By Christie Ann Reynolds

The following is an excerpt from an article I wrote last semester to promote the Women’s Rights March in Washington D.C. I felt it necessary to reprint part of this in order to allow you to share some of the dissatisfaction I know many others are experiencing. So let’s just reminisce for a bit here and maybe those who voted for Bush can reevaluate their decision for the next four years…

He is our President. He governs our country. He brought us to war. He regulates our educational funding. Oh, and he’s the father to millions of unborn children. Well, let’s just say he thinks he’s the father. How is this so? It’s simple: Bush doesn’t want anyone to wear condoms.

Boys and girls, this is high school health class: Abstinence! Abstinence! Abstinence! Remember laughing at that one? Well, abstinence is the only solution to your raging hormones. Condoms? Sorry that’s considered an extreme form of birth control and no, no; using condoms are not “natural” according to our Commander in Chief. Can you imagine Bush’s very publicly wild daughters obeying this?

Everyone may as well practice abstinence because you will have very limited, if no other family planning options available. You ask, what about The Pill? As in birth control? Sorry, but Bush would just love to make its usage illegal. Just like marijuana.

Oh and how could I forget ladies: cramps. Those painful, bloating, irritating muscle spasms that cause you to puke and act crazy for one week of every month. Yes well Dr. Hager, one of Bush’s many appointed comrades has prescribed-ready for this-a good old dosage of readings straight from the Bible. Because that’s just what I want to do when I don’t feel like moving from the bed- read some ancient scripture.

If you are laughing as you read this it’s because you all know that kneeling before the altar will never, I repeat never ever in a million years remedy the annoying, nauseous anger that menstruation causes. If you think this is all about women, guess again boys-especially when you think that birth control has got you in the clear. Imagine if your girlfriend wasn’t allowed to take it by law.

There is another black hole in Bush’s administration. Apparently certain words-in a country of freedom of speech have become taboo. The words, “gay,” “men who sleep with men,” “homosexual” and “transgender” were asked to be removed from grant requests that HIV researchers at the University of California depend upon for their studies. They were told to “cleanse” their grant applications of those words and that those grants would be, “subjected to a more intense review.” So far, Bush has decided to tell us what we cannot say and what we cannot do with our reproductive organs.

Much of what I have already said may appear to be a bit extreme. Well that’s because it is. And it’s happening. These few birth control issues are just the beginning of President Bush’s war against women. He is thoroughly happy to sign our rights away to a panel of men who decided that women should not have reproductive freedom. According to the President, a woman should not be allowed to make decisions about her body…

I wrote these words in April, just months before we would come to know our country as Bush’s once again. I think that most of us who supported Kerry were surprised. Even more surprised when the reasons people began to give for supporting Bush were because of his “morality.” Or because he hates the idea of two people of the same sex getting married. Or because they think he is going to get us out of this war. Maybe some people believe that Bush tells the truth about how he runs the country. Maybe they believe he is a good family man with Christian values. The difficulty I encounter with this situation is that I think many of these people, though I cannot speak for everyone, ignored some very important facts.

One small fact is that Bush offered soldiers more money should he be reelected; perhaps swaying their votes. A soldier of the U.S. army told me Bush made a lot of promises to troops that are “too good to lose” by not voting for him. I also don’t think 9/11 was a good reason for people to vote for Bush. In fact, I think maybe he had a lot to do with the way it occurred.

I read how people remarked about Kerry and how he never seemed to be totally for or totally against an issue. I think the American people ignored the fact that we need someone flexible. We need someone who can make clear, diligent decisions. Does anyone agree that this country is never completely for or against something? We are always in between issues because what helps one may hurt another. It is virtually unavoidable.

The last conclusive point I’d like to end with is that Bush is not the “all American” I have heard people dub him as. He is not even for all the American people. Being American is not about being the same anymore as it was in the 40s and 50s. It is about celebrating our differences.

He is not for women. He is not for gays or lesbians. He is not for those who may live a few more years because of stem cell research. He is for people like himself who contrary to my beliefs, think religion and power make the best choices. And if he thinks the “American” majority of people spoke by voting, then he should be prepared for the rest of the “real” majority. We are going to have a lot to say over the next four years. n