We, as American women, are all Daughters of the Revolution. Yes, proven blood line or not, this is our birthright. Lineage intact or unknown, this is our heritage. The extraordinary women of the American Revolution are unquestionably our Founding Mothers and so, in turn, we are their daughters ... generation after generation ... of the Revolution.
And just as we are daughters and mothers in life, we also carry both titles in the continued quest for Liberty. As the American Revolution saw the birth of a nation and gave way to the growth of a newly formed Republic, the women of that great time in history gave birth to new ideas and teachings which educated and encouraged a new generation of young Patriots. Women organized such movements as the Daughters of Liberty and the Republican Motherhood to instill in their children, not only the Founders’ vision, but the tools to become an educated, responsible electorate and citizenry.
The brave and eloquent women of our history have laid the groundwork for today’s outspoken female patriots and patriots yet to come. From Abigal Adams and Mercy Otis Warren to Dr. Mary Ruwart, Wendy McElroy and Claire Wolfe - American women have moved through the ages while writing, teaching, advocating and practicing liberty.
Just as our Founding Mothers joined forces and organized movements, women today - as daughters and mothers - are still carrying the message of freedom and responsibility, still protecting our Republic.
From coast to coast, women are flying the banner of "eternal vigilance" - under different names and in different styles - but the banner continues to fly high none-the-less. From our nation’s western boundaries hail such advocates for liberty as Mothers Against the Draft, the Association of Libertarian Feminists, and the Liberty Belles. From the heartland springs our Mothers for Liberty and The Mothers Institute and from the east we find the Liberty Ladies and the Free Staters.
Across this nation, women’s activism and accomplishments are furthering the cause of liberty, and sharing the Founding Mothers’ call to "protect and defend" our nation’s original message of Independence. Whether it be on a national or local scene, women like Sharon Harris, president of Advocates for Self-Government; Elaine Badnarik, mother of Libertarian Presidential Candidate Michael Badnarik and a candidate for Lt. Governor herself, or Debbie Hopper, founder of Mothers Against the Draft, women continue to reach out with the essential good news of liberty - and we as Daughters of the Revolution and as Mothers of the Republic are charged with doing the same.
How well we fulfill that charge, and by what means, is both fodder and inspiration for our new non-profit organization, The Mothers Institute, and its grassroots effort via the many Mothers for Liberty Meetup Groups that are now springing up throughout the United States.
We - Daughters of the Revolution and Mothers of the Republic - can and must make a difference ... for ourselves, our children, and our nation!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Mothers for Liberty Meetup Groups ... A Real "Boots on the Ground" Approach
There is no denying that we moms are often the "boots on the ground" when it comes to fighting for causes which benefit our children. And as mothers raising the next generation of free-thinking, independent individuals ... we are indeed at the forefront of the fight for liberty!
Mothers for Liberty we are!
And to assist in that effort ... connecting like-minded, liberty-loving moms on a local basis, I have started the first Mothers for Liberty Meetup Group - hoping groups like this will spring up across America. I invite everyone to check out my new South Central Illinois Mothers for Liberty Meetup Group at: http://moms.meetup.com/3107/ and join if you'd like ... especially if you live in Illinois or one of our neighboring states.
And if any self-professed Mothers for Liberty out there want to start a Mothers for Liberty Meetup Group in YOUR OWN AREA, just drop me a note and I'll be happy to share the how-to's of getting things up and running.
Let's spread the word together ... boots on the ground!
Jan
Mothers for Liberty we are!
And to assist in that effort ... connecting like-minded, liberty-loving moms on a local basis, I have started the first Mothers for Liberty Meetup Group - hoping groups like this will spring up across America. I invite everyone to check out my new South Central Illinois Mothers for Liberty Meetup Group at: http://moms.meetup.com/3107/ and join if you'd like ... especially if you live in Illinois or one of our neighboring states.
And if any self-professed Mothers for Liberty out there want to start a Mothers for Liberty Meetup Group in YOUR OWN AREA, just drop me a note and I'll be happy to share the how-to's of getting things up and running.
Let's spread the word together ... boots on the ground!
Jan
Should We Ask the Government for Everything?
Have a favorite charity? Suffer from a devastating illness? Want a new museum in your community? Well just ask the federal government for money ... right? Wrong.
