Advocacy Archives - The Culture Mom

21Jan

A Visit to Israel with a Loving But Conflicted Heart

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“But doubts and loves dig up the world like a mole, a plough. And a whisper will be heard in the place where the ruined house once stood.” These are words from Israeli poet Yehudah Amichai’s poem, “The Place Where We Are Right.” Interpretations of poems can vary, but for me, this piece refers to a difference in opinion about a place that you love but can’t quite vocalize both out of fear and out of love. I have felt this type of conflict several times in the past year on two very different types of trips. A year ago, I visited Read More

05Jun

What If Planned Parenthood Didn’t Exist?

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Watch the above video. Filmed by Joss Whedon in support of Planned Parenthood. UNLOCKED highlights the vital role Planned Parenthood health centers play in the lives of millions of women in communities nationwide. This video follows three different women through critical moments in their lives—and brings to the forefront what the world would look like if attempts to shut down Planned Parenthood succeed. Most likely you will relate to one. I have a few personal stories about Planned Parenthood. I grew up understanding its significance from a very young Read More

30May

The Power of Girl Power Movie Parties

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When I was younger, I loved watching classic movies with my mom. Katherine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Vivien Leigh, and Ingrid Bergman were just a few of some of the actresses that I looked up to. I watched movies where they played women defying odds, wearing the pants in a relationship, while leaning on each other for support. They weren’t afraid to make things happen and they showed me the value of determination and courage. They were fearless; they were feisty; they defined the meaning of badass as well as girl power. Flash forward to 30 Read More

28Apr

The Women’s March: 100 Days Later

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A few months ago, I posted about the Women's March and why it was a day that changed everything. My teenage daughter and I made the trek from NYC to Washington, DC, along with thousands of other women. As soon as we boarded the train, it felt monumental. After two months of literally crying over the outcome of the election, I felt like I had found my people at the march. I was surrounded by like-minded people both on and off the stage. In my blog post I wrote that were "women who want a future like the one I want for my daughter –"where abortion is Read More

01Mar

Where You Can Find Me

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Well, I've gone quiet again. It has been two weeks since my last post. I must admit that since 11/8, my heart is in other places and I've become quite the activist. Between work, graduate school and my advocacy work (for refugees in particular), I am up to my ears but I am still the Culture Mom! I'm still going to shows, traveling on assignment (London, Boston, Washington, DC, and Orlando, Florida most recently - yep, Disney!), reading (currently A Man Called Ove), seeing films (most recently Moonlight and LaLa Land - twice for each and two Read More

31Jan

The Women’s March: What it Meant to Me

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It's been two weeks since my last blog post, which is a million years in blog land, but I've been overly occupied. For one thing, work and my studies are taking a toll on my time, as well as caring for my family. Freelance projects to manage, books to read, shows to watch, textbooks, classes to attend, trips to plan, meals to make, laundry to fold, chauffeuring my kids around to activities after school - it's a lot but multi-tasking is a specialty of mine. But there was one major event that I attended that changed everything. It changed my attitude, Read More

05Dec

Parenting: Knowing What’s Important

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If you're following me closely, you know I just spent several weeks abroad. I combined my work with a bit of a personal exploration of Eastern Europe that you'll be reading about in various places, including right here on the blog. It ended up being very intense, as I delved into Jewish history and brought home very valuable lessons that tie in with our recent election and where we are as a country. I was gone a long time: 18 days. I'd never been away for that long. I left my family to fend for themselves. But please know my kids are older now - 12 Read More

29Nov

#GivingTuesday: Supporting Refugees with HIAS

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Conflicts around the world have forced 65 million people to flee their homelands due to persecution – harassment, threats, abduction, or torture, because of their race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation or political opinion. Over and over we have seen that, despite these traumas, refugees are brave, resilient, and resourceful people. Despite having typically left everything behind - including homes, jobs, and savings – they find ways not just to survive but to thrive. But they cannot do it alone. HIAS is the only Jewish organization whose Read More

25Nov

A Visit to the Haunted Warsaw Ghetto

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Several weeks ago while visiting Warsaw, my tour of the Jewish Ghetto started early in the morning. I was eager to get to know a city where my ancestors once lived before coming to the United States in the early part of the 20th century. My mother didn't know much about where they lived, but we wanted to see what life had been like and what had caused them to leave. Seeing the Ghetto was part of the soul-searching process we needed, even though the sad events had occurred after they'd left. What I was able to gather was that before World War 2, Jews Read More

22Nov

My Visit to Dachau: Never Forget

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#Dachau - let me tell you about my visit. Please note I have also just been to Auschwitz and Birkenau, where even worse atrocities were committed, and to countless Jewish ghettos all over Eastern Europe, so I am tired....and sad. However, I also feel compelled to share what I have just seen while it's all very raw. Just over 70 years ago, innocent people entered Dachau through the SS training camp after marching through the town for all to see, thinking that they were going someplace safe as that is what they had been told. But they left registration Read More