The Women We Know
I wrote this before the Shriver Report came out- but I think what I’m feeling is universal?
Cross posted from the Huffington Post
We don’t talk about the ways we support each other very often, even though it is so important to recognize. Recently on this blog we’ve debated why women are unhappy. Pollster Frank Luntz told me last night, the majority of “Americans are mad as hell and they’re not going to take it anymore.” Well, yes. We’re unhappy and we’re angry but we want so deeply to connect. Something positive is also happening. It’s happening among American women, and it’s largely happening online in “micro communities,” and then in large gatherings. Micro communities of powerful women are working together on blogs and list-servs to make change happen.
This is our 21st Century consciousness-raising. Women want that kind of collective experience- I saw it last year when 5,000 women swarmed the Boston Convention Center at the Massachusetts Conference for Women. We see it in the incredible popularity of everything Oprah does, and in the success of Maria Shriver’s Women’s Conference. This hunger to take action and make change spans class, race, geography and marital status. And unlike past women’s movements, the ability to make change is more equitably distributed, and that’s because of the Internet.
This week, in the midst of frenzied online organizing to promote gender equity in health care reform, I had a family crisis. And when I had to bow out of action, Jodi Jacobson wrote “Don’t apologize for anything…that’s what a movement is for….”
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/morra-aaronsmele/the-women-we-know_b_321213.html
The best kind of activism: Moms against distracted driving
Thanks to The Motherhood and Julie Pippert! Distracted driving is the public safety issue of our time. I vow everyday not to use my iPhone while driving. Yesterday, I broke my personal vow because I had a conference call (baby was not the the car). I got pulled over. I learned my lesson: I will not use my phone while driving. Please join me.
Our Pledge
Driving while distracted can be more dangerous than driving drunk.
As moms, we want safer roads.
We know the time has come for us all to recognize the risks of distracted driving, to be more responsible and to mind the wheel.
Here is what we pledge:
We pledge to model safe behavior when we drive.
We pledge to set firm house rules on texting and phoning while driving.
We pledge to help spread the word on the dangers of distracted driving.
Here is what we ask for:
We ask for the dangers of distracted driving to be included in drivers’ education classes.
We ask for innovations in technology to help solve the problem.
We ask for laws to make it illegal to text and drive.
We ask for enforcement of existing distracted driving laws and consequences when the laws are broken.
By working together we will make everyone safer.
About Me
Morra Aarons-Mele utilizes social media strategies to help employers, employees and communities connect. She also consults with leading organizations on how women can use the internet for professional and personal development. In her spare time, Morra enjoys blogging about women and politics. Read her full bio >>
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