We stayed the night at Bruce and Cathy Henschen’s house. The Planned Parenthood staff got Button and me massages for my birthday, along with a bunch of snacks for the road. It was exactly what we needed to move all the lactic acid out of our muscles. I am so thankful to this organization for their support during this pilgrimage and protest. It’s an honor to be embodying the value of individual sovereignty throughout this walk and sharing this value along the way.
Part of the message that I carried throughout this walk is that society as a whole is moving through an epochal change. We are moving from an industrial age to a technological and information age. In this time when artificial intelligence is dramatically enhancing itself, with this pilgrimage it is important to ask ourselves, “What is the role of the body and of our bodily autonomy as society evolves technologically?” There is a lot to reflect on here, and I look forward to exploring these ideas in a book that I would like to write about my travels throughout Tennessee during this pilgrimage.
Tristan Harris, co-founder and Executive Director of Center for Humane Technology talks about 2024 being the last human election. Everything that we know is based on information that is accessible to us or that we directly experience. As algorithms and billionaires begin to dictate what information we have, it will be critical to develop strong trusted community relationships and an embodied understanding of our experiences to inform evidence-based policies and democratically elected representatives. My pilgrimage for bodily autonomy is far greater than the right to an abortion.
In the late afternoon, Button went to a showing of Kiss the Ground that featured a panel of environmental experts. Kent Minault of the Sierra Club had walked with us on our way from Oak Ridge to Knoxville and invited her to the Dig Deeper event. Kiss the Ground is a documentary about how farmers and the agricultural industry can help curtail the climate crisis through changes in food production. It is interesting to me that this conversation about food and agriculture has been a theme throughout our walk. Discussions about how our bodies and about how