This week on The Leftscape, Mary McGinley sits down with her good friend and fellow activist Peggy Farrelly, Program Director of the Psychology and Counseling Department at Seton Hall and the President of the Middlesex-Somerset County chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW). The friendly conversation and interview brings out gems on defining feminism in a way that is ultimately about empowering people, dispelling myths about feminism, and what they’d like younger women to know – a discussion the co-hosts began in “The ‘F’ Word (Episode 12).” Peggy answers questions about how she came to join NOW in January 2017 and actions the members of NOW are currently taking from getting up to speed on the current abortion laws in New Jersey and working toward flipping key districts to weekly rallies in front of the offices of Rep. Leonard Lance and Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, NJ. She speaks to feminism as a philosophy and movement that includes women, men, trans and nonbinary people, and all races and ethnicities. The discussion ends with thoughts on the vital role self-care plays in the well-being of activists and all those affected by the challenges of life in current times.
Those who take the advice of taking time for oneself will be in step for September, which is Self-Care Awareness Month. Wendy Sheridan supposes that the harvest season had an influence on the naming of September as the National Month of an array of foods including chicken, honey, mushroom, papaya, potato, rice, and whole grains. Birthday mentions go to Raquel Welch, Bob Newhart, Dweezil Zappa, John Cage, and Freddie Mercury (the reason Robin Renée once advocated for September 5th to become Celebrate Bisexuality Day). Mary, Robin, and Wendy speak about the passing of brilliant playwright Neil Simon as well as war hero and Senator John McCain and his complicated legacy. Mary sings the praises of the “Once More, with Feeling” episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the new segment, “Why is this Awesome?”
Listen to The Leftscape – the shape of progressive conversation: “NOW and the Future (Episode 14).”
