This Saturday, March 8, is International Women’s Day, and while we listen to the 19 women DJs on WOMR (see page C9), I’ll be thinking about the women on the front lines of democracy and decency at this disturbing moment in history.
The latest is Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who spoke out — unlike other Republicans — after Volodymyr Zelenskyy was ambushed at the White House last Friday.
“This week started with administration officials refusing to acknowledge that Russia started the war in Ukraine,” Murkowski wrote. “It ends with a tense, shocking conversation in the Oval Office and whispers from the White House that they may try to end all U.S. support for Ukraine. I am sick to my stomach. The administration appears to be walking away from our allies and embracing Putin, a threat to democracy and U.S. values.”
Then there was Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who quietly stood her ground at a White House event when the president attacked her for protecting the rights of trans students in public schools. He asked if she was going to comply with his anti-trans executive order.
“I’m complying with state and federal laws,” said Mills.
“You better comply,” he said, “because otherwise you’re not getting any federal funds.”
“See you in court,” she said.
“I look forward to that,” he shot back. “And enjoy your life after governor because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”
Mills is now being urged to run against Republican Sen. Susan Collins next year.
And I cannot forget Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of Washington, who confronted the president from the pulpit of the National Cathedral on the day after his inauguration.
“In the name of our God,” she said, “I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families who fear for their lives. Have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. Help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here.”
Budde received more than 20,000 letters of gratitude for her plea. As for the man it was addressed to, he demanded an apology, calling Budde a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater” whose sermon was “ungracious” and “nasty in tone.”
When the photographs of last Saturday’s demonstration came in, it was striking how many of the people protesting the pointless termination of National Park Service rangers and scientists were women. Where were all the men? I wondered.
The Independent staff recently gathered at the Provincetown home of journalist Mary Heaton Vorse, a place where her voice feels manifestly present. Words she wrote 110 years ago retain their timeliness: “This philosophy of hate, of religious and racial intolerance, … is loose in the world. It is the enemy of democracy; it is the enemy of all the fruitful and spiritual sides of life. It is our responsibility, as individuals and organizations, to resist this.”