We have become so used to turning to the federal government for everything we want or need that we as a nation have long since forgotten the purpose of government - and perhaps worse yet, we have forgotten the difference between government and society. As Thomas Paine wrote “Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil in its worst state an intolerable one ...”
Wanting to help find a solution to a problem, promote a worthy cause, find a cure for a disease are all honorable tasks and benefit society ... but funding for such endeavors should come from society – NOT from government. The more we turn towards government, the less we turn towards each other ... and individuals, neighborhoods and communities loose their sense of self and strength in the process.
It is time we Americans look to each other for creative answers to our problems ... and cut the strings which always come with government intervention and oversight. Let us reclaim society's blessings and further remember the "Common Sense" words of Thomas Paine ...
“SOME writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.
Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamities is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer! Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise. For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform, and irresistibly obeyed, man would need no other lawgiver; but that not being the case, he finds it necessary to surrender up a part of his property to furnish means for the protection of the rest; and this he is induced to do by the same prudence which in every other case advises him out of two evils to choose the least. Wherefore, security being the true design and end of government, it unanswerably follows that whatever form thereof appears most likely to ensure it to us, with the least expense and greatest benefit, is preferable to all others...”
For the complete text ... http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/commonsense/text.html
We have become so used to turning to the federal government for everything we want or need that we as a nation have long since forgotten the purpose of government - and perhaps worse yet, we have forgotten the difference between government and society. As Thomas Paine wrote “Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil in its worst state an intolerable one ...”
Wanting to help find a solution to a problem, promote a worthy cause, find a cure for a disease are all honorable tasks and benefit society ... but funding for such endeavors should come from society – NOT from government. The more we turn towards government, the less we turn towards each other ... and individuals, neighborhoods and communities loose their sense of self and strength in the process.
It is time we Americans look to each other for creative answers to our problems ... and cut the strings which always come with government intervention and oversight. Let us reclaim society's blessings and further remember the "Common Sense" words of Thomas Paine ...
“SOME writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.
Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamities is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer! Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise. For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform, and irresistibly obeyed, man would need no other lawgiver; but that not being the case, he finds it necessary to surrender up a part of his property to furnish means for the protection of the rest; and this he is induced to do by the same prudence which in every other case advises him out of two evils to choose the least. Wherefore, security being the true design and end of government, it unanswerably follows that whatever form thereof appears most likely to ensure it to us, with the least expense and greatest benefit, is preferable to all others...”
For the complete text ... http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/commonsense/text.html
Thursday, March 6, 2008
The Many Seasons of Life
In another forum I frequent, a woman suggested that mothers who stay home with their children are little more than babysitters and are shortchanging themselves and their communities by not "doing more". She also suggested that women are taken less seriously by men when acquiescing to the age old sentiment that "A woman's place is in the home".
Below is my response to her ....
I think something your observation and opinion forget to acknowledge is the many seasons of life. We as women are not defined by a single season, but rather the sum total of all the wonderful seasons our lives embrace.
Before I was married and had children, I owned my own business. After my first child was born (premature and with a variety of allergies) I sold the business to take care of him full time. Initially I had planned to keep the business and take my son to work with me ... but his needs required more than that situation would have allowed.
Recognizing he was my first priority ... it was out with the business and in with full time parenting. I became a stay-at-home mom from then on and 4 years later when my second son was born, he was a welcome addition to the family. Never did I think of myself as my children's babysitter ... I was/am their mother, their teacher and their friend. And on the few occasions when my husband took care of the boys solo, never did I say he was babysitting them - as I have heard many people comment when dads are home with the little ones. It seems to me that knowing they are his children too, and he is in the process of caring for them ... it is not babysitting either!
That said, I was totally devoted to my sons' care when they were little, totally devoted to their education when they were homeschooled and when they were in the public school setting. Initially that left very little time for outside activities, but as they grew and the seasons of their lives changed, so did mine.
Eventually, even as a stay-at-home mom, I started a small news-magazine with a friend and eventually co-founded a magazine for Senior Citizens with my mother. By that time, my oldest son was in public school - but my youngest, whom I was still homeschooling, often traveled with me to do interviews, get advertising and deliver the magazine to 30+ communities.
