Three cheers for Sally Field, and four cheers for MomsRising.org

"Let's face it: If mothers ruled the world, there would be no god-damned wars in the first place." Sally Field's Emmy Award acceptance speech riled up the censors at FOX, but millions of mothers across the country searched the net for the uncensored version, then cheered. The Emmy Award was given to Field for her role as Nora Walker, the matriarch on the ABC drama Brothers and Sisters — and the full text of her speech is worth a nice slow read:

At the heart of Nora Walker, she is a mother. Surely this award belongs to all the mothers of the world. May they be seen, may their work be valued and raised, especially those women who stand with an open heart and wait —wait for their children to come home from danger, from harm's way, and from war. I am proud to be one of those women, and let's face it, if mothers ruled the world, there would be no goddamned wars in the first place.

Field held command of the national airwaves for two full minutes, but the determined women of MomsRising.org are taking the microphone and testifying for the rights of mothers and their children by petitioning and lobbying for new laws. The women of Moms Rising are leading a movement to bring the United States up to speed with international standards that promote and protect motherhood. Everywhere I turn this year — the web, the radio, network television — I find women who identify first as a mother. Let's call it, "The Year of the Outspoken Mother".

Moms Rising

Moms Rising was launched in May 2006 by Joan Blades (of MoveOn.org) and Kristen Rowe-Finkbeiner, two mothers who co-authored The Motherhood Manifesto: What America's Moms Want — and What to Do About It. In a recent e-mail interview with MOLI, Rowe-Finkbeiner took the lid off the pot. "Right now, three-quarters of mothers are in the workforce, yet we are stuck with a 1950s support structure when most families had a parent at home," she said. "Joan and I launched MomsRising.org after we wrote the book, and after finding out what's really going on with American women and families: that a full quarter of families with children under age six live in poverty; that mothers are 79 percent less likely to be hired than non-mothers with the same resume; that the U.S. is one of only four countries in the world without some form of paid leave for new mothers; and more. We realized that the next step is to work for change."

Moms Rising now has more than 12,000 citizen members. With its online petitions, it is quickly becoming a significant force in moving forward legislation, and those petitions are a big reason everyone is talking about breast pumps in the workplace, extended paid leave for new parents, and recalling toxic toys. Moms Rising members in Washington state lobbied their elected officials in the traditional way, making hundreds of phone calls and meeting with legislators, but they also baked them cookies and gave them temporary tattoos and Polaroids of mothers and their kids. Moms Rising was instrumental in making Washington the nation's second state to pass paid family leave legislation.

"Because mothers are extremely busy, online organizing is a perfect platform for engagement on these issues," Rowe-Finkbeiner, who also authored The F-Word: Feminism in Jeopardy: Women, Politics, and the Future,  points out. Personal matters brought the writer-activist around to understanding just how close to the economic edge many families are in this country. "Eleven years ago, my son was born with health issues that caused me to look deeper into motherhood, work, and family issues," she said. "My son is much healthier now, thank goodness, but the experience gave me a new understanding."

Erika Schickel, mother of two and author of a collection of humorous essays about parenting, You're Not the Boss of Me: Adventures of a Modern Mom, thinks Moms Rising is a step in the right direction. "Moms are taking on more than ever, picking up the slack of a failing school system, paying bills with unequal pay, caring for their sick, uninsured children, et cetera," she says. "Our government does precious little to support families, and the burden falls most heavily on mothers who are culturally disenfranchised and politically and economically disempowered."

Rowe-Finkbeiner's optimism is evident in much of her approach. "The wonderful thing is that we know how to fix most of these issues," she said. "Countries with family-friendly policies and programs in place don't have the maternal wage gaps we do here, and have healthier families."

Does Sally Field know the facts? Do you?

MomsRising.org relies on volunteers, a small staff, and donations from members and foundations. Like Ms. Field, they're in the film business. The Motherhood Manifesto, a DVD available from MomsRising.org, has been making the rounds of countless house parties, and makes the following points:

• Only four countries in the world — Lesotho, Swaziland, Papua New Guinea, and the United States — fail to provide paid maternity leave to all workers.
• Mothers in the United States are only half as likely as non-mothers to be hired for the same job, and the average college graduate who becomes a mother will sacrifice a million dollars over her lifetime.
• Businesses that create flexible work environments find that productivity goes up, they attract more talent, turnover is reduced, and their bottom line is improved.

MomsRising.org spells it out: M-O-T-H-E-R-S

Make a difference, sign a petition

Get your pen ready — or rather, get your computer mouse moving, and start signing petitions:

• MomsRising.org has a petition aimed at the U.S. Congress and the National Board of Medical Examiners to ensure that breast-feeding mothers are given the time and environment to pump at work.
• This petition advocates for changing the parental leave laws in New York. I received it from Pamela Sah, a friend and housing discrimination lawyer in Brooklyn. Sah is also the mother of a toddler, and inserted her own point of view with the petition. "Employers are required to allow families with new babies only 12 weeks unpaid leave," she wrote. "Personally, I can say that the first weeks and months after having a new baby can be one of the hardest adjustments ever in life so far, and that a societal expectation that people will just get used to it and return to work in a few weeks is insane."
• Another petition tells Congress and the Consumer Product Safety Commission: "Testing children's products for toxic chemicals must be a priority. No more toxic toys and children's products!"

(Whether you're a mother or not, if you want to be a part of big changes, I suggest you start signing.)

Juliana Luecking, aka Queen Juliana, is the MOLI View's contributing editor for Life & Love.