The Women’s Day March of 2017- Two Perspectives

Notes from St. Louis:

On an uncommonly warm January day in St. Louis, under brilliantly sunny skies, I marched with thousands out of a sense of responsibility too compelling to ignore. The march, of course, was the Women’s Day March on the day following the election of Donald J. Trump to the Office of the Presidency of the United States of America. In contrast, the skies on Inauguration Day were gray and gloomy as rain continued throughout the day in Washington and in much of our country. The weather created a fitting backdrop to the dark picture painted by President Trump in his inaugural address to America, my imperfect and beautiful country. His view of our country, our citizens, our history, our way of life was my motivation to march. His solutions are even more troubling and anathema to American principles and values.

The values and principles referred to are those embodied in our Constitution, which place no branch of government, and certainly no man, above the law. Although I am a self-described moderate, I have believed that prior Administrations acted with the best interests of our country at heart and respected our Constitution. Now, I am distracted from my own daily activities at each new revelation demonstrating that the President and his Administrations either lack a complete understanding of our Constitution or have contempt for our Constitution. So, the question is, do we watch and worry, or do we stay vigilant, be proactive, and take a stand? I choose to stand and take action.

I would also like to add a note from Carolina Olivieri, in Washington, D.C.:

Notes from Washington, D.C.

I participated in the Women’s Day March in Washington on January 21, 2017. What an amazing experience. For an introvert, being in such a large crowd was a bit stressful, but the kindness and respect that all marchers displayed for one another, made my anxiety melt away and my euphoria grow. I was surrounded by people who are united against President Trump and his bully agenda. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, so how could we be in this situation? His ethic’s violations alone should be sufficient to prevent him from ascending to the presidency. For me, the march meant that women really are powerful and will fight to keep and grow our rights.  At this time, how can we slide backward?

How did we get here? Was it a lack of critical thinking? Our votes impact not only us, but also our children and their future. To me, this outcome drills down to education, or a lack thereof. All schools need to be excellent – not just a select few. How can we rally together to ensure that all of our children gain access to high quality education from pre-school through college? Education opens minds and allows one to think critically from different perspectives. Maybe if our citizens had evaluated the candidates more critically from a historical, analytical viewpoint, the current situation may never have arisen. As women, mothers, daughters, and educators, how can we rally together to ensure education is equal for all? So, how do we move forward?

 

In response to our questions and concerns, Carolina and I are dedicating time to this blog space to help support individuals and  groups that organize a peaceful and compelling resistance to policies that undermine our core American values. The Women’s Day March was a moment in time, and now is the time to start a movement to protect our American values.

It is our mission through this blog to:

• frame issues;
• to educate and provide context for others on issues;
• to ask tough questions;
• and to support elected officials of BOTH parties who work together to uphold democratic processes and principles, and who demand truthfulness.

Will you join us? We invite you to use the educational resources provided on this website to stay involved, post our blog on your Facebook page, add a comment, or like and share our blog posts. Let’s start an inclusive dialogue on substantive issues.

Thank you!