Yesterday, Donald Trump was inaugurated as president of the United States.
Today, there are hundreds of thousands of women marching in a non-violent show of strength towards Washington DC.
I was considering a show of support because I thought I agreed with the message and the way it has been handled thus far. Our President has said some heinous things in the past about women. He has shown himself to be misogynistic and abusive towards women and has been known to objectify them and judge them by their looks and sexual appeal. I will not quote him because I will not even reiterate the things spoken by him.
Now, let’s be clear, I did vote for him. And yes, I can definitely see how that would appear hypocritical of me because I so strongly disagree with him on so many points. And to confuse you further, you will find me supporting and respecting him as the president of my country.
I know, I’m weird, and so far this doesn’t make any sense, but hang in there with me and I will attempt to explain.
Making the choice to vote for him was painful for me. It took a long time and a lot of thought to reach that conclusion. I agonized about it even as I walked up to the poll. So why did I? Sigh..that is a long enough post in and of itself and I will save it for another day. For now, I will just say that my vote for him was not a vote for his opinion of my sex. There is no defense for the things he has said and done on that subject. I can only hope that his opinions have changed drastically since then and that he will not act so foolishly in the office he now holds.
I will treat him and his presidency as I did with the 8 years that President Obama served; with respect. As an adult, I do possess the ability to disagree and oppose someone in authority without disrespecting the authority that they hold. In our country, the people vote and the electoral collage responds accordingly. I don’t always agree with the outcome but I do respect the process and the results.
Back to the march.
One of the things that I can appreciate about it is that it is being done in peace. Peaceful resistance has brought about more change than riots and doesn’t compromise the message of the protestor by overshadowing the message with violence. It’s more effective and mature, in a nutshell.
I also like that it is a strong visual presence to remind the president and lawmakers that women make up 50.8% of americans. We not will be intimidated into feeling like a minor or lesser force. We and our daughters are 50.8% of the future of this country and we deserve the same respect as the other 49.2%. We are not to be forgotten or taken for granted.
The most obvious and most important motivation behind the march is to declare that women’s rights are human rights; not more and not less. It is not ok to overpower us physically or intellectually or emotionally because your gender makes you feel entitled to. Being a bully because your money or position or fame does not excuse being a bully. End of story.
Also, it brings the message that we will not accept being judged or valued by our appearance or sexuality. This is a point that I feel fiercely passionate about because I have 2 gorgeous daughters that have just as much potential as my son, not because they are beautiful, but because they are people. They are so much more than their appearance! They are kind and compassionate. They are strong and resilient. They are intelligent. They are valued because they are humans created in the likeness of God’s image. Do not be so foolish as to assume that you are anything more than they.
So with all of those things in mind, why don’t I march? Why not show my support and be a part of history for my daughter’s sake? Because the march failed to represent a minority of women that are the least represented and the least defended; the ones not yet born.
Yes, abortion. I’m going there again.
You see, the women marching are also marching to defend their right to abort babies that they feel are an invasion and burden on their bodies or on their lives. I agree that your body is yours alone and that you should possess complete autonomy over it. However, pregnancy is the very unique time during which two individual bodies belonging to two individual people are temporarily joined together. One is utterly dependent on the other, namely, the baby. Is it fair to end the life of the weaker because you are the more powerful? I’m sure there are many serious reasons why you would chose to make that decision. Sometimes, the baby was forced on you as the product of rape and not choice. Your body was violated and you do not deserve the repercussions. However, unfortunately, you can not justify forcing your will over the will of the life dependent on you. You can not justify raping the baby of it’s life because you were raped of your authority over your body.
So, that is why I can not be numbered among you today. I stand, and do not march, to represent the tiny little “nasty” women who deserve the right to grow up and march and be heard. They are important because they are human. Women’s rights are human rights and babies are entitled to human rights too. They deserve a voice. They deserve a chance. They deserve to not bare the consequences of the circumstances beyond their control. They matter.
