I love my country, By which I mean, I am indebted joyfully, To all the people throughout its history, Who have fought the government to make right, Where so many cunning sons and daughters, Our foremothers and forefathers, Came singing through slaughter, Came through hell and high water, So that we could stand here, And behold breathlessly the sight, How a raging river of tears, Cut a grand canyon of light... Why can't all decent men and women, Call themselves feminists? Out of respect, For those who fought for this...

So many of us, myself included, need to keep our sense of personal outrage in check. Each human beings position on the planet is one of intense humility.

Don't treat me like I am something that happened to you.

I'm the color me happy girl, Miss live and let live. And when they're out for blood, I always give.

The stronger I am in my personal life, the more energy I have to look outward, to address my society.

My mother was a feminist, and she gave me some tools of self-possession and self-empowerment, but now that I have lived here for forty-three years, it's, like, whoa, there is just so much more to do, other than become myself. I'm still talking about it. I still drop the P-word, "patriarchy," on unsuspecting people in everyday conversations.

You've decided to love me for eternity, I'm still deciding who I want to be today.