After both of my sons entered college and moved away, a new season in my life began. My husband and I became very active in politics and eventually I was appointed to serve as Executive Director of the Libertarian Party of Illinois. During that time, as I spoke to Libertarians throughout the state, I found many men were very respectful when they learned of my homeschooling efforts. Not from “a woman's place is in the home" attitude, but rather a "good for you for bucking the system and putting your libertarian ideals into action" attitude.
I suggest no matter what opinions and statistics reflect regarding equality, we are all only as equal or unequal as we personally feel. Recognizing that staying at home and raising our children is of value, knowing that our children grow up and leave home grateful and secure for the time and attention we have given them, and knowing that the different seasons in our life are not limiting - but rather appropriate, productive and wonderful – makes us women a viable force to be reckoned with on many fronts.
Jan
Below is my response to her ....
I think something your observation and opinion forget to acknowledge is the many seasons of life. We as women are not defined by a single season, but rather the sum total of all the wonderful seasons our lives embrace.
Before I was married and had children, I owned my own business. After my first child was born (premature and with a variety of allergies) I sold the business to take care of him full time. Initially I had planned to keep the business and take my son to work with me ... but his needs required more than that situation would have allowed.
Recognizing he was my first priority ... it was out with the business and in with full time parenting. I became a stay-at-home mom from then on and 4 years later when my second son was born, he was a welcome addition to the family. Never did I think of myself as my children's babysitter ... I was/am their mother, their teacher and their friend. And on the few occasions when my husband took care of the boys solo, never did I say he was babysitting them - as I have heard many people comment when dads are home with the little ones. It seems to me that knowing they are his children too, and he is in the process of caring for them ... it is not babysitting either!
That said, I was totally devoted to my sons' care when they were little, totally devoted to their education when they were homeschooled and when they were in the public school setting. Initially that left very little time for outside activities, but as they grew and the seasons of their lives changed, so did mine.
Eventually, even as a stay-at-home mom, I started a small news-magazine with a friend and eventually co-founded a magazine for Senior Citizens with my mother. By that time, my oldest son was in public school - but my youngest, whom I was still homeschooling, often traveled with me to do interviews, get advertising and deliver the magazine to 30+ communities.
After both of my sons entered college and moved away, a new season in my life began. My husband and I became very active in politics and eventually I was appointed to serve as Executive Director of the Libertarian Party of Illinois. During that time, as I spoke to Libertarians throughout the state, I found many men were very respectful when they learned of my homeschooling efforts. Not from “a woman's place is in the home" attitude, but rather a "good for you for bucking the system and putting your libertarian ideals into action" attitude.
I suggest no matter what opinions and statistics reflect regarding equality, we are all only as equal or unequal as we personally feel. Recognizing that staying at home and raising our children is of value, knowing that our children grow up and leave home grateful and secure for the time and attention we have given them, and knowing that the different seasons in our life are not limiting - but rather appropriate, productive and wonderful – makes us women a viable force to be reckoned with on many fronts.
Jan
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
"The Mothers Act" ... a quaint little name for another invasive piece of legislation!
The Mothers Act ... yes, its a quaint little name for another invasive and expensive piece of legislation more formally known as Bill S. 1375: Mom's Opportunity to Access Health, Education, Research, and Support for Postpartum Depression Act.
The legislation is currently in committee via the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions after passing overwhelmingly in the House.
With just a quick look at the summary of the bill (below) an individual more trusting of the government than myself might find it harmless at first - but upon further reading, red flags will no doubt show themselves to many a concerned American!
----------------------------------------
Sumary: THE MOTHERS ACT amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to: (1) states to provide to women who have recently given birth and their families, before such women leave their birthing centers, education concerning postpartum depression, postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, and postpartum psychosis and to screen new mothers for such postpartum conditions during their first year of postnatal checkup visits; and (2) public or nonprofit private entities to provide for the delivery of essential services to individuals with such postpartum conditions and their families. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the heads of other federal agencies that administer federal health programs, to organize a series of national meetings that are designed to develop a research plan for postpartum depression and psychosis. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to expand and intensify research relating to postpartum conditions to carry out such plan.
Source: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-1375
------------------------------------------
For those friends and visitors here who have read the summary and perhaps even clicked on the link to learn more about the bill, I'd like to pose the following questions ... First, when has the government ever awarded grants/provided funding to individual states for specific programs without having strings attached??? Think No Child Left Behind and our Interstate Highway system.
