Women's Herstory

From the Heartland, Margot McMillen writes: It’s women’s history month, remember, so I’ve gotten lots of chances to talk about my book, The Golden Lane: How Missouri Women Gained the Vote and Changed History. Funny thing is that because I know a little history, interviewers ask me about the future. Stuff like, “When will we have a woman as governor? When will we have a woman president?” and “if we had more women in government, would we have a better health care system? Would we have same-sex marriage? And would abortion laws be secure?” Here’s the deal. Even if we had an all-woman government, we’d have differences of opinion, big ones. Women care more about social issues, but we don’t agree on much. That said, if we want laws that put relationships, families, women and children, in first place, it doesn’t matter if men or women are in charge. What matters is the way we think about government and ourselves. If people start to think that relationships are in first place, ahead of corporate greed, we’ll take better care of each other and make better policies, no matter who’s making them. It’s St. Patrick’s Day! Have a good one!