Political activist addresses importance of voting

Air America radio host Laura Flanders: “What everyone has to understand is that the politics of fear can change very quickly into the politics of extreme repression.”

3:58 p.m., Oct. 6, 2004--Every voice and vote has influence, but the voices and votes of young constituents—young, female constituents in particular—will have a critical impact on the upcoming presidential election.

This was the key message delivered by Laura Flanders, a political activist and author, who spoke Tuesday evening, Oct. 5, to a packed lecture hall filled with UD students and members of the greater Newark community.

In her lecture, “Feigning Feminism, Fueling Backlash: GW’s war on equality and what women can do to decide election 2004,” Flanders outlined how scare tactics and gender politics have influenced the current political climate and exhorted her audience to make a change by voting on Nov. 2.

“I say over and over again, do not leave politics to the politicians,” she said. “It’s a team effort, and it begins with you. There’s a lot riding on this election. It’s probably the most important presidential election in 25 years because of all the critical issues--and you’ve got to do your part.”

While not relying on agitprop or arm-twisting ploys to make her point, Flanders peppered her lecture with sobering statistics and figures to motivate her audience to action.

“More than 22 million single women didn’t vote in the last presidential election,” she said. “That’s a huge segment of the American population that needs to become engaged, particularly now, in this political climate.

“What everyone has to understand is that the politics of fear can change very quickly into the politics of extreme repression. If you remember back to four years ago, ‘W’ stood for women, but do we really feel that men and women are equal in this society?”

Flanders elaborated on this point by focusing on the gender division of the current administration. “The appointment by ‘W’ of five women to the cabinet was a reminder to everyone that this would be a kinder, gentler face of conservatism, and, in part, it worked, because the media bought into it. But, if you look beneath the veneer of the cabinet, you see very few women.”

The women in the Bush administration, Flanders continued, instead have been used to boost the “softer, gentler image” by having their credentials traded for their appearances and personal preferences.

“You’ve heard about the testosterone shield, well this is the estrogen shield,” she said. “About the same time the focus on Afghanistan shifted to ‘Let’s smoke ‘em out and shoot ‘em up,’ Laura Bush went on the radio to [assure] Americans that the war efforts were not about aggression but about protection of the liberation of women.”

Flanders said this tactic obscured real issues and blended terrorism with gender politics.

More than 100 members of the campus community attended Flanders’ lecture.

“The Bush administration has spent $151 billion so far on the Iraq War,” she said. “This is money that could have bought health insurance for the 20 million uninsured Americans, and food, clean water and childhood immunizations for the entire population of the world’s developing nations for two years!

“It’s time for a reality check. It’s time for us to look behind all the rhetoric. ‘W’ says he’s behind family; well, then why is he cutting funding for childcare programs? He says he’s for women; well, then why is he interfering with women’s reproductive rights and squelching the equal pay initiative?”

Flanders, who lives 10 blocks from Ground Zero in New York City, said she remembers the events of 9/11 with chilling clarity. She concluded her talk by telling the audience that compassion and initiative moved the country forward in the wake of the terrorist attacks.

“What would the world look like if we all acted as if we loved each other, and if that were the main message of our leadership?” she asked. “In the days following 9/11, people focused on the issues that really mattered, and they came together to assist each other.

“We’re in a political climate now where you could take a very cynical view about the election. It’s very hard to have a legitimate political discussion when the most important man in world politics is telling us how much danger we’re in. But, no matter what happens on Nov. 2, we do have the power to effect change, and that power lies with you. It doesn’t stop on Nov. 3.”

Flanders followed her talk, which was sponsored by UD’s Women's Studies Program, by fielding questions and concerns from the audience and offering to sign copies of her books, Real Majority, Media Minority: The Cost of Sidelining Women in Reporting; The W Effect: Bush's War on Women; and Bushwomen: Tales of a Cynical Species.

In addition to hosting the The Laura Flanders Show on the nationally syndicated Air America Radio network, Flanders also is co-host of Your Call, a weekday show on public radio, KALW 91.7 FM, in San Francisco, and on the Internet.

Her op-ed pieces have appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle and other newspapers and she writes regularly for AlterNet.org, Common Dreams, Tompaine.com, The Nation, Ms. Magazine and Znet.

Flanders was founding director of Women's Desk at FAIR, a media watch group, and for more than 10 years produced and hosted Counter Spin, FAIR's nationally syndicated radio program.

To learn more about Flanders’ projects, visit [www.LauraFlanders.com].

Article by Becca Hutchinson
Photos by Duane Perry

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