And secondly, what makes government via its agencies qualified to educate, screen, council and medicate new mothers and their families in an unbiased manner??? Should those agencies offer advice, will they be inclined to provide alternative methods of treatment as well, considering Big Pharma is Big Business in Washington??? Worse yet, might the mention of drug-free options be prohibited?
Our nation needs less government intervention and oversight - not more!!!
As government continues to intervene in the lives of individuals and families, promising solutions to all that ails us via government services, we have become a nation suffering the consequences of turning away from the very family and community assistance once accepted as natural and turning towards government as a solution.
Government assistance always includes government bureaucracy ... and sometime the waiting game can be a dangerous proposition to someone in real need. How often have we all heard of someone falling between the cracks, no matter how many government agencies were supposed to be providing services? Once the government gets us use to them being in our living rooms, birthing rooms and medicine cabinets, the drug companies and the politicians benefit ... and We the People suffer.
It would benefit us as a nation to rekindle the practice of young and/or new mothers creating and looking to their own support system which could included their mother, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, neighbors, friends, co-workers, a trusted family doctor or other health care professional, etc ... women (and men) who are available for wise counsel (or sometimes simply to offer the new mom a night out on the town or a few extra hours of sleep!)
Help keep the government out of our living rooms, birthing rooms, medicine cabinets and doctors offices! Call your Senators today and tell them to vote NO on The Mothers Act! Let keep our private lives and our medical concerns private ... without bureaucratic oversight and intervention!
Jan
The legislation is currently in committee via the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions after passing overwhelmingly in the House.
With just a quick look at the summary of the bill (below) an individual more trusting of the government than myself might find it harmless at first - but upon further reading, red flags will no doubt show themselves to many a concerned American!
----------------------------------------
Sumary: THE MOTHERS ACT amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to: (1) states to provide to women who have recently given birth and their families, before such women leave their birthing centers, education concerning postpartum depression, postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, and postpartum psychosis and to screen new mothers for such postpartum conditions during their first year of postnatal checkup visits; and (2) public or nonprofit private entities to provide for the delivery of essential services to individuals with such postpartum conditions and their families. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the heads of other federal agencies that administer federal health programs, to organize a series of national meetings that are designed to develop a research plan for postpartum depression and psychosis. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to expand and intensify research relating to postpartum conditions to carry out such plan.
Source: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-1375
------------------------------------------
For those friends and visitors here who have read the summary and perhaps even clicked on the link to learn more about the bill, I'd like to pose the following questions ... First, when has the government ever awarded grants/provided funding to individual states for specific programs without having strings attached??? Think No Child Left Behind and our Interstate Highway system.
And secondly, what makes government via its agencies qualified to educate, screen, council and medicate new mothers and their families in an unbiased manner??? Should those agencies offer advice, will they be inclined to provide alternative methods of treatment as well, considering Big Pharma is Big Business in Washington??? Worse yet, might the mention of drug-free options be prohibited?
Our nation needs less government intervention and oversight - not more!!!
As government continues to intervene in the lives of individuals and families, promising solutions to all that ails us via government services, we have become a nation suffering the consequences of turning away from the very family and community assistance once accepted as natural and turning towards government as a solution.
Government assistance always includes government bureaucracy ... and sometime the waiting game can be a dangerous proposition to someone in real need. How often have we all heard of someone falling between the cracks, no matter how many government agencies were supposed to be providing services? Once the government gets us use to them being in our living rooms, birthing rooms and medicine cabinets, the drug companies and the politicians benefit ... and We the People suffer.
It would benefit us as a nation to rekindle the practice of young and/or new mothers creating and looking to their own support system which could included their mother, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, neighbors, friends, co-workers, a trusted family doctor or other health care professional, etc ... women (and men) who are available for wise counsel (or sometimes simply to offer the new mom a night out on the town or a few extra hours of sleep!)
Help keep the government out of our living rooms, birthing rooms, medicine cabinets and doctors offices! Call your Senators today and tell them to vote NO on The Mothers Act! Let keep our private lives and our medical concerns private ... without bureaucratic oversight and intervention!
Jan
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