Introduction and poem by Lee Marcus Muse
During the primary debates for the 1992 election, California candidate Jerry Brown made a shaming remark to Bill Clinton about his wife working full time in a law firm. Asked about it, Hillary responded: “I suppose I could have stayed home, baked cookies, and had teas. But what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession, which I entered before my husband was in public life.” That was half of what she said. The rest went unreported: “The work that I have done as a professional, a public advocate, has been aimed . . . to assure that women can make the choices whether it’s full-time career, full-time motherhood, or some combination.” In other words, she fought to protect all women’s choices. But much of the media cherry-picked her statement to portray Hillary Clinton as looking down on stay-at-home mothers.
In an attempt to mitigate the damage, Hillary, known to be a devoted mother to Chelsea Clinton, offered up her own chocolate chip cookie recipe and apologized to stay-at-home mothers for the misunderstanding. Hillary was learning the hard way that off-the-cuff remarks to the media were dangerous, and from then on she parsed her words with utmost care. Her detractors never missed a beat, now saying she was too “scripted,” not spontaneous and warm (damned if she did, damned if she didn’t). People who worked with her described Hillary in exactly the opposite terms. She was known to be funny and fun, and a wonderful, attentive friend. But as a woman breaking new ground for all women, Hillary felt enormous responsibility not to slip up. She had no choice but to try to be perfect. So many of us identified with her on that score. “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t” was a trick in the misogynist’s playbook warning all of us that women didn’t belong in politics or anywhere that decisions were being made. The calamity that has us marching today has nothing to do with concern for “babies,” but stems from exactly the same misguided, unAmerican value that plagued Hillary Clinton’s career: misogyny.
A Woman’s Dream of Truth, Youth, Hillary and Ruth
oh women
said Justice Bigwig
we do appreciate you
and all your little skills
we only want what’s best for you
such as a clear conscience
that’s worth a little inconvenience
don’t you think?
such a sound argument
but the women
oh, Women!
always with the ideas
and the drama!
we are people, they insisted
our lives are unique
and they belong to us
unequivocally
now, you see, right there
is an example:
too much education
that was our mistake
said Judge Bigwig
that, and voting
Bigwig turned to his minions
can we do something about the voting?
it’s not working out
just then
someone in the back
opened the door
and in came children
hundreds of them
maybe thousands
children. god the noise
see that?
the children are bold now
they need mothers at home
baking cookies
and all those things
good mothers used to do
the woman named Hillary stepped forward
handing Justice Bigwig her cookie recipe
you’ll need this, she said
we’re taking your job
before you make any more messes
the women filed out the door
leaving the children
who surrounded Justice Bigwig
hollering WE WANT COOKIES!
the boldest child
a girl named Intensity
spoke for them all
you have insulted our mothers
how dare you?
we are the army that will
take you down
for we are armed with the truth
of our mothers’ humanity
with the music of our mothers’ souls
and with the courage of our mothers’ autonomy
these ideas are bigger than you, Justice Bigwig
bigger than your bigwigotry
bolder than your bullying
and far beyond your failing vision
with that, the children resumed their chant
WE WANT COOKIES!
after that day
“His Honor” still had plenty to say
but all anybody heard was blah blah blah
the children continued to float their big dreams
on ripples of soul-song
while the women rolled up their sleeves
and changed the laws
if you listened with all your heart
you sometimes could hear
the voice of Ruth from not far off:
you got this, my queens
have at it!
Lee Marcus Muse is a columnist, poet, and playwright who thinks women are different from cows and do not need their reproduction managed by men.
