But… Baby, It’s Cold Outside

I really can’t stay (but baby it’s cold outside)

I’ve got to go away (but baby it’s cold outside)

We know the one, this old time duet describes an interaction between two people who are negotiating the next step of their evening and I just can’t resist but to blahg a bit about this classic holiday tune.  Something about this song has irked me through the past several holiday seasons, so here goes…

This song illustrates a situation in which a man is trying his hardest to encourage a woman to stay just a little longer, and the woman duly refuses, raising every reason to leave that she can muster up.  Now, the energy of this song does not strike me as a situation in which the woman does not actually want to stay longer with this man, however, the compulsion to refuse so vehemently, only to ultimately succumb illuminates a much deeper issue in our engrained sexual dynamics.

"But Becky," you say, "it’s an old song and that’s just how it was done back then, it’s not what happens nowadays, and it’s just a song, so what's the big deal?"  

And to that I say... yes, while certainly dated, having been originally introduced to the holiday song scene in 1936, I appreciate that this song is a product of its time, and a depiction of a very “traditional” scene between man and woman.  Why, therefore, am I even bringing this up?

Well, because… what we see and hear in our popular culture, we inevitably think on a subconscious level, and it always deserves a second think-through in order to analyze what these messages mean and how we absorb them.  

(You all will certainly hear more about my views of the power of mass media for positive social change that is currently being irresponsibly used to reinforce negative messages in upcoming blahgs.)

I simply must go (Baby, it's cold outside)

The answer is no (Ooh baby, it's cold outside)

We all have to change the way we communicate about sex so that the true meaning of “no” is understood and agreed upon by all parties. 

Here we have a woman who is socialized to exert her “proper” and “chaste” womanhood by resisting for the sake of appeasing her conscience and her family, as she describes.  Simultaneously, we have a man who has been socialized to recognize this dissent as a predicament of conscience on her part and to assert his “manhood” until she says yes.

While in this particular case, as in many in real life, this is a situation in which the woman initially says no, even though she desires what she refuses, and the man, playing along with this “game”, persists.  It is not difficult to imagine how this problem easily can and often does lead to some genuinely undesired situations and some likely confusion all around.

This is a problem that can hardly be blamed on men, women, or any particular person, but rather, the culture of sexual dynamics that we function within that ultimately contributes to the epidemic of sexual assault in our society.  And even more importantly, it's an issue that negatively impacts each and every one of us, and therefore must be pondered in a very deep way.

Way too many sexual assault situations stem from misunderstanding and lack of communication between the people involved and it’s high time that we make some changes.  With comprehensive sexual health education, and an increased ability to discuss feelings honestly when it comes to sex, we can empower people to engage in healthy and consensual intimacy in their lives.

My point here, as always, is not to ruin this holiday traditional song, but to invite everyone reading this blahg to constantly be thinking critically about the messages that are embedded in our popular culture and mass media outlets. Subtle and rooted as they may be, as in the case with “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”, these messages impact the way we think, undeniably, and must therefore be analyzed.

But baby, it’s cold outside… Yes, and I am an independent and empowered woman and I would love nothing more than to stay and have another drink with you.

(Special shout out to Mom, Dad, Rachael, Shoshi, and Kanoa, who, as a result of these discussions have likely had "Baby, It's Cold Outside" stuck in their heads for the past three straight days. Thanks for being patient!)

Dear President Obama

Dearest President Barack Obama,

I write to you as a staunch supporter and a deep believer in you as a beacon of much needed hope, change, and progress in this country.  From the moment you hit the political sphere, a new wave of passion was awakened throughout the country, rippling through the “Main Streets” all over the world, and unleashing a fervor that we haven’t experienced since the revolutionary decade of the 60s.  Many of us had never felt what it was like to have a political leader who we felt really understood where we are coming from and was ready to stand up for the issues that are so important to us.  I was overwhelmed with love and support for you and your soon-to-be administration.

I feel as strongly today as I did in the summer of 2008 when, as a recent college graduate boiling over with newly achieved knowledge, independence, and a flair for activism, I deployed myself to serve among the thousands and thousands of enthusiastic and inspired foot soldiers of the grassroots movement that was the foundation of your campaign.  We worked for up to 110 hours a week on the streets and knocking on doors speaking emphatically with people about your vision for a progressive future.  

I heard so many beautiful stories of previously disillusioned people who were voting for the first time in their lives believing that a solution to the extraordinarily broken system had finally emerged from the woodwork in response to the plague of the Bush administration.  Better yet, more people than I can even recount disclosed to me that they had voted for the Republican candidate during every election cycle yet, but that you were just too important during this junction in our country to not vote for.

This was a ground-breaking approach to the election process, setting a precedent for the power of the people in choosing our leaders over the power of big money that I can only hope will continue to progress in the future of our electoral system.  I am honored to have been a part of that shift.

