Liberal, Conservative, and Me

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Hiding behind cliches
Take back the words
How to stay informed and help each other to stay smart.

What's the connection between liberal, conservative, and gender?

Given that more women than men vote, why is it that the Life Issues women tend to agree on receive less government support than the military and tax issues that are more important to men. Why are money for schools and guarantees of health care often labeled "women's issues", "soft issues", or "liberal"? What is "conservative" about what men want?

Women have historically been cloutless. So changing our status over time often requires us to disagree with the founding fathers who left the founding mothers at home. Is the growth of woman power in the workplace and government something that needs to be slowed up? Is that what conservative means? Or encouraged? If women believe in and vote for continuing power for the men, what are they?

Does anything change by itself or does change always involve challenging the status quo? Did the status quo ever commit suicide or does it always have to be bumped off by pushy people making a public display and calling for others to join up and take action? Are all pushy people making a public display "liberals"? When are conservatives pushy and why?

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Hiding behind cliches

• Why is conservation of air, water, and land considered liberal rather than conserve---ative?
• Why are sexuality and pregnancy, the most personal of conditions, called by some "social issues"?
• Why do people who want to restrict women's ability to make decisions call themselves conservative?
• Why are people who want to restrict people's ability to carry weapons called liberals?

Why are the labels, "liberal" and "conservative", considered opposite positions and often used to ridicule or criticize an opponent? Isn't liberating people to have more power a way of conserving the values of equality and fairness in our society?

Does conserve have to mean that the haves want to keep, i.e., conserve, what they have? Does conserve, therefore, mean that the best years are always in the past? Can't we create change in order to conserve, preserve, and even push the values we care most about?

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Take back the words

WomenMatter suggests women take back the language and say what we mean. See through, yawn, and even laugh openly at the misuse of "liberal and "conservative, and demand that our candidates and political parties spell out exactly what they believe and precisely how they wish to back those beliefs with rules, judicial appointments, and detailed budgets for our tax dollars.

Our Life Issues should be front and center for all political parties and candidates. They are not just girl issues, although women carry the responsibility for them.

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How to stay informed and help each other to stay smart.

When we hear flimsy labels instead of workable ideas for bolstering our issues:

Sign on for e-mail alerts from WomenMatter and we will send you our bumper sticker:

MY LIFE IS NOT A SOCIAL ISSUE

Send in your own examples of Laughable Labels that you hear and see used on ads, in speeches, and by people you know.

Find out who are the organizations with the adorable patriotic titles that sponsor political points of view often about our Life Issues? Before we believe these "issue advocates or follow their advice, we need to know who they are and what their goals are for women. Which candidates are tied to which organizations and which points of view?

A non-partisan non-profit group started by Presidents Carter and Ford has done the research for us. Jot down a name that you spotted as the sponsor of an ad on TV or in print and find out who is on their board, who are the paid executives, who donates to them, and what their stated goals for women are. Visit The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania at: http://www.appcpenn.org/ to learn more. We can also check on candidates for office the same way.

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