seems to me this is the same kind of question we should be asking about Anthony. Do we really want her to be a "Dora doll" for certain kinds of Feminists? (Many of whom cannot be bothered to read her works, because they might collide with their own ideas about what Feminism should look like.) Do we want the likes of Susan B. reduced to a caricature of the complex individual that once chided:

"Just Tell Them I have worked 40 years to make the Women's Suffrage platform broad enough for Atheists and Agnostics to stand upon, and now if need be I will fight the next 40 to keep it Catholic enough to permit the straightest Orthodox religionist to speak or pray and count her beads upon."

I'm getting the same eerily creepy feeling, from some of my friends and family on the Left, about the issues we face in regards to Islam in America. The questions are complex enough that I do not want to jump on the anti-GZ mosque or pro-GZ mosque bandwagons. I want to take my time and read ALL sides. To make my own decision, thank you.

But, any time I talk about the writings of Ayaan Hirsi Ali or Phyllis Chesler, I get the "Oh, they are *Conservatives*" eye roll. As if that somehow negates their first hand experiences and Feminist interpretations? WTF???

I mean, doesn't anybody care about the TRUTH any more? Is everything a political game to these folks that I used to support and vote for?

I Grow Tired of Both Rightie and Leftie "Feminists" Putting Words Into Susan B.'s Mouth

Ms. Anthony deserves more respect than that.

Once again, Anna Belle reads my mind. Thanks, Lady! If it wasn't for "Peacocks and Lilies", just think, I'd have to blog this stuff myself. LOL.

SYD

The Wave and the Wheel: Can the "Fourth Wave" of Feminism Rise Above the Second and Third?

Please humor me while I quote, once again, Susan B. Anthony:

“I have worked 40 years to make the Women’s Suffrage platform broad enough for Atheists and Agnostics to stand upon, and now if need be I will fight the next 40 to keep it Catholic enough to permit the straightest Orthodox religionist to speak or pray and count her beads upon.”

And then humor yourself with a trip over to Reclusive Leftist. In the comments following this post by Dr. Violet Socks, you can see that a battle is beginning to rage as we attempt to define the "fourth wave" of Feminism.

Really it's not a "new battle." It's the same old same that has divided women since Feminism took root... within the Women's Suffrage movement. Herstory does repeat herself. Doesn't she?

We would do well to take a lesson from Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady-Stanton. We are reliving their trajectory in at least two ways, are we not?

First of all... They also tried to tackle race and gender simultaneously. Race trumped gender then too. (As boys will be boys, and they do not tend to reciprocate the favors we do for them.) The argument for "intersectionality" in the women's movement has proven... for a second time... to be ONE BIG FAIL!

Secondly, Susan B. Anthony was quite clear in her views related to secular and religious women coming together to fight for their own (and each other's) rights. She said so in the quote I posted at the outset of this blog entry. Ms. Anthony saw the folly of the division along lines of faith, and vowed to work against it.

So... now... where does that leave us, as the "fourth wave" begins to crest? Will we rally as one to reject the "intersectionality" arguments that have led us down this path of failure? Will we gather in unity to defend our daughters, despite our differences?

Personally, I would like to see us abandon the "wave" analogy. It isn't serving us well. Why? Because "waves" are intangible. They arise on their own and dissipate just as quickly. A wave can be as strong as a tsunami. Or as sneaky as an undertow. But, like a snowflake, a wave never really repeats itself in just the same way.

In my mind, we are entering the second *cycle.* Our second time around the *WHEEL.* If we do not observe the lessons of the first wheel, well enough to create the second out of COLLECTIVE ACTION, we will each have to trudge up the mountain alone, with only our backpacks full of shoulds and shouldn'ts.

Why would we want to do that?

Failure is, indeed, impossible! But that doesn't mean we can't spend another generation or two thrashing around in the "waves"... hanging on to our man-made life preservers.

It is all remedial at this point. We must go back and study herstory. If we learn our lessons well, two *wheels* can make a bicycle. And then we'll have a chance to go somewhere… fast!

Preparing Your Comebacks for the 51% Argument: Proportional Representation is the New Women's Suffrage

I was reading HEIDI LI'S BLOG about her 51% effort this morning. And it got me thinking....

Yesterday I wore my buttons from THE NEW AGENDA to generate conversation. And they worked! Folks at my church (a progressive denomination) were actually quite shocked to know how disproportional was women's representation in our government. They had never thought about THAT.

We "Feminists" nowadays, tend to think about a few high profile women... like Hillary Clinton, or Sarah Palin. We look at their accomplishments and convince ourselves that we have "made it." In fact, though, we have a very long way to go.

Look at it this way: Proportional Representation *is* the New Women's Suffrage. We're going to need to stand on some very powerful shoulders to accomplish what Fifty-One Percent, and The New Agenda have set out to do. We're going to have to go beyond PUMA. We need to reach across the chasm of party divide... to bring in women from BOTH sides of the proverbial aisle.

When I post about my new buttons, or 51% on MY TEAM SARAH PAGE I receive a wholly different kind of reaction than I did at the UU church. There I see what I will call a "typical Conservative comeback." Grounded in thinking that, in essence, holds it's NOT about having *women* in govenment, it's about having GOOD women. No matter how few their numbers.

My response to this kind of "Conservative logic" is thus: "Yes, and it's about having good men too."

It is true, perhaps, that if we only count "good women" in our percentages.... the ratio will actually be less balanced. But, if we only count "good men", as well I bet it would be more balanced. (No matter what yardstick they are using to measure "good" at this point you see the lightbulb come on.)

These are the kinds of discussions I get when I post about 51%, or wear my New Agenda buttons. From the Left, surprise. From the Right, cynicism (and maybe disdain, if they perceive 51% as a form of "affirmative action.") I'm aware that I need to be ready with my comebacks. And I'd love to hear your ideas as well!

I'd like to end this post with a couple of quotes from Susan B. Anthony. These, I feel, offer us a blueprint for how to proceed with The New Women's Suffrage. Because we will not be successful unless we can answer the concerns of women from both "Liberal" and "Conservative" backgrounds.

• What you should say to outsiders is that a Christian has neither more nor less rights in our Association than an atheist. When our platform becomes too narrow for people of all creeds and of no creeds, I myself shall not stand upon it.

• I tell them I have worked 40 years to make the Women's Suffrage platform broad enough for Atheists and Agnostics to stand upon, and now if need be I will fight the next 40 to keep it Catholic enough to permit the straightest Orthodox religionist to speak or pray and count her beads upon. ~ Susan B. Anthony


(Many thinks to Goldie, at WOMEN IN POLITICS for calling these two quotes to my attention.)

Peace,

SYD

ADDENDUM: Also suggested: HOW TO GET FROM 17% to 50%. by Cynthia Ruccia.