A is for Abortion
Today's hot topic is an arrow to the heart. But Kamala Harris is standing up to fight for all of us.
July 31, 2024
In times of general crisis, I think it must be normal to look for special meaning in quotes from the daily news, in a book you’re reading, or even in the few heartfelt words a friend says to you at the grocery store. You look for clues to help you navigate a cultural landscape that’s changing by the day.
Being open-minded is hard, because you have to deal with information that’s discouraging. For example, since the Dobbs decision over two years ago, I’ve tried to process the loss of women’s access to reproductive-related heath care, by working for candidates running for office who respect women and want to reinstate their rights.
But this week it felt like a fresh setback when J. D. Vance’s cruel insults belittling women were in the news. It seems that American women are a big problem, though not for the first time. I wish we were done with this kind of attention.
Looking for a parallel in literature, it occurs to me that we have a new Hester Prynne in our culture. Today, the “A” she is forced to wear in shame stands for Abortion.
What happened to our right to healthcare in America? What happened to human kindness?
One candidate who wants to turn this around is Kamala Harris. Everything seems so astounding! What is personal, and what is public? Can you believe that today Harris emailed me to be on her “exclusive list of supporters"? She said,
I want you to be the first to know who I am selecting to serve alongside of me as Vice President.
Of course, I signed up. And yes, I donated to her campaign, partly because she included in her email the same photo we’ve had on our refrigerator since 2019, but mostly because she spoke to me, woman to woman.
Just yesterday in the news - a small-souled man who also wants to be President, rather desperately, called her by her first name and mispronounced it, and then attacked her as a Black woman. I still feel his insult deeply and I want to protect her. But there are words for that. Just a few days ago. President Biden told the nation,
[Kamala Harris is] experienced. She's tough, she's capable. She's been an incredible partner to me.
Harris is going to be ok.
Still, I can’t stop looking at the headlines! Tonight a Washington Post op-ed says,
Can Kamala Harris keep up her momentum?
Of course, she can! She has just now emailed me again, from a break in her rally in Atlanta to say,
This election has always been about two different visions for our nation: one that is focused on the future and one that is focused almost entirely on the past.
Donald Trump wants to take our country backwards. His extreme Project 2025 agenda calls for banning reproductive freedom nationwide. … We cannot go back, Deda. Generations of Americans before us led the fight for freedom, and, now, the baton is in our hands.
This conversation is going on all around us. It’s a river of words from the past mixing with words spoken this hour.
I’m trying to pay attention only to what is said that keeps me most available to my community in this election year. If you’ve read my Postcards before, you know which side I’m working for.
Thank you, Deda!
Deda, please take a look at fivehivenc.com. It’s a worthwhile site with solid information on five of the most extreme NC candidates (one in Henderson County) running for office. Maybe direct your subscribers to also take a look? It’s directed at an audience of moderate voters who may still be undecided.
Thanks.