The story of women journalists in Gaza requires a new definition of courage. Many of these women are under 30. Several are young...
Activism10
Living in An Upside-Down World
At a recent wedding reception, I found myself in conversation with a woman marine biologist with a sad face. When she shared her concerns about the warming oceans and her despair over the failed response of government leaders to address our diminishing sea life, I attributed her sadness to that shared by climate scientists who keep telling [...]
Pat Taub
Taking on the Male-Dominated Art World
The art world is seriously skewed towards male artists. Only 13 percent of artists in American museums are women, while only 15 percent are Black, Indigenous and People of Color. This dismal profile persists in spite of bold challenges by feminists, like the Guerrilla Girls, who emerged in 1985, donning guerrilla masks and staging women’s [...]
Pat Taub
Become A Poverty Abolitionist
GUEST POST by ELIZABETH LEONARD Did you know that at present approximately 140 million (!!) Americans live in poverty or one $400 crisis away from slipping into the financial abyss? In Waterville, Maine, where I have lived and worked for thirty years, I have been a local organizer with the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral [...]
Pat Taub
No More (Empty) Earth Days
GUEST POST by JANET WEIL “Who should decide how best to use the resources of the earth? What are the most effective ways to build a more sustainable future?” – Adam Rome, “The Genius of Earth Day” Three years ago, early in the global COVID pandemic, on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, I wrote a guest blog post, a remembrance of [...]
Pat Taub
How I Became A Climate Activist
GUEST POST by MOLLY SCHEN I’m coming to climate activism pretty late in life, in my early sixties. I’m no Greta Thunberg. But I can’t stay on the sidelines any longer. I am dismayed by the frequency of severe weather events—floods, fires, droughts, and storms. And I cannot ignore my own lived experience of hotter summers, milder winters, [...]
Pat Taub
Not One More!
In a recent dream I was attending a civic meeting. I grew frustrated with the speakers who addressed safe topics, like improving city parks. I wanted them to take on the latest school shooting, which took place in Nashville, killing three 9-year-old children and three adults. Unable to hold back my frustration, I bolted from my chair, [...]
Pat Taub
Why Aren’t American Women Fighting Back?
This weekend I saw the powerful film, “Women Talking,” about life in a male-dominated religious community, where the women are powerless. Sexual assault by the men runs rampant. Women and girls are raped in their sleep, frequently becoming pregnant. When their victimhood becomes unbearable, a few of the women meet secretly to weigh their [...]
Pat Taub
Creating Love
“There is hardly any activity, any enterprise, which is started with such tremendous hopes and expectations, and yet, which fails so regularly, as love.” — The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm On this Valentine’s Day, let’s pause and reflect on love beyond exchanging Valentine’s cards, chocolates, and flowers. With intention and [...]
Pat Taub
Where Have All the Peace Workers Gone?
One of the biggest news stories of 2022 was the Ukraine-Russian war. On a daily basis, the American public was flooded with heart-breaking stories of how Ukraine’s citizens were suffering. Americans fell in line. Blue and yellow flags streamed from front porches, shops, restaurants, churches, and synagogues. Every single Congressperson [...]
Pat Taub
Our Missing Hearts
This past weekend I devoured Celeste Ng’s dystopian, suspense novel, “Our Missing Hearts.” When I finished the book, I sat quietly, reflecting, arriving at the troubling conclusion that the dark world Ng describes is at our door. In Ng’s story, Asian Americans are scapegoated. As our government’s verbal attacks on China increase, [...]
Pat Taub