(The devastating Supreme Court decision of 2010 that declared corporations deserving of the protection of the first amendment rights, deceivingly known as “Citizens United”, merits a dishonorable mention after that previous statement… an important discussion for a future blahg.)

Together, we enlivened the country to vote at record levels, specifically the historically silent populations of people: racial minorities and young people.  You, Mr. President, inspired us to combine our voices and let them be heard and as a result of that, you are now our one voice.

Through your term so far you’ve fought hard and you’ve accomplished a lot, especially in the face of the horrifyingly obstinate Congress that you’ve had to deal with, and we appreciate it.  As I write, the last of the troops are leaving Iraq, signifying an important promise fulfilled, and a powerful symbol indicating the end of this long, costly, and misguided war.  The Patient Protection Affordable Care Act, while not yet perfect, is a critical piece of legislation that will begin to chip away at the astronomically high levels of uninsured people in our country, and has already begun to work as intended.  You fulfilled the long-awaited promise to repeal the 18 year “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy of sexual orientation repression in the military, uncovering a deeply rooted issue of institutionalized discrimination.

This list of accomplishments is far from comprehensive, but the point is, I appreciate your work, your convictions, your work ethic, and most importantly, your values.

Now, that said, some of your recent decisions have truly taken me aback.

The decision to not allow emergency contraception (also known as “the morning-after pill, though, this is a misnomer) to be purchased over the counter by young adolescents after many years of research and progressive advocacy for this advancement, is a step backwards, flying in the face of the scientific realities of the issue.  To overrule the FDA on the decision to allow young people the ability to buy emergency contraception in their moment of need in order to prevent a teenage pregnancy is to further block the efforts of the reproductive justice field and thereby neglect the needs of the most vulnerable people for the sake of political gain, not to mention your promised commitment to policy based only on “scientific integrity”.

Another truly frightening recent development is the decision to not enact your power of veto when the National Defense Authorization Act was presented.  This bill represents a violation of human rights of epic proportions.  The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the United States ratified in 1992 very specifically stipulates the protection against arbitrary arrest, and as importantly, the right to due process of the law. 

Though these treaties do not translate directly into domestic law, they are meant to act as a foundation from which our laws are created.  According to these treaties, it is the State’s responsibility to protect and respect these inalienable and indivisible human rights.  This bill is an abhorrent demonstration of the State stripping away these rights.  With this development, we are teetering eerily on the fence between a free state and a police state.  I urge you, with all of my might, to reconsider.

While I detest the reality of the “political game” and the need to act in certain ways in order to ensure reelection, I begrudgingly accept that the current political climate demands this to an extent.  I trust that you and your team are much smarter than me when it comes to ensuring your reelection in 2012 (which I view as an imperative for our political future), but I beg of you to not compromise your values and mine in the process.  We cannot let our country move in this very backwards and counterproductive direction, even for the sake of attracting the “moderate” constituents.

While my support for you is unfaltering, there are many, I fear, who are less certain.  They might not decide to use their vote to support your (totally crazy, ahem) Republican opponent, but they might lose the drive to get out and vote for you in 2012 which we, as a country and as a political party, cannot risk.

Again, I know there must be some kind valid reason for these decisions because I do not believe that they reflect your intellect, your ideals, and your innate respect for humanity, and what that reason is, I do not understand.

I simply cannot impress vehemently enough my view that compromising the support of the liberal base with such extreme legislation will serve us poorly in the upcoming election.

For this reason and so many others, please rethink these decisions and in doing so, remember yourself and the people whom you represent.

President Obama, even though I am less than pleased with some of these developments, I am very proud of others, and I trust that in your second term you will use the political foundation that you’ve been building over the past three years to serve us well and continue to fight for the progressive political change that this country so desperately needs.

For that though, we need to ensure your second term, and for that to happen, we need the support of your liberal base which might prove to be more challenging to achieve this time around than in 2008.  This is not a time (nor is any, but particularly now), to be abandoning the values of your base.

Thank you for your service, your life of public work, and your work towards a better world.  This is the time to use these precious opportunities to show us what you are truly made of: compassion, empathy, progressive values, hope, and CHANGE.

Yours Truly,

A Fein Toothed Comb

P.S. I think that at your core, your values align with those of the Occupy movement, and you might do well to express that.  There is a lot of energy and a lot of support brewing in that arena and your public endorsement would be an extraordinary boost to our important cause.

Occupy the Spaces

“WE THE PEOPLE of the Occupy movement embody and enact a deep democratic awakening with genuine joy and fierce determination.”—The Occupied Wall Street Journal, November 2011, Issue 5

Occupy… what a powerful and poignant word. One that I feel aptly embodies the potency of this global movement by the people, for the people. I really like it.

To me, the Occupy movement, preceded by the Arab Spring, represents a ripple of awakenings of the people, with voices ringing out and echoing around the world. There is no way to ignore us anymore. 

