“The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.” –Ayn Rand

The fabricated ‘War on Women’ makes us out to be victims. And according to many on the political left, big government and all those who support it will swoop in like a night-in-shining-armor to save us. Hardly a scenario you’d think a modern-day feminist would embrace, and yet, they do. They even call themselves “progressive.” But I cannot. Because just about everything they do moves the civilized world backwards and the Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA) that was recently passed is no different.

The VAWA is a ridiculous bill that has a zillion things wrong with it, the least of which is its supposed purpose to ‘protect’ selective groups of people the writers of the bill deem worthy of security. This includes women, gays, transgenders… you get the idea. This collectivist, inherent flaw in the bill was challenged and had some people asking, “If you’re going to pass it, why shouldn’t the bill protect EVERYone?” 

The FDA has approved the “morning-after pill” for sale to teenage girls as young as 15 over the counter.  As the mother of a 16 year old daughter, I find this completely unacceptable on so many levels that I can barely see straight.  I admit, I didn't really know a whole lot about this form of so-called birth control, or the risks involved for women taking it.  

Recently, there has been a great deal of debate and opining about the role of women in military combat. While reading the various points of view, I was struck by how many women I know who have taken on less than traditional roles.  I remember my mother coming home from a job interview in the 80’s annoyed that she had been asked during an interview what she would do if her kids got sick, pointing out that a man would have never been asked that question.  There have undoubtedly been changes in the work force, but have things changed for women in male dominated industries?

Cheryl Lavette is the Georgia State Coordinator for Smart Girl Politics. In her very limited spare time, she is leading a successful and active state group while working in a high stress industry with extensive travel requirements.  She is Vice President/Director of Sales and Distribution and a Registered Investment Advisor for an Investment Advisory Firm and has been in the industry since 1998.  I was not the first to ask her about why she chose this avenue. In fact, she was asked the same question by an advisor recently, because even today, few women choose this career path.  And, while most of us have experienced equality in the workforce, Cheryl was asked recently by a portfolio manager, “Don’t you think men make better sales people?”

In my experience living in the United States, when you ask an expectant mom if she knows what she’s having, whether or not the answer is “boy," “girl," or “we’re keeping it a surprise” – I notice the mother always tends to answer with a calm smile – because whether pink or blue, we tend to see babies as profound blessings.

A new documentary – “It’s A Girl” – shows that this attitude is not one to be taken for granted; in many parts of Africa and Asia, boys are so preferred that baby girls are aborted, abandoned, or murdered in commonplace fashion. The United Nations estimates that as many as 200 million girls are “demographically missing” worldwide. In other words, where a daughter should be in a family, an empty place remains. The trailer for the film, which you can see below, is absolutely chilling. Check out the last anecdote at around 2:39 where a woman laughingly shares with the filmmakers how she strangled EIGHT of her children in a row, simply because they were girls.  I’m sure much research has been done about why sex preference is so common in these countries, but the answer seems simple to me: societies lacking Judeo Christian influence in the public sphere simply do not value individual life the same way that Judeo Christian societies do. Politically incorrect? Yes. But what else could explain it?

Good news for those concerned about the possible legalization of gay marriage: a salon.com piece this week alleges that some Republicans’ opposition to gay marriage is just another battle they’re fighting in the – wait for it – “war on women”.  Specifically: “When…marriage equality prevails, conservatives’ worst fear will be realized: they will be out of excuses. Heterosexual marriage has failed to reduce spousal abuse (emotional as well as physical), and patriarchal husbands will begin to feel “competition” from marriages where male dominance is no longer assumed.”

“Stop the war on women. Vote like your lady parts depend on it.”

In the months leading up to the 2012 presidential election, the liberal feminist establishment insisted that women “Vote like your lady parts depend on it.” It was even a graphic posted on President Obama’s official campaign Tumblr account. And apparently, it worked.

According to Gallup, Obama won the female vote in the 2012 election by 12 points. Unmarried women backed Obama over Romney by an enormous 38-point margin, leaving Republicans scrambling to find effective ways to appeal to women voters in 2014.

As a member of the “young unmarried women” voting demographic, don’t get me wrong. I love the chase. But a request for politicians on both sides of the aisle: make your political pitch to my brain and the ideas inside of it, not my lady parts. 

Letting political consultants pursue the “female vote” as if it’s an emotionally driven, valueless voting bloc is not only unrealistic, it’s insulting. All women do not think the same, or share the same priorities and life experiences. We don’t just care about issues from the waist-down.

It’s time to end umbrella politics, and start treating women as individuals. That starts with rejecting the entire idea of “women’s issues.”

All issues are women’s issues.

What happened to freedom of speech and freedom of expression?  Why does it seem like every time I open my mouth I have someone standing there to criticize my words, my life, my mistakes, and even my successes?  Is this indeed a war on all women or would it be more appropriately referred to as the war on conservative women, specifically?  Or, should we maybe even consider that the target is an out-and-out war on the entire human race?

The expired Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was recently up for re-authorization and passed in the Senate by a 78 – 22 vote, but not without on-going controversy.

Liberal social media outlets are enraged that 22 Republican Senators had the audacity to vote ‘no’ on this bill. Modern-day feminists are already licking their chops as they brand the steadfast GOPers as out-of-touch misogynists. Their fresh new selective outrage is just beginning to brew, and you better believe will be in full glory by the 2014 elections.

Yes ladies… this is Leftist ‘war on women’ gold.

Never mind that before this bill expired, there was little to no evidence that it ever reduced violence against women. Few people seem to care that when this bill was last in place, it was ripe with fraud and wasteful spending. 

The collective conscience of our culture is functioning at the same cognitive level as a teenager: an inability to connect behavior with consequences. In fact, pointing out consequences to one’s behavior is now labeled as ‘hate’, ‘oppression', and ‘traditional’ (pejoratively). Neglect of integrity, this argument paradigm is a moral relativist plague that is infecting our political discourse. It’s devoid of reason and respect, and the effect of our example on younger generations is already taking its toll.  If we are unwilling to connect the dots between behavior and consequences, who will teach our youth about this relationship?

As a parent, my daily task is to take experiences and challenges my children face and teach lessons and skills that will enable them to be successful in life. Although this is a daily task, it’s my innate desire and solemn duty. It’s called responsibility. Responsibility is acknowledging that our actions have consequences. What differentiates adults from children is accepting responsibility for our lives, and the lives of those we care for. When we neglect to teach our children the principle of responsibility, they will not have the tools to face the gravitational realities of life. It is cruel to send our children out into the world without preparing them for its storms.