This centenary in honor of International Women’s Day was unlike any other that I can recall here in Canada or the US. As Joe Biden might say, “It’s a big fucking deal.” Yes, it is a BFD. On March 8th, I posted in the afternoon on my Twitter feed, @janniaragon: Could you imagine if 10% of the discussions about #IWD today took place on other days. I think that 10% of my overall tweets or more are about gender or women specifically, so it might prove too much different for me. However, I’m thinking of the overall media focus and online presence of the celebration of women and it was no doubt pretty amazing.

What would it take to have this heightened focus and response on the vulnerable (poor or aged) or other groups? What would it mean if we could focus so strongly on the environment for a day or more? What could it mean to the lives of undocumented peoples if we tried in earnest to help them? It would make a difference. Some people live this way everyday of their lives. I see some of the students on campus do this with their commitment to social justice, for instance. I see people posting on Twitter, their blogs, their books, and other networks to this effect. I point here is that I don’t want us to give up on women or other causes. It was wonderful to see so many posts on #IWD but lets make sure that this continues.

“The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one’s work seriously and taking one’s self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous.” Margot Fonteyn, English Dancer