An short list of some family values issues that Democrats should think about adding to their platform...
I am a Democrat. And have proudly been so, except for an occasional flirtation with the green party and that one time back in the 90s when I became convinced that Libertarianism was the way to go (I was soon talked out of it by a boyfriend who walked me through a future of giant multinational corporations running rough shod over the rest of us. Yikes! Who would want that kind of world?) So yes, a lefty. Sure. But now I'm a mama too, a stay at home mama. A homeschooling mama. Still a lefty, but suddenly I have an understanding of what the terms `family values' means too. And now I wonder, "why in the world has the Republican Party been able to co-opt these values"? I'm not talking about the issues that are mean-spirited or the ones that limit freedoms for anybody (the republicans can keep their views on abortion and gay marriage, for instance) but there are family issues that are about freedom and privacy and constitutional rights that it would, no, strike that, SHOULD be a part of the Democratic platform. I'm assuming the reason these issues aren't on our platform is that most Democrats haven't really thought about them, but if they knew, these issues would be ours. Here are just a few of them:
Birth Choices. Beyond the right to choose to have a baby or not, how about where, when and how to have a baby? Throughout history and still, throughout the world, homebirth is the norm. It's only here in our western-ized culture, under the guidance of Doctors Organizations, For-Profit Hospitals, and Pharmaceutical and Insurance companies, that birth is seen as a sickness and a major medical event. Caesarean Sections are on the rise (in Brazil the rate is up to 80%, here in the US it's hitting 30% and climbing) did you ever wonder why? Is it because collectively women have forgotten how to give birth, lost the ability, the bravery? Or might it have something to do with the cooperatively drugged mama, the convenience of a birth that is planned, and the amount of money everyone stands to make from surgery? Wonder to yourself why midwives are sitting in jail, right now and ask, "Why isn't the freedom to birth a progressive principle"?
Breastfeeding. Breastmilk naturally meets the complete needs of the baby. But in our world the pressure to feed your baby formula- in the form of advertising done by giant pharmaceutical and food companies, the promotion done by Doctors and other caregivers, and the economic reality that faces young families who find it impossible to survive on one income- is often too much to fight against. And if you do breastfeed, just try to do it in public, people sneer, managers ask you to move along, police officers write tickets. Here's what Democrats need to back: a curb on the ceaseless marketing of infant formula (an while we're at it how about a curb on the marketing of unnecessary medicine and junk foods too, you know, while we're at it?) as if profit is more important than health. And how about this one for the babies, we should repeal the nudity laws too.
Vaccinations. Right now tiny babies are given upwards of 20 shots before they are 1 years old. This cocktail has varying degrees of thimerosal (a form of mercury) in them and some children receive well over the recommended doses of mercury in a single doctor's visit. Autism rates are spiraling out of control, a disorder that in many ways resembles toxic mercury poisoning. And chronic disease of all kinds is becoming a fact of life for many kids. Is there a connection? Some say yes, some say no, but it should be up to each parent to decide whether to take the risk of vaccinations and the rest of us should support these parents by thinking skeptically about whether certain vaccines are necessary or just a form of cashing in. Food for thought, slipped into the Patriot Act is a gem of a piece of legislation that protects vaccine manufacturers from lawsuits for damage to children. And as you've probably heard, law requires vaccinations, and exemptions are harder and harder to come by.
Mandatory Mental Health Screening. Of kids. Coming (if not already there) to a school near you, the government will decide if your children or babies are stable, normal, OK according to their own graphs and charts and principles and if they're not, hey! don't worry! The pharmaceutical companies have a whole series of cocaine-class drugs to give them. Don't want the government to drug your kids? Well, you just lost custody due to medical neglect missy! Did I mention it's mandatory? Is there anyone out there who doesn't see the Orwellian nightmare this is becoming?
Homeschooling. Speaking of required and mandatory, let's consider the rise of homeschooling for a second. Homeschoolers are talked about as if they're isolationist, nutjob right-wingers with a penchant for racism and fundamentalism. Sure some of them, but have you heard about the many, many progressive families that are homeschooling too? The last census suggests that the breakdown of political affiliation within the homeschooling movement is more like the overall public, which would of course mean that there are more Dems homeschooling than most people care to acknowledge. And it's not isolationist, it's civilized and urban and rural, grass-roots and open-ended, it utilizes libraries, computers, and community classes, it's actually a truly innovative and mind-expanding experience. So really, it's time for Dems to embrace the idea of school choice, and allow for a free market of ideas. Allow the families and the students to decide how and what and where they'll learn, and in their quest for knowledge we'll probably learn things too. Repeat after me, "The Founding Fathers were homeschooled, if it's good enough for them..."
Finally, and hold on to your hat, we need to talk about Child Protective Services (CPS) reform. This is one of those government agencies that you've hopefully never met, and if you haven't, you probably think of them as benign and helpful. The Child Savers. But put yourself in the place of one family that has been `helped' by them for a minute, you hear a loud knock at the door. It's a CPS worker and a Police Officer or two; on an anonymous call from a neighbor. They have no warrant and they don't need one, they are free to search your home. They will probably take your children with them when they leave, blamed on some issue of neglect (a euphemism for too-damn-poor-to-take-care-of-your-kids-to-governmental-standards-poverty CAREFUL! Lots of alternative living styles can fall in this category too!) Now think about this from the Children's shoes for a minute...with complete disregard for your constitutional rights, CPS interrogates you and strip searches you. They can then drag you screaming to a police car and drop you off at a house full of strangers. Your court case if you are lucky, is 4 days away. You may get to go back home (lucky again!) within a few months. Do you have any protection or rights when you are up against the Department of Families and Children? None whatsoever. Because they are `helping the family'. Do you think that I may be over-exaggerating? How's this for a statistic, something similar to the above happens to about 750,000 children a year. And here's another one, somewhere between 60-80% of all abuse cases are false. And finally, if you still aren't convinced that this is an issue worthy of attention, follow the money and ask who stands to gain? The Child Protective Services, who gets a bonus for each child placed up for adoption, that's who. Who loses? All families. Period.
See, these are some Family values issues that I bet you never thought of; personal liberties, privacy rights; freedoms that include health, life, and the pursuit of happiness, too. Lets join these with our already progressive platform to take back the congress and take it back well. Imagine the Campaign: Democrats fight for families! Fair wages! Birth choices! People over Corporations! The right to choose your education! Freedom from government tyranny! The Integrity of our bodies is sacrosanct! Our Choices are our Own! Innovation before stagnation! No testing thank you, We're Just Fine! Families (of all Kinds) have the right to be! And finally, once we repeal the nudity laws so that mamas can breastfeed their babies in peace, the real winner, the right for Women to be Topless! Really, how could we lose?
Want to read more?
The Caesarean by Michel Odent
Milk Money and Madness by Naomi Baumslag and Dia L. Michels
Vaccination: The Issue of Our Times by Peggy O'Mara
Limits to Medicine: Medical Nemesis, the Expropriation of Health by Ivan Illich
Teach Your Own: the John Holt book of Homeschooling by John Holt and Pat Farenga
Wounded Innocents by Richard Wexler
Copyright 2006
Heather Cushman-Dowdee
Hathor the Cowgoddess and the Evolution Revolution
Amusing cartoons and insightful/incite-ful commentary about homebirthing, breastfeeding on demand, maintaining constant contact, sharing space, unschooling and saving the world.
http://www.hathorthecowgoddess.com/