If you’re casting about for a way to take the edge off Trump’s wrecking ball, I heartily recommend the uplifting powers of a great...
Activism
Pondering My Activist Slump
In church this Sunday the progressive minister quoted the biblical passage: “To whom much is given, much is expected.” I squirmed in my seat reflecting on my white privileged lifestyle, feeling guilty about how little I’ve done to protest the Orange Monster’s wrecking machine. It’s not like I’m unfamiliar to activism. I was [...]
Pat Taub
Unforgettable Black Women Writers
For Black History Month I want to honor some of the brilliant African American women writers that have enlarged my worldview. I’m particularly indebted to Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Alice Walker, Angela Davis and Lucille Clifton. I discovered them in the pre-internet era of the ‘80’s and ‘90’s when face-to-face communication was often [...]
Pat Taub
Reporting from the Las Vegas Women’s March
January 2017’s women’s marches were largely celebratory as pink-hatted women across the country turned out in record numbers to protest the Trump presidency. A year later women have learned it’s not enough to gather in solidarity. We need an action plan. This past Sunday’s Las Vegas Women’s March rose to the challenge with the theme, [...]
Pat Taub
The Golden Globes, Basketball, Grace Paley & Ahed
The Golden Globes Like many of you I watched the Golden Globes on Sunday night, inspired by the way the #metoo movement dominated the awards show. I loved it that several actresses invited major female activists. Tarana Burke, founder of #metoo was there along with Ai-jen Poo, director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Calina Lawrence, [...]
Pat Taub
Honoring WOW Guest Bloggers of 2017
As horrific as 2017 was, it offered a silver lining: successful women-led movements from the year’s opening DC Women’s March to the year’s end #metoo campaign bolster hope for 2018. A new emboldened sisterhood is emerging. Older women are part of this sisterhood, raising their voices to rail against ageism and sexism and to claim their [...]
Pat Taub
Be A Force for Compassion!
Imagine a runaway train charging from Washington, DC to California emitting hate from its smoke stacks, collecting more venom at each station. This is what life in in the United States has become under Trump. How do we stop the Trump Hate Express? We can start by practicing compassion, a proven antidote to hate. As Martin Luther King famously [...]
Pat Taub
#MeToo
Guest post by Mary Beth Danielson I’m not usually cranky. Then I got a cold. I rarely get colds. What’s going on? Of course I have #metoo incidents. Like most women I have several stories of harassment and, yes, one of assault. As self-aware women do, I’ve been poking at my crankiness. Why am I mad? Why does this rankle? I have [...]
Pat Taub
The Unbearable Suffering of Palestinian Mothers
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about a YouTube video I watched over the weekend, “How to be a Palestinian Supermom.” It features the Palestinian mother Manal Tamimi, describing her determination to provide a loving home for her children in the face of unrelenting Israeli oppression. Like most Palestinian mothers Manal never knows [...]
Pat Taub
Engaging with Fear
The Trump wrecking machine is getting crazier by the day, leaving a frightened populace in its wake. Our increasingly unhinged president raises the ante through his racist speeches, threats to bomb the country du jour, attacks on the environment, ICE’s immigration raids, and railings against anyone who doesn’t agree with him. While [...]
Pat Taub
Alexandra Merrill: Aging Meaningfully
“I’m not done with my transformation.” Alexandra Merrill, on the cusp of 80, quoting Stanley Kunitz in his poem, The Layers, which he wrote upon turning 90. Zanda, as she is called, embodies aging meaningfully. I’m proposing substituting “aging meaningfully” with the commonly used phrase “aging successfully,” [...]
Pat Taub