A Little Girl Power

Songs

I’ve been listening to the following two songs on repeat over and over every time I get in the car: Savage Daughter by Sarah Hester Rose and Little Girl Gone by Chinchilla

I discovered both songs on TikTok a while back, and they still resonate with me. Every time I get smacked by the patriarchy in its various forms, these songs give me back some of my girl power.

Books

I have been very busy with my new role as county party secretary. I love the hope and community it gives me. It takes a great deal of my time, though, so I don’t get to read as often as I used to. The only book of the three I read this month (for book clubs) that I would recommend is “Sisters in Arms” by Kaia Alderson.

It is the type of historical fiction I love best—telling about the real-life women whose stories were erased. It is the story of the Six Triple Eight, the only all-Black battalion of the Women’s Army Corps. It was really good, and I’m looking forward to watching the movie based on it.

Other Pieces

As I stated above, I have been really busy, so I am double-dipping, so to speak. The next two sections are pieces that have or will be published in the county party’s newsletter. Some of what they contain may be nothing new for some of you, but the rest of you may learn some new things about me.

Gatherings

There is something so powerful about gathering with people in a social setting for a common cause. The third week of every month is book club week for me. I have one in-person and two virtual meetings.

I love catching up with my old friends in the virtual ones, but the energy and joy I experience meeting with my new friends at the library is one of my favorite things. We discuss the book, and I love hearing their perspective, but my favorite part is listening to them share about their lives.

Some of these women have known each other for many years. Sometimes I’m envious when they discuss people or events in that shorthand people use with family and old friends. I used to feel like a complete outsider, but now I just listen and soak up the energy, and I feel included even when I have no idea what they are talking about.

Hello Sequatchie Dems

My name is Miriam Banach (Hay), and I am the SCDP Secretary. My journey to becoming a Sequatchie County resident mirrors my journey to becoming a Democrat in many ways. It primarily revolves around rebellion.

I am the granddaughter of missionaries and the daughter of a preacher who married my mother, a descendant of Spanish Conquistadors and Mapuche Indians. I was in 3rd grade when I first experienced racism. My mother picked me up from school one day, and my classmates realized I wasn’t as white as they thought. I had to defend myself by saying I was Chilean, not a dirty (insert popular Mexican slur). I learned young how lucky I was that I could pass as white and was diligent in ensuring no one found out otherwise.

I began rebelling against my conservative upbringing in my teens. I dated and later married my son’s father, a long-haired musician. I joined the US Air Force to travel and get an education, which I did despite the interruption of Desert Storm. I spent six years traveling on four continents—more than enough experience to remind me why our country is special and unique and worth fighting for, even with all its flaws.

I started working for the Federal government after returning to Colorado as a civilian, and as such, was not allowed to participate in partisan politics. To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to it anyway. I was raising a child on the spectrum, working full time, and using the GI Bill to get my degree.

When I thought about it at all, I considered myself an independent: fiscally conservative and socially liberal. I believed that we needed the safety net for those on the fringes, but the Dems’ fiscal policies tended to hurt some of the people they were trying to help because they were taking big money from special interests, too. As far as I was concerned, both parties were two halves of the same side of the coin.

Nationally, I never voted Republican because my father had become even more conservative, and I was neutralizing his vote. Locally, though, I voted person over party every time. It wasn’t until Barack Obama that I finally voted for a Democrat rather than against the other side.

Then my world fell apart. I got divorced, nearly died from some serious health issues, and my father died, all in less than 3 years.

In the years that followed, I discovered a community of faith that resonated with me: Buddhism. Though I’m no longer a member (they were too evangelical for me), I still believe in many of the tenets. The practice forced me to look inward and find out who I really was, why I was always so angry, and why I never felt like I fit anywhere.

This journey of discovery helped me heal, but it also took me almost as far away from the patriarchal ideal as one can get. I was already a not-white woman, but now I was also not Christian and not straight (not young or thin either).

Then came Trump and COVID. I was already leaning left anyway, but I knew I couldn’t straddle the fence anymore. I had to pick a side.

When I met my wife and we decided I should move here, I was scared. Not just that I wouldn’t fit in, but that our lives could be in real danger. Up until recently, it felt like we were drowning as lonely blue dots in a sea of red. I’m so thrilled to know it’s not just the two of us.

I am retired now, thanks to DOGE, and as such, I can fully participate in politics. And now that I have the time, I fully intend to do so. All of us together can make a difference.

Looking Ahead

I’ve managed to clean up some of the clutter that was causing unwelcome chaos in my space. I’m hoping that will lead to a more conducive space for writing fiction, but for now, I’m content to just be writing.

Take care of yourselves, my friends, and make good trouble if you can.