We are celebrating the 30th summer Olympics. There is something else we need to celebrate at this time. It is that for the very first time, ever ever. there are women athletes from every country competing.

This is huge and makes my heart sing. After all the American politics and the ultra conservatives wanting to take away our rights as women; after being the target of a War On Women; after all the centuries of persecution of women in countries around the world, We are There. We are ALL There, women competing, laughing and being equal. Women being brave and fighting to be at the top of their sport.

We may not earn as much as a man at a comparable job but we can compete in the Olympics! Each success must be celebrated. Perhaps, 2013 will bring us the status of being legally equal to all other people in America.

Untitled poem from “The Dinner Party”

“And then all that has divided us will merge
And then compassion will be wedded to power
And then softness will come to a world that is harsh
and unkind
And then both men and women will be gentle
And then both women and men will be strong
And then no person will be subject to another’s will
And then all will be rich and free and varied
And then the greed of some will give way to the needs
of many
And then all will share equally in the Earth’s abundance
And then all will care for the sick and the weak and the old
And then all will nourish the young
And then all will live in harmony with each other
and the Earth
And then everywhere will be called Eden once again.”

————Judy Chicago