Happy Valentine’s Day! Because I enjoy being helpful, I have some tips for you fellas (and yes it’s mostly fellas – sorry but you are a little stuck with the job of making Valentine’s a spectacularly remarkable and unforgettable event each and every year) that would really be something special for the women in your life. Yes, chocolate is nice and flowers of course are always a classic. Lingerie (you know this is true) is really more a gift for you than us. Romantic dinner, jewelry, weekend getaway etc… fine, fine, fine. But if you really want to score big, (pun intended) here are a few items every single woman wants and, with a little bit of effort, you can make happen:
- We want you to call your Representative in Washington and ask them why in the heck they allowed House Republican leaders to kill the 2012 re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act that had already been passed by the Senate. Demand the bill be passed when it is re-introduced this year.
- We want a world where we, our girlfriends, mothers, sisters and daughters don’t have to fear being raped because of our clothes, our hair, our job or the fact we just stepped out the friggin’ front door. In 2010 one study estimated that 1.27 million American women were raped-equivalent to one woman every 29 seconds. WTF?
- We want you to make your voice heard for our country (you know, we who like to claim moral superiority over everyone else on the planet) to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women – a watershed international agreement that protects women and girls from unfair treatment and abuse. Do we really want to stand with the only other states -Iran, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia etc – in the United Nations who have failed to approve it? As my mother always said, “you are judged by the company you keep”. The President once said ”America cannot insist that others follow the rules of the road if we refuse to follow them ourselves.” Talk is cheap my friends – get ‘er done.
- We would really like equal pay for the same work. Seriously? Who is against this?
- We want men to stay out of our private parts regarding decisions on our medical care. Unless you have MD after your name or you were implicitly invited, our legs our crossed where that is concerned.
There you go. Call this my political Valentine’s Day rant. Hey it beats sobbing into your coffee because you didn’t get the right gift.
Oh and speaking of coffee, a steaming vanilla spiced latte would also be nice…
Well said!