7/27/2004 08:34:20 PM|||Sarah|||Break out the red nylon running suit, but make sure it matches your mini-van! The Moms for Kerry have asked their members to wear red every Friday between now and election day in a sign of solidarity for their candidate. Red! I'm sure they don't recognize the humor in that, even while wearing those cute hammer and sickle earrings they found at the mall last weekend. Sheep.
|||109097894065813944|||How Appropriate8/06/2004 09:25:59 AM|||Heidi|||Hi there! A Mom for Kerry here. I will be wearing red today, but pity, I just have a white minivan in which to tool around town. I DO however, have about 10 stickers on the Mom Mobile -- all announcing to Greater Dallas that I am a Mom for Kerry.
Actually, the red doesn't signify a Communist plot. Funny how much y'all want to put us in a category and define who we are just because we are different from you. We are no less American -- in fact, I would venture to say we are as American as it gets -- living out the dreams and visions of our founding fathers when they saw a country where people were free from persecution for their beliefs and ideologies...all voices heard, all points welcomed.
The red in Freedom Fridays actually comes from WWII when women were concerned about the Nazi occupation in several European countries. Unable to speak out against the occupation, they instead chose to express themselves through their dress. Accordingly, the women began to knit caps and sweaters for themselves and their loved ones to wear on Fridays.
When they were in town and in the marketplace on Fridays, they were able to identify other people who were similarly disturbed and troubled by the goings-on in their country. They wore it as a sign of solidarity - that there were others like them who were unhappy with the status quo and the occupation.
They obviously weren't able to express their views out loud -- and unfortunately that seems to be the case here in the US as well. In our country, there was a sense (until the last 6 months or so) that you couldn't speak up and speak out, lest you be considered Anti-American. Again, speaking out is as American as it gets. We are saddened by an administration that tries to silence opposition, by its supporters that boo and backlash when performers speak out at concerts and events. We are troubled that we're either with you or against you...
So, yes we're wearing red today.
59 years ago today we bombed Hiroshima. We were in the middle of a world war that took the lives of millions. We were forced to make decisions for which there was no easy answer. We had the leadership of Roosevelt, and following his death, Truman. Following the war, we would learn of the great tragedies that took place during that war -- of the terror the Nazis waged throughout a continent. Of the lives lost and the lives altered forever.
Yet somewhere in small towns and villages, women led a quiet fight of opposition -- taking a stand for what is right, taking a stand for a cause. We wouldn't dare compare what happened in WWII to what is happening in the US -- they ARE NOT similar in the details.
But in the general sense, they are. Regrettably. Because too many Americans are afraid to speak up and speak out. Because too many Americans are afraid of being branded Anti-American if they voice their opposition. And that is wrong. THAT IS NOT AMERICA.
We are leading an opposition to an administration we believe is going in the wrong direction. Wrong for our kids, our environment, our education system, our health care, our aging parents, our security, our place as a world leader, our research and our economy.
We are wearing red because we are part of a movement growing louder and stronger each day. We are the caretakers of our children's futures and we will fight for them with every breath in our bodies -- we are mothers and we are standing up and speaking out.
Oh - and if you see us in red, just smile and say hello. Who knows, you might even meet a friendly mom from your kid's soccer team wearing red today -- one you never knew was a Democrat but with whom you usually share conversation and an occasional Capri Sun and granola bar after the game. For all of our sake, I hope you'll continue to do so after you see her in red, standing up for what she believes in and fighting for her kids.
We all want the best for our children, even if we take different roads to arrive there.
And together, we moms are going to turn the red states into blue states as we elect real leadership for our children -- because they deserve better.
Heidi