Liberty and Moms

Moms for Liberty 

“He alone who owns the youth, gains the future.”


The first thing that I think about when I read articles about Moms for Liberty, is the use of co-opting a phrase combo.  “Moms” and “Liberty”. 

Moms: That’s personal. I am a mom. Biologically birthed two beloved babies. The youth. 

Liberty. I am in support of Liberty, defined as:

: the quality or state of being free:

: the power to do as one pleases (See limitations on the First Amendment- such as, incitement, defamation, fraud, obscenity, child pornography, fighting words, and threats.)

: freedom from physical restraint

: freedom from arbitrary or despotic control (Despot- one who desires absolute power often in a cruel and oppressive way)

: the positive enjoyment of various social, political, or economic rights and privileges

: the power of choice

Second thing I ponder is, who is backing this extremist group? Is it really about “mama bears” protecting their cubs, or more of a political re-election deception financed by super pacs for prosperity. Primarily for the private elites, not for the pubic school participants?

“We live in a world of keyboard warriors, right, where people are frustrated but no one’s taking action to do something and affect positive change. And they should, and they can!” Bridget Ziegler said.

Bridget Ziegler, wife of Florida’s chairman of the Republican Party. Bridget, founder/ co-founder of Mom’s for Liberty. 

Moms for Liberty ultimately limits states freedoms on curricula, advocates physically restraining kids by mandating additional mandatory-maskless “seat time” in school, arbitrarily requiring more testing, which takes away from “positive social, political and economic rights- and- privileges” of students. (See above definition of Liberty.) 

Pause for a moment. A third conception is the reality, that to merely verbally challenge a powerful group such as Moms for liberty gets restricted. Any critical questioning gets an instant interrupted label such as “woke” (negative), liberal (bad), Marxist, Communist, Fascist… obvious unintelligible name calling. Well, that ends a conversation with little, make that NO, intellectual context about education, philosophy and here is a doozy, uh, the Kids. Students.

Moms for Liberty advocates against school curricula that mention LGBT rights, race and ethnicity, critical race theory, and discrimination. Multiple chapters have also campaigned to ban books that address gender and sexuality from school libraries.Founded in 2021, the group began by campaigning against COVID-19 protections in schools, including mask and vaccine mandates. Moms for Liberty is influential within the Republican Party. 

In 2023, the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization that tracks extremists, termed Moms for Liberty a far-right extremist organization. The group has been criticized for harassment, for deepening divisions among parents, for making students' education more difficult, and for having close ties to the Republican Party rather than being a genuine grassroots effort. Wikipedia 

Lastly, the unfortunate use of an Indiana Moms for Liberty Chapter, who used a quote from Hitler, “He Alone who OWNS the youth, GAINS the future,” is ironic on so many levels. He/Moms own kids? Own kids. As if. Unless, owning a lucrative profit sourced, backed by big financiers, business management systems, for their own gains. Okay, more literal than ironic in my observations, just another thought to ponder. That along with, questions- did this mom not do her research? …. For education? Like, read history prior to picking a poignant prose, for liberty? Hey, I make gaffs too. (Was it though?) A lot. Being a mom is tough. 

Want to be a mom? Great, because freedoms of choice and liberty have been restricted for anyone choosing (freedom) not to birth (by extreme groups). Want Liberty? Me too. Hey- Key board warriors, unite!! Uh- oh, that sounds too, you know… How about this proverb:

"The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Is the Hand That Rules the World" is a poem by William Ross Wallace that praises motherhood as the preeminent force for change in the world.  Although the poem itself is now largely forgotten, the poem's refrain became a commonly quoted proverb.

Praises Motherhood, and I see it as a warning. “Growing on for good or evil”. Be careful with that power!