The Political is Personal

“The personal

is political”

was the critical

theory

of my youth

that guided me

as the truth

and a mandate

to activate

as a feminist,

humanist

first.

Identity

as strategy,

not tragedy,

suggests

and tests

structures

of power

and relations

often leading

to realizations

that individuals

are not alone.

The slogan

became

a way

to frame

individual

presentation

as illustration

of political

situation;

each person

a politcal

representation.

Fast forward

toward

this 2024

election,

and the selection

of speakers

at the DNC

convention

last night,

was notable

for the historical.

Two political

icons,

symbols

of aspiration,

determination,

competency,

and champions

of democracy-

particularly

around the world

and in opposition

to Trump-

gave a last

blast

before

the torch

is passed

forward

to the next

generation.

Hilary

and Joe

similarly

know

success

and political

heartbreak.

Their individual

stories,

different

trajectories,

still

filled

eyes

with tears

for their

years and years

and years

of service,

and what

could be lost

or gained.

So ingrained

with democratic

norms

their forms

of politics

seemed

typical.

But their

individual

contests

against

Trump

suggests

that the best

of humans

is an incredible

test

not as easy

or normal

as we assumed.

I can’t imagine

how hard

last night

must have

been

for Biden

and Hilary.

Their personal

emotional

lives

set aside

to raise

the tide

for Walz

and Harris

to defeat

the nefarious

and carry

us

forward.

Last night,

the political

was personal

as was

also clear

from the victims

of Dobbs—

the decision

that robs

American

women.

The political

is personal,

whether

you are

a victim

this time

or next.

The Fetal Position

If you,

like me,

feel like

curling up

into

the fetal

position

from opposition

to IVF
after feeling

helpless

about Dobbs,

then let’s

explore
The Fetal Position.

Personhood

is understood

as a fetus,

or an anonymous

contributor

(or contributing

entity)

to a PAC,

or a corporation.

Actual

identifiable

people

are denied

rights

and

regarded

as wrong

if they belong

to the school

of thought

that suggests

life begins

after birth.

This

theocracy-

style

governance

is a supreme

encumbrance

not just

upon

women,

but upon

families,

communities,

and actually,

our democracy.

Hearts,

bank accounts,

systems,

are broken

for a token

win

that doesn’t

affect

the legislators’

lives;

only the lives

and livelihoods

of those

deemed

killing

personhoods

for securing

safer living

of actual

human beings.

The tortured

logic

for the gynecologic

obsessions

and supposed

transgressions

are injections

of a particular

(and peculiar)

religious

interpretation.

The anti-science

reliance

on a bible

as the guide

for literal

fetal

legal

accountability

will never

provide

sustainability.

From my

current fetal

position

I can only

suggest

that The Fetal

Position,

whose

mission

is prohibition,

abolition,

and ammunition

against

the proposition

of complexity

of life

and governance,

is a minority

of a party

whose priority

is superiority,

of course,

but also

authority

over others—

God fearing,

because

inspiring

fear

is what

they revere.

Fearing

government

and science

as slippery

slopes

promotes

anti-expert

(so-called

elite)

pronouncements.

Their

Fetal Position

is conceived

from religious

interpretation

now codified

as legislation.

We can’t

let our fear

keep us

in the

fetal position.

Find ways

to contribute

to uproot

this acute

and chronic

assault

on the embroyonic

and the Fetal

Position.