Muse – Uprising

I am done being depressed. I am done being disappointed. The fight is on.

I remember being in my early 20s, living in Washington, D.C., the first George Bush was still president and I couldn’t imagine a day when I would feel confident that Roe v. Wade was not constantly under attack and when we could rest easy that women’s reproductive rights weren’t threatened. I went to protests and counter-protests, sometimes even on my lunch break (I worked right on the Mall).

Then Clinton was elected. It was a week-long party on the Mall. There was hope in the air. They built this “town square wall” where they encouraged people to leave notes about their hopes for the country. I wrote “Keep abortion safe, legal, available.” That was over 20 years ago, but you wouldn’t know it based on current events.

Today’s Supreme Court ruling in favor of Hobby Lobby has infuriated me. There are so many things wrong with it that I hardly know where to begin. Winning the case doesn’t even make good business sense for them. It’s way more expensive to pay for someone’s pre-natal care and then pay for the resultant child’s medical expenses on their dime than it is to pay for birth control pills. But it was never about that. Not really. It was about control, don’t kid yourselves.

I’m not normally very outspoken about my political views, though I think they’re pretty obvious, but it’s time to get back in the fray. I have children now and as long as we’re living in this country I’m going to fight to make the country they inherit be one that respects all its citizens. Crazy idea, I know!

Except it’s not. It shouldn’t be. Take a fucking stand, everyone. At the very least boycott businesses like Hobby Lobby. “Be a conscientious consumer.” That was some parting advice I received at a concert (yes!) when I was 20 and it has stuck with me and it’s still true. Think before you shop. We’re all busy and tired and money is tight, but there are so many more of us that if we all really put our minds to it, really tried, things could move.

Look, I’m not an especially big Muse fan and I don’t like big arena shows but I love this song and video. I love the way it gets the crowd pumped. I love the message in the song. My one hope after this debacle of a ruling is that it will propel people to get off the sidelines. I never thought my daughter would face the same struggles I did, and more, but it’s time to show the next generation how to use their voices as well as their votes.