Meri's Play Place

The Women's March in Seattle. January 21, 2017. On a beautiful January day in the Puget Sound region. People inspired to work for change  on issues near and dear to their hearts. People willing to be the change they want to see in the world. People who believe in compassion, inclusion, stewardship of the earth, that black lives have often not mattered as much as they should in this society, that health care access and affordable care are essential in modern society, that different doesn't mean diminished value, that love between two adult people should be honored and their marriage legal even if they aren't a traditional heterosexual couple, that diversity strengthens our country because it offers new perspectives and ideas. No every marcher subscribed to every opinion expressed. But there was room in the protest tent for expression, honoring the person even if not agreeing with the message. S...

I'm supporting the Women's March for Change in D.C. and cities around the country. I think it makes the good old boys nervous to see women who are angry and saying no to power. But marching isn't enough. It may have put pressure on the US government to end the war in Southeast Asia decades ago (that, plus the fact that by the mid-sixties almost everyone in the country had a television set tuned to the nightly news showing reporters embedded with troops and presenting a less rosy picture than the official government blather). Times have changed in the intervening decades.  Spending a day marching isn't enough. The sophistication of Tea Party tactics must be co-opted and used to promote a different, inclusive agenda. One that says we won't put up with policies that promote the 1% and leave the rest of us adrift. What we need is targeted, effective action. Lots of it. Day in and day out. Not for f...