The time that I got to spend with the masses in Zuccotti Park (physically occupying), shadowed by the buildings of Wall Street, was empowering and overwhelming to the point of tears. I felt connection, contemplation, conversation, inspiration, and overall, like I belonged.

As Eve Ensler said in her “Ambiguous Upsparkles from the Heart of the Park” storytelling sessions, when you’re there, and involved with the call and response style communication, you aren’t just hearing the words, you’re truly listening, then repeating, and thereby ingesting the words of your Occupy community, establishing a space of unequivocal solidarity. It’s very powerful stuff.

I recently had the incredible opportunity to hear a panel of Columbia University professors from various fields speak on the matter, a perspective that I had been craving to hear and I am very excited to share with you all reading this blahg. 

The panel was made up of (among others):

Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute and Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

Professor Sachs began by saying that “it’s going to be the millennials who fix this mess, and I think that the Occupy movement is just the beginning”. He explained that our current economic and governmental system is “very unequal and very unfair” and that it got to be this way through unethical and illegal means.  Professor Sachs says that OWS has been successful at changing the level of self-understanding of America, and has opened many people’s eyes. In his opinion, there are four elements of the system that are phenomenally broken right now:

1)     Inequality: The vast proportion of financial gains are within the top 1%, while simultaneously an unacceptable level of financial loss for people in the middle and at the bottom of the economic scale is in motion, rendering this time as the biggest wealth gap since a time that preceded the Great Depression by mere moments.

2)     Impunity: Crimes of immense proportions that impact the majority of the country in devastating ways go unpunished. The 1% breaks laws and fouls social norms without being affected, indeed, in many ways still revered.

3)     Money infuses every element of our politics: Lobbying, campaigning, insider trading in Congress… these are all part of a system that caters only to the self-interested rich and powerful.

4)     The decay of government investments and services: Education, infrastructure, environment, job training, science, climate....… Everything but the military is being GUTTED financially.

Professor Sachs asserts that this problem will not be solved by the Occupy movement alone, but it has certainly opened the world's eyes to the issues.  He suggests that the next generation of politicians, who we need to replace entirely because no incumbents will hold themselves accountable to such an enormous and reformative task, need to win without any campaign contribution that exceeds $99.

Peter Rosenblum, Professor of Human Rights Law, Columbia Law School.

Privatization is undermining human rights and it is the activists who bring to light the issues around the world that have gone unacknowledged for far too long. He implores that we all make an effort to Occupy the Spaces, some that are established for us, such as voting, and in a school setting, student representation to the boards, for example, and some spaces we need to create on our own. Wherever we are, we need use our voices to tell systems, government, and corporations what they can and cannot do. He made reference to the first Supreme Court case in 1978, First National Bank of Boston vs. Bellotti, in which corporations were deemed “people” entitled to the protection of the first amendment. 

“What a huge contradiction” Professor Rosenblum says, “that corporations can be free individuals but are not held accountable for the immense international human rights violations that they are responsible for.”

Bruce Kogut, Professor of Leadership and Ethics, Columbia Business School

We have in front of us a well-organized Republican party with a lot of money. (Uh oh.) Now, what can the democrats do? Professor Kogut stipulates two options:

1      1)      Realign with money. Refocus our politics around who can finance it, like the Republicans. OR… 

        2)   ORGANIZE extremely effectively: advertise, coordinate, and properly use all funding.

Professor Kogut asserted that the whole rhetoric around the 99% was a brilliant marketing framework. The notion integrates all people and breaks down the walls of polarization and the “us and them” mentality to say that we are ALL in this together.

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So we’re off to a solid start.

Not only are we marketing the cause with powerful words and a voluminous online presence, we have been joined by key players throughout the academic, political, and international spheres. 

The Special Rapporteur for the protection of free expression to the United Nations, Frank LaRue, is drafting an official communication to the US government “demanding to know why federal officials are not protecting the rights of Occupy demonstrators whose protests are being disbanded -- sometimes violently -- by local authorities”. LaRue describes that the authorities’ violent response to this peaceful protesting is a mistake and it’s time for the government to defend the people.

President Obama, in an act of indisputable distinction from the current climate of the branches of government, described the unacceptability of the innate inequality that permeates our culture with the current economic theories that favor the 1%. He even alluded to the language of the Occupy movement; while not endorsing it as emphatically as I hope that he will soon, he's getting there. (GOBAMA!)

(Video above: Poet Drew Dellinger--"It's time to rock the nation, rock this occupation".)

We have grasped the attention of the world and we have a unique opportunity upon us that we must not let slip away. No generation has ever been more equipped or able to organize effectively and quickly.

We must Occupy the internet, Occupy the governments, Occupy the spaces, and Occupy our own imaginations to fully realize our potential as a people. We will Occupy with empathy and passion and we will shift the course of history. We are the 99% and our moment is now.