Editor's Perspective
“My right to speak my mind, to have a voice, to be what some have called 'opinionated' is a right I deeply and profoundly cherish.'' This discussion is necessary in the United States of America in 2004? Apparently so. Last year, Laura Bush canceled a symposium of poets invited to the White House, for fear that their freedom of speech would include criticism of the impending attack on Iraq. The First Lady did not care to extend the privileges of our Bill of Rights to artists under her temporary roof. The words and actions of these two women symbolize some of the major options facing us in November. I have more respect for someone like Ms. Heinz Kerry, who puts herself out on a limb, rather than hiding behind her husband and his personal Jesus. Assuming the position of editor of Vermont Woman, I will have to put myself out on a limb each month because what I write, and the diverse voices I present, should cause our readers to react: to nod in affirmation, or to say hey, no, that's not right at all and to then write in and explain why. Our tagline is ‘women's voices for the 21st century’ – you are one of those voices. More importantly, I hope what you read in our pages will encourage you to take action in your community. I was preparing to pursue a PhD in art history when Publisher Sue Gillis reeled me in for the re-launch of her paper in 2003. I admit: I was ambivalent. Then I attended one of Congressman Sanders’ town meetings on the corporatization of the media – and this clinched it. To produce a newspaper in the year 2004 is an extraordinarily expensive endeavor, and I am grateful to our backers who have gone out on a limb in order for this important publication to exist. Sue put herself out on a limb to make this happen, and we owe her the courtesy of talking back. Provoking debate – that is the purpose of independent media. People
in good faith believe that the information presented by the national media
is unbiased fact; that it is journalism and not simply reiteration of
perhaps what the White House administration would like to dispense as
truth. There are serious warning signs that the national news media is
no longer performing its job above reproach. I hope you will find a diverse range of articles in this issue. There is a strong emphasis on higher education this month, and there is a lot on politics. Although much of the spotlight is given to those of Democratic Party persuasion, there are a number of Republicans I admire - some I even love. It is for one Republican in particular that I am most compelled to criticize the current presidential administration, and those who are not adequately dissociating themselves from it. The Republican I am speaking of risked his life in war fighting for the country he loves whose ideals of democracy and freedom are being ravaged by no less than profiteers wearing cloaks of patriotism and God. My Republican earnestly trusts in the ethics of the office of the President, trusts that if this is America, the news he receives on television must certainly be fact without ulterior motive, and that certainly, the President is above reproach. Yes, Republicans, especially of the Vermont tradition, are good people, who may recall the words of President Eisenhower’s farewell address in 1961: “Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machine of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.” It was Ike, who, looking at the enmeshed relationship of academic research and government funding, warned that “public policy could itself become the captive of the scientific-technological elite.” As military spending outstrips every other item on the budget, and as corporate medicine takes over our health policies, we see widening opportunities for everyone to go out on a limb and take action, at all levels. In June, I attended the Women’s Economic Opportunity Conference presented by Senator Patrick and Marcelle Leahy in Randolph. Again, I was outraged. I attended a workshop that was meant to help writers, and more than one woman spoke about the courage it had taken for her to attend the conference in light of her husband’s attitudes. Courage to attend an economic conference presented by a United States Senator. There is much work to be done if men continue to provoke fear and insecurity in the lives of women. We need to make this state a place where all of us have the sense of possibility. When we feel possibility in our own lives, we are more willing to allow freedom for others. This must translate beyond our borders to the world. I am the mixture of my parents. My mother, outspoken and outgoing; and my father, a quintessential Vermonter who only speaks when there’s absolutely something to say. Right now, in these times, there is absolutely a lot to say. In the words of Teresa Heinz Kerry: “By now, I hope it will come as no surprise that I have something to say.'' We Vermont women – Roddy O’Neil Cleary from her pulpit, Charlotte Dennett looking at the Middle East, Lupe Davila from her colorful kitchen, Deb Boyer in Kabul, and a host of others – have a lot to say. We hope that you will join the discussion. Dedicated to the memory of my mother, Mary Elizabeth Shaughnessy Lindstrom Michniewicz. |
I
am outraged by the words of Teresa Heinz Kerry at the Democratic National
Convention: