6 MARCH 2023 SECOND CHANCES

A couple of days ago Marianne Williamson gave a speech announcing that she will be running, for a second time, for the office of president of the United States. For those of you who may not know who she is, she is the author of fourteen books. “A Woman’s Worth” was published in the early 1990s, which turned me into a fan of her writing. Like myself, she is a passionate writer. She is also a motivational speaker. I urge you to listen to her announcement speech. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/live/onSa2UF8_kI?feature=share

I can’t imagine the amount of courage it takes to take on the status quo – especially since during the debates four years ago, she was positioned at the very end of the platform and only allowed to answer a couple of questions; while Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders stole the spotlight. I hope that you, and many others, will listen to what she has to say. If she were to become president, I know that our planet would have a fighting chance of overcoming the many challenges it is facing today. Marianne addresses the same issues that I often talk about in this blog – climate change, equality, peace, free medical care (which I believe should include free holistic care) free education, living wages, and corporate greed. It is high time that we have a female president. Kamala Harris, in her hard-won position as vice president, has forged the path for other women to follow.

I was growing up during the late 1960s when women were only beginning to make some headway in this patriarchal society. We have been making good progress; but the overturning of Roe v Wade has brought us sliding backwards into an uncertain future. I was only two years out of high school when this monumental legislation was passed. My youngest daughter has worked in non-traditional roles for her entire life. She worked in a railroad yard where she was the only female employee. She drove a limo for several years. She has now spent more than seven years in the Army National Guard and she is also a peace officer for the town of Wheatland, and more recently, Torrington, Wyoming. She still finds herself battling sexual harassment in the work place, fifty years after the fierce activism that took place with my generation.

I know that there are a growing number of women who, like myself, will not back down. We have not failed. We simply have more work to do. Marianne has a second chance to show the world what women are capable of. This gives all women a second chance. I have two great granddaughters for whom I hope and pray, will grow up in a world where equality no longer must be fought for.