Blog to the White House

One of the most powerful unintended results of widespread Internet access is that individual voices can be heard in new ways on a national and international scale. You no longer have to be a journalist, a politician, an activist, writer or a hugely successful businessperson to make your opinions known.

You don't have to work outside the home. You don't even have toleave your home or your desk, which is why mommy bloggers and mom Web sites have become a lifeline for working and stay-at-home mothers, who historically have often been too busy to organize in politically effective ways.

BlogHer, a powerful online consortium of over 11,000 female bloggers, just announced a new campaign to use the Internet to harness women's opinions about the biggest global issues in our lives. The results will be funneled into BlogHer's Election '08 Voter Manifesto. BlogHer asks women to consider two simple questions: What is the single, most important global cause for women? What are the four top issues that women want U.S. presidential candidates to address?

Concerns facing women globally differ from the most pressing issues facing American women. In this country, we have cemented many fundamental women's rights, eliminating injustice the way some countries have eradicated polio or smallpox. The right to vote. The right to control our bodies -- including when, how, and where we have sex, marry and have children. Equal legal protection. All admittedly within our imperfect legal and judicial systems.

So the global issues on my list are many we already take for granted:

* Political representation: the right to vote in open and fair elections.
* Physical liberty: voluntary marriage and divorce and access to all forms of birth control.
* Protection against domestic violence, rape, and other forms of abuse.
* Economic freedom: the ability to work and have financial independence.

The four primary issues I'm most curious to see presidential candidates address are:

* Ending the war in Iraq and building the U.S. reputation as a generous, peace-promoting international partner.
* Comprehensive development and promotion of programs that make combining working and caring for one's family easier, including equal pay for men and women, flexible and part-time schedules, more extensive family leave policies, off-ramps and on-ramps, continuing education, child-care support and stronger support of gender and pregnancy discrimination laws.
* National health care insurance so that affordable health and dental care is accessible to everyone.
* Revitalized public education, especially in major urban areas, to restore education as a public good for all society.

Naturally my priorities are shaped by my gender, my race, my economic situation, the ages of my children, my life experiences. What's on your list -- and why?

Speak out about your red-hot issues. Post your opinion by June 15th to ensure your suggestions are included in the survey. On June 25th, BlogHer will issue a survey to the community so everyone can vote for or against the top proposals.

Make your voice heard. It's easy. It's free. And you don't have to leave your desk or your kitchen to do it.

By Leslie Morgan Steiner |  June 11, 2007; 6:59 AM ET  | Category:  You Go Girl!
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