I have an instagram account with over 130,000 followers and every now and then I post something “political.” I get the usual troll comments about how I shouldn’t talk about politics and I should stick to my mom jokes and content. I’m amazed how these people feel confident enough to tell me what I should and should not share on my instagram account. Last I checked, they didn’t help me post and create relative content every single day for the past 2.5 years. They didn’t even pay me for this free entertainment and laughs I have been willingly to donate to their dark and lonely souls for FREE.
Despite all this, motherhood is very political. Politics dictate how we live our lives every single day. Politics decide how clean our air and water will be. How our schools will be run. How our healthcare system is going to financially torture me for having any sort of preexisting condition. Politics decide our future and more importantly my children’s future. Politics are not a conversation to be had by older white men because they only represent a small fraction of our world. They simply cannot speak on behalf of younger generations, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights and racial inequalities because all of this things are not just “political,” they are human rights.
Since my demographic is mainly mothers and even some fathers, let’s think about everyone as someone’s child. The love and pain you feel for your children is the same amongst all parents. What happens to our kids, happens to us. Everyone is someone’s child. Motherhood is political because my kids are young, I have no idea who they will become or who they will want to marry but I want to live in a world where they are protected, even after I’m gone. Protected by laws so no one can hurt (or kill) them based on the color of their skin. Protected by a government who believes good health is not only for the wealthy. I want them to live in a world where their water and air is clean. Where schools focus on enriching their minds and not just the pockets of the NRA.
These topics are not political, they are life and death rulings for our children and for our families. Those who have been privileged enough not to feel the deep torment or discomfort from these human rights simply should not be able to have an opinion on how others will live and die. It’s our human right to be healthy, to be safe, to be protected at all costs. Every human is someone’s human. Someone’s child. Someone’s lover. Someone’s best friend. Imagine losing those closest to you from a hate crime, a school shooting or a virus. These are all things we could have control over if someone cared enough. The one’s who have been hurt sometimes are hurt too deep to even speak.
It brings tears to my eyes just imaging what could happen to my children in this world. Is that not enough for you to realize what kind of a monster we’ve created? If you’re not moved by the simplicity that everyone is someone’s child, what is left for us as a human race?
The hate is so easy to spread these days, tensions are high. Before you speak to someone, taste your words. Imagine someone saying it to your children. How would that make you feel? We are all sitting at home typing away on keyboards using our words in one way or another. What are you using your energy for?
I want a better world for my children. I’m not perfect, but I will always try to do better. No matter how many “followers” I have I’m still human. The things people say can and do hurt. Maybe people think I don’t read the comments, or maybe they do really want to hurt me. I am a mom and someone’s child. My mother held me in her arms the way you hold your child. She too wanted to protect me from all that is evil in the world, but knows she can only do so much. That’s where we should come together. As a whole, to fight for those who are too weak, too young, too anything.
I think it’s safe to say in 2020 we are all feeling pain. Let’s work through this instead of fight through it. Check your facts. Racism is not ok. We need to protect our planet. We need to protect our children. Politics are human rights. Motherhood is political.
Leave me a comment below, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Reading your words gave me chills and made me tear up. I feel every word you wrote. I’ve never felt more political than I have now, as a mother to three biracial kids. Thank you for being true to yourself and standing up for what you believe in, regardless of commenters.
Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me how you feel, it truly means the world to me. I hope my words can help others see what we see and feel this the way we feel it too.