We spend a lot of time here in Activista-land talking about what's wrong in our country, what doesn't work for families, what's better elsewhere. We do this 'constructive complaining' so that we can figure out what should change and how we can encourage (ok, force) those changes. But, as in all things, it's important to have context, and to ocassionally stop and be grateful for all the really good stuff we do have - like dependable electricity, clean water in our taps, open access to the internet, excellent libraries, etc...
So, this Thanksgiving, I am stopping to be thankful for two things related to this Activista forum:
1. The opportunity to be politically active. While we don't prevail nearly often enough, thanks to the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, we can speak out, up, protest, write letters, e-mail, call, etc... without fear.
2. The hard work of those advocates and trail blazers who came before us, for they brought us to where we are today. The working mothers who got no slack from their bosses (plenty still don't), the stay-at-home dads who got no respect and more than a few raised eyebrows, the advocates who passed the FMLA and the breastfeeding laws (among others), and the list goes on. We have a long road ahead of us, to be sure, mamas, but without the hard work and sacrifice of those who got us as far as we are, it'd be a whole lot longer.
So on this day, Thanksgiving, we'll stop to be thankful. But tomorrow, mamas, is another day.
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