Over the weekend I joined C-SPAN’s Washington Journal for a discussion of the so-called “War on Women.”
I made the case – as so many of our fellows at IWF do each day – that the WoW is an effort by the Left to point fingers at anyone who questions government overreach. While women are healthier, wealthier, more educated, and more professionally accomplished than ever before, the Left continues to work under the assumption that women are a victim class in need of special protections — all of which have the potential to threaten women's success.
As some might imagine, I was met with tremendous hostility from callers. So it was a pleasure to return to my email and find a slew of enthusiastic letters.
This one, in particular, really struck a chord, and I thought it was worth sharing:
Dear Sabrina,
I applaud your respectful, articulate, and thoughtful responses to the callers. I’ve rarely seen anyone handle themselves so well.
It is sad to me that the callers are so unable to see that true freedom as they are speaking about begins first and foremost with jobs for the millions of Americans out of work and not on birth-control issues. This is exactly what some politicians encourage, by diverting these good and caring people from the real issues.
Jobs allow people the freedom and dignity to purchase healthcare including birth control without having to depend on the whims of government. Wouldn’t anyone rather have a job and be able to keep their own dollars for whatever their personal needs are rather than taxing it away and then begging the government to buy birth control for them? There are much more enjoyable ways to use our creative energies. If more people had jobs all these other issues would naturally take care of themselves. Jobs are what bring in more tax dollars and make the economy strong and vibrant, enlivening the joy of creativity in the American people. To me, freedom and a life to look forward to is about being able to work and have personal say-so in how I want to spend my hard-earned dollar. The more the government makes us dependent on it the weaker we become individually and as a nation. If we don’t exercise our ability to make our own choices, just like muscles, we become weak. Easy pray for others.
Do we want our children to grow up depending on entitlements and feeling like victims or to depend on themselves? When they can do that, they will naturally (not by government demand) helps those in need around them.
So when I see someone like you standing up for true freedom it makes my heart sing.
I’m not under any illusion that all women will agree with me, but I do think it’s important to make it clear that the Left’s “War on Women” rhetoric is just that. Rhetoric. Women make up 52 percent of the electorate, and as this supporter makes certain, they don't all want cradle-to-grave government policies. More and more, women realize that the best thing we can do for women – and men – is restore government to its proper size and limits.