Friends often comment that I don’t look my age, and of course, that's nice to hear... even though I don’t know what almost 80 looks like anymore. But other than possibly good genes when it comes to aging, I always reply that activism is the antidote to aging. Staying active and engaged.
That’s the message of my book, Becoming a Dangerous Woman: Embracing Risk to Change the World, and I try to use all my platforms to make the point that being dangerous — getting off the sidelines to speak up, stand up for justice, and show up for each other everywhere — is a necessary response to these dangerous times and the best way to sustain hope amid all the fears. So you can imagine how disturbing it was to read the recent polling from the AARP, an organization I’ve been proud to be a member of for many years. They conclude that women over 50 are "not happy," and it's the "why" they aren't happy that we need to look at and to understand because this large population — among the fastest growing in the US — is an important voting constituency.
Older women voters, a strong, reliable voting bloc, may very well be the cohort that decides the outcome in November. According to 19th News, "[t]hese women account for more than a quarter of all registered voters and, with a high voter turnout rate, they have also accounted for nearly a third of all ballots in recent elections."
“The survey, conducted between February and March, found that these women are most worried about rising living costs and insufficient savings, and the majority said the economy is not working well for them. Nearly half of respondents ranked “rising cost of living” as the most important issue facing the country. The second most pressing issue for them is the lack of unity in the country — ranked above crime, immigration, COVID-19 and government spending. …
Christine Matthews, president of Bellwether Research, said in a statement when the results were released, that ‘[t]hey want politicians to work together to find solutions to inflation and other key issues — but they are not pleased with what they see.’”
One of the most interesting data points from the survey was that Republican and Independent women voters were more likely than Democratic women voters to give elected officials an “F” on most issues.
After the polling, the AARP held a series of in-person focus groups, separated into White Republicans, White Democrats, undecided voters, Latinas, Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) and Black women, all over 50.
“And for the majority of them, character counts: Many of the focus group participants said they’d look more at the character of candidates instead of the platform and policies. Civility, integrity, morality and personal responsibility were most important to them.
’It’s just so frustrating that politicians can’t seem to work together,’ an AAPI woman in New York said. ‘They’re so opposed to each other that nothing really gets accomplished, and I feel like, at this point, there’s never going to be any resolution or major changes that are going to be made to help the people of the country. And that’s why I’m angry.’”
In thinking about these polling results, I believe it's not just women over 50 who are angry about the current state of affairs. I had the pleasure of talking with Crystal Andrus Morrisette for her podcast recently in which we talked about anger, hope and action. I told her that righteous anger can be the jet fuel for activism. As difficult as it is not to let fear, disappointment, and despair overcome you, we can’t sit on the sidelines. To be dangerous means to be willing to speak up, to stand up, and to get angry when events call for it. And taking action is a form of hope.
‘You can be strong — and kind and compassionate’
One recent example of women standing up and taking action in Australia gives me hope. It's a story that hasn't received a lot of attention here in the US, but is worth knowing about, and drawing inspiration from! Last month, Australia held its general elections. The big headline coming out of the election was an insurgency of women candidates who broke from the Liberal (conservative) party to run as independents, adopting the color teal as their party affiliation — "a blend of Liberal blue (to signal they were economically conservative) and green (to signal they were progressives on climate change and the status of women)," writes Richard Glover in the Washington Post.
Women reacting to Teal Independent Dr. Monique Ryan's win over Josh Frydenberg in Australia on May 21, 2022. (via Twitter)
The Teal Independents focused on "two key objectives," reports Marie Claire, "to call for a federal integrity commission [on gender] and to put a greater emphasis on tackling climate change." And, according to the Guardian, "they were the product of months if not years of grassroots organization, which worked to select credible, professional candidates and provide a small army of committed volunteers."
Here in America, we're not yet seeing an upstart group of Republican women standing up and saying, as Sydney-based doctor Sophie Scamps did after winning her race, "We can no longer stand by and watch this slow-motion train wreck happening in front of our eyes. It’s time to take it into our own hands."
And while that particular type of insurgency isn't one we may ever see stateside (although I hold out hope), I do think that there's a way forward that recognizes and channels the anger that women from all over the political spectrum are feeling about the lack of government action on the economy, health care, child care, gun control, and abortion rights.
“If this is not the year of the angry mom, I don’t know what’s going to be the year of the angry mom, right?” Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher said on “Meet the Press” last Sunday.
I, for one, would like to see some of that angry mom energy channeled into action, especially voting action.
Ways to Take Action
She Should Run is a nonpartisan nonprofit working to dramatically increase the number of women considering a run for public office. Women are underrepresented at all levels in the 500,000+ elected offices across the US. That is why She Should Run "is driven by a vision of seeing 250,000 women run for local, state, and federal offices by 2030.... By encouraging more women to run, we are building a more effective and representative government that can meet the challenges of the 21st century." Visit their website to learn how you can support their important work.
Emerge America is another great organization that recruits, trains and provides a powerful network to Democratic women who want to run for office. One of the more creative services they offer is the ability to nominate a woman that you think should run. Research shows that women have to be asked to run for office multiple times before they will consider it, so this could be the first step in a woman's journey to elected office. They'll reach out to the person you nominate and let them know you think they should consider running. If she is interested, they'll send her more information about jumping into the political arena!
Third Act is a new organization that aims to help Americans over 60 find ways to get involved and make change. It boasts a board that includes Bill McKibben, Rebecca Solnit and former JANE organizer, Heather Booth.
As the group's website observes, "experienced Americans” are the fastest-growing part of the population: 10,000 people a day pass the 60-year mark. That means that there’s no way to make the changes that must be made to protect our planet and our society unless we bring the power of this group into play.
Visit the Third Act website and get involved. You can join an initiative for senior citizens to help high school grads register to vote or start a working group for seniors with particular expertise.
Onward!
- Pat
