Compassionate Voice
Describing the values behind her commitment to social justice, one recent college graduate said: “There’s a connection between all human beings. And if [someone is] going to act aggressively and minimize somebody’s rights — or just completely strip them of their rights — what does that say for the morality that we are being taught?”

Her ideas are common among many younger women of faith, religious women who are committed to social justice. Innovative thinkers like her understand the value of humanity, mutuality, and shared responsibility. And they want to incorporate those values into politics and public life.
Building caring communities is not a mainstream political value, but it is a focus of many religious movements and organizations. If we were to use this value to inform our political goals, we might pursue policies and ways of policymaking that promote the common good and individual rights. Even the most voiceless and disadvantaged among us would benefit.

Younger women’s values and ideas could also lend a fresh perspective to the women’s movement. In the past, feminist movements have used rights-based language, focusing on economic and political equality. That strategy has led to significant progress, but women have not yet transformed politics, religion, and economics to reflect our lives and concerns. We do not yet have a society in which women's ideas, values, and roles are respected as much as those of men.

An older feminist leader told me, “We had to concentrate on rights. We didn’t have any. But now maybe we should look at the kind of language we use. Instead of talking about welfare rights, which is probably a negative [for many people], maybe we need to talk about a kinder, gentler society.” Perhaps the values of younger women will help build a stronger movement for women of all backgrounds. Claiming our public voice could help achieve that goal.

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Two years ago, I helped more than 100 people register to vote. I talked to people and filled in registration forms until I had writer’s cramp up to my ear. And it was great.

A recently homeless man living at the Y registered to vote. A young African American mother with three little ones tagging along came to register. People brought in their elderly parents who had recently moved into the retirement hotel down the street, and one of those elegant older women told me about the fun she and her friends had campaigning for President Franklin D. Roosevelt back in the '40s. Students from the Roman Catholic college across town registered.

These people all had something in common: People like them didn't always have the right to vote.

I was amazed when I found out later that my League of Women Voters committee had registered more than 900 people that fall. Then when I learned that more than 80 percent of the registered voters in our town turned out and voted in that election, I wanted to stand up and cheer. I had joined the League of Women Voters for exactly that purpose, to help people exercise their civil rights — and vote.

Why do I want to help people vote, of all things? Justice. Justice demands that everyone's voice be heard in this world, and the only way most of us can make our voice heard is with our vote. If we don't exercise our right to vote, it's as if we are voiceless.

Disenfranchised people have fought for the right to vote for years, and even though the right has been granted by law, it may still be denied in fact. Vote suppression — that is, discouraging people from voting — has long been a tactic of those who seek to deny the civil rights of others. Suppression has been carried out in many ways, ranging from outright violence to subtle propaganda: If you're so disgusted with nasty campaign ads that you don't want to have anything to do with voting, then you've been manipulated into suppressing your own vote.

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