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Sparkle (2)
Welcome to this month's edition of BlogHer's Why I'm Political series. Don't run off! I know the word "politics" can be scary and conjure up images of never-ending presidential debates. But that's not what this is about. It's about thoughtful women from both sides of the political aisle sharing what motivated them to take the leap into writing publicly about issues important to them -- and what they're focused on as we enter the 2012 election season.
Some of the women in this series are contributors to my recent book, Mothers of Intention: How Women and Social Media are Revolutionizing Politics in America (Bright Sky Press) , which explores the rise of women's voices online.
This month, I interviewed Jaelithe Judy from The State of Discontent and MOMocrats about her essay, "Cynthia Davis is Right: Hunger is a Motivator," which is about her experiences with childhood hunger. She was prompted to write that essay when Davis, then a Missouri State Representative, advocated that Missouri programs to help feed hungry children in the summer should be shut down to save money, suggesting that kids could just get a job at McDonald's where they would get free food as employees.
Not surprisingly, Jaelithe had a few things to say about that, in her always thoughtful and eloquent style. Her post is extremely moving. I read an excerpt from her essay at a recent conference where I was speaking on a panel about storytelling, and I saw at least one person crying as I read Jaelithe's words about the difference between being hungry and going hungry.
Jaelithe, who I have the honor of knowing through our work at MOMocrats, was very gracious about taking time out of her already overloaded schedule to chat:
What motivated you to become political and/or go public with your political views? Were you afraid of what your readers would think?
I've been interested in politics since I was old enough to begin to understand it. I was just a freshman in high school when I won a school-wide essay contest with a piece on the value of cultural diversity in schools.
As the child of a working-class, divorced teenage mother, growing up in one of the most dangerous and economically segregated cities in the country, I had a lot of school of hard knocks lessons early in life on just how personal politics can get. I know I was incredibly lucky to rise from those circumstances to the position I enjoy today as a college-educated, middle class person, and I also know that even though I worked like hell to get myself here I could not have done it without help -- from neighbors, teachers, family and my country.
So I feel a responsibility to speak up about politics. I feel compelled to speak out on behalf of other Americans who have not had the same opportunities I've had to make my voice heard.
Of course I was scared of how the people who read my work would react. I still get scared all the time. But it's scary to write about anything that's important. If I'm not scaring myself now and again as a writer, I'm not working hard enough.
What are the issues you're most focused on now going into the 2012 campaign season? What issue do you think is important that the candidates aren't talking about?
Obviously, if you ask random Americans off the street what the most important campaign issue is right now, the answer you'll hear again and again is, "It's the economy, stupid." Which of course is true. But it drives me absolutely bonkers when politicians say, "I'm going to create two million jobs in my first year in office," and then do not elaborate in any meaningful way as to how they plan to do such a thing.
I view our struggling economy as a symptom of a whole set of bigger systemic problems. The economy is tied up with environmental and energy policy. I live in a state that's been hard hit lately by natural disasters fueled by climate change, and you can bet that has not helped the economy. The economy is tied up with education. Our public education system is a disgrace, and it's failing to produce good doctors, scientists, and entrepreneurs. There are more honors students in India right now than there are students, period, in the
