Today we mourned for Allen Thornell, taken too soon, but recognized having lived life well and with tremendous purpose.
Naturally I was sad and could have spent the day kicking my lower lip ahead of me, but instead, I took the opportunity to look to the future at some amazing young folks. Young people with spirit and sass, with just a little “Allen” in them.
This 12 year old caught my interest and my attention pretty quickly.
Twelve-year-old Eliza Goehl lives in Bloomington, Indiana, the home of Indiana University and she attends Harmony School. Eliza wrote this paper as part of her sixth grade graduation project on legislation and women in politics. She hopes to earn her college degree in journalism and hopes to attend Cornell for graduate school to earn a degree in law. “I wish that life was longer because I would like to be a journalist, lawyer, judge and senator! Hopefully, some of my dreams will come true,” said Eliza. Eliza was inspired to write this article by the campaign of Hillary Clinton for president.
Why is women’s participation in politics an important issue to consider? Most people don’t understand how few women are involved in politics. Here are some of the facts: only 17% of Congress is made up of women! Out of the one hundred members in the Senate, only sixteen of them are women. In the House of Representatives there are four-hundred thirty-five Representatives, and only 72 of them are women. This is in a country where women account for 51% of the population. The United States has never had a woman President or Vice President. The U.S. is ranked 84th in the world for women’s participation. During the past 220 years, only 2% of Congressional seats have been held by women. At the current increase rate, it will be the year 2076 before women achieve equal representation in Congress!
Read her whole essay, it’s pretty damn great. More on Women in Politics go here.
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