Homecoming queen Claire McCaskill Dancing in 1970
http://clairemccaskill.com/photo/claires-family/homecoming-dance
My work as a English language trainer has given me an excuse
to become less involved in local politics. I admit it. Short of voting in
general elections, I have spent more time educating myself about world politics
than I have local, state and US politics. I gave myself permission by
rationalizing that if I can’t have a fairly knowledgeable conversation about
what is going on in the world and more specifically in France, I probably won’t
be taken very seriously professionally. The French like to remind me that the
average American can’t locate France on a world map much less converse about
French politics and given that I have a tremendously large ego, I could not
allow them to define me with that generalization. I do have strong opinions
about violence against women and gender equality but it wasn’t until a beloved
friend and former local democratic volunteer coordinator reminded me that
advocacy starts at the local level that I was bumped from my high horse and
took another look at involvement.
On Friday I attended a National Women’s Political Caucus
luncheon. Senator Claire McCaskill was the speaker and honestly, she rocked my
world. In November of 2012, McCaskill was reelected to the US Senate
winning 54% of the vote. Her opponent,
Republican Todd Akin lost after the well-publicized remark, “Women who are
victims of legitimate rape, rarely get pregnant”. Akin amazingly, got 39% of
the vote. Libertarian, Jonathon Dine received 6% of the vote. McCaskill is
currently one of only twenty female US senators, a groundbreaking high for the
US.
Although I had a history of voting for Senator
McCaskill I honestly did not have a very
personal connection to her. Frankly, I voted for her because she is a woman who
represents my party and supports many of the same causes that I embrace. The
woman that I saw speak is down to earth, witty, warm, dynamic and made me want
to see her again and again. She has the ability to speak in a way which makes you
feel connected, in a way which honestly, a man cannot speak to women. She speaks
in a way that is genuine, intelligent and direct but strongly feminine. She is
a woman that I respect. The women of the Kansas City NWPC refer to Senator
McCaskill as “Claire” because they feel that she belongs to her constituents,
and her constituents belong to “Claire”. After hearing her speak, I must say,
she is also “my” Claire. I am a fan.
Claire spoke on the importance of women in the political
process. She spoke candidly about her race against Todd Akin and the voter base
in Missouri. She said that in Missouri
20% of women are getting their news from sources such as MSNBC and 35% watch
FOX news while the remainder watches Dancing With the Stars. Claire pushed my
“Hot Button”. It has always been hard for me to understand why there are such a
terrific number of women who are not more involved in legislation that affects
their lives. I cannot comprehend the fact that women are so frequently the
victims of violence and discrimination yet are not willing to take a stand in a
meaningful way. I have serious issues with women, some of whom are my friends,
who would rather get lost in mindless commercial television than invest their
attention on the future.
After Claire’s speech
she invited questions from the audience and called on me. This was my question:
The issue of violence against women is directly related to the issue of
equality and in terms of women’s economic equality the US ranks #31
internationally. We are followed by Zimbabwe at #32. How can we as women in the US truly have an opportunity
for equality with this sort of ranking?
Claire responded by saying that first we need affordable and
dependable childcare. Next she said that
women need to learn to advocate for themselves professionally. They need to
learn to ask for better salaries and raises. I was disappointed. I wanted
something more. I wanted her to talk about the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. I
wanted her to talk about women entrepreneurs and women in the boardroom. She
didn’t.
Later that evening I thought about a conversation I had had
earlier in the week. One of my learners is a former General in a branch of the
French military. He told me a story that has haunted me all week. He said that
at one time he worked on a Peacekeeping Mission in an unnamed country in
Africa. They were preparing for the dangerous task of taking ground troops into
a village where very young boys were armed and trained to kill. It was his job
to prepare the soldiers for this emotionally dynamic situation. It was also his
job to tell the soldiers that if a child drew a weapon they had no choice but
to shoot the child and that neglecting to do so would not only risk the lives
of fellow soldiers but of the success of their mission. He concluded his story by saying that giving
the soldiers permission to shoot eliminated all questions. Lack of clarity, he
said, would weaken the self-confidence they needed to do their job efficiently.
He said that in the end no weapons were fired, no lives were lost. He
attributed this fact to the confidence with which the soldiers were armed.
I think that I can relate the story that the General told me
to the advice that Claire offered, although I didn’t think about it at the
time. I think that what Claire said was simple but true. Women need to ask for
more and they need to expect more. Women need to identify what it is they want
for themselves and create a mission. They need to empower themselves with facts
and knowledge. Self-doubt and minimizing jeopardizes opportunity for others
around them and puts the entire mission at risk. Arming themselves with the
confidence is the trailhead to equality.
Senator McCaskill’s comment about watching Dancing With the
Stars hit home. It was easy for me to point the finger at women who I think
should be more focused on how politics effects their lives. Meanwhile I had
become so fixated on big pictures that I’d overlooked the details. I can’t
really stop the epidemic of violence against women in countries like Indonesia,
India, Pakistan and Bangladesh without acknowledging the problem in my own
backyard.
For more information about the National Women’s Political
Caucus please visit: http://www.nwpc.org/
To learn more about
violence against women in the US, please visit the following:
US Department of Justice Information on Violence Against
Women: http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/
The National Organization of Women: http://www.now.org/issues/violence/stats.html
US Department of Health and Human Services: http://womenshealth.gov/violence-against-women/
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