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It is hard not to be overwhelmed if not giddy over all of the current dialogue that we, almost a unified nation, have failed to have over the past 8 years. Civil rights, women’s rights, education, health care, THE CONSTITUTION.   I see people standing up….when in regard to their social circles, it is probably easier not to.

My mind drifts back to Judge Frank M. Johnson. Once called “The Most Hated Man in Alabama” he is one of my father’s (and my own) most revered heroes. He is the judge who took on Governor Wallace and cleared the way for the Selma March when it would have been much easier for him to sit quiet, roll with the good ole’ boys, and not have his and his family’s lives threatened by the KKK. He’s been on my mind a lot lately.

Here is an  old editorial by HOWELL RAINES

It is a political circus out there.  Or maybe its more of a hurricane.  Everyone’s gone mad.  Mad for…mad against….mad about…mad in love.  Of course I have my own very strong opinions about all presidential candidates.  But today, September 4, 2008,  seems to be all about Sarah Palin.  I went to Gloria Steinem, the second-waver, for a little perspective.

BUT before I get back to that………I tell my students that we aren’t going to have class on Election Night because they have to go vote.. like their student loans depend on it….actually their future student loans WILL depend on it.  We will make an election photo blog on Twitter or something instead. I also preach to them that you do not have the right to complain about any presidential administration for 4 years or even celebrate on election night if you are 18 yrs. old, a U.S. citizen,  and have not done your civic duty.

But this “duty” is still somewhat a privilege.  I immediately think of my great-grandmothers, Elsie, Em, Ellie and Big Mama.  When my mother became “of voting age,” Em told her that she was married and had a child before she ever got to cast a ballot.   She said this right was so precious to her that she NEVER missed voting once she finally received it.. until she passed at the age of 92.   And now my mother, my aunts, my cousins, my sister-in-law, and myself do our bests to live up to their example.  If I missed an election I feel I would dishonor their memory.  (yes, I take it that seriously).   Because this basic civil right wasn’t even guaranteed to us women until 1920.  88 years ago.  Almost the lifespan of my maternal grandmother, Marybelle.

So what’s a girl to do?  Thanks to the many women (and brave men) who have come before us, the suffragists and three waves of feminism…we have women who run for office and we actually have a say over the governing of our bodies and lives.  For me, being the second generation of women in my family… actually born with the right to vote, that’s where Gloria comes in:  http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-steinem4-2008sep04,0,1290251.story

Here is a picture of Em and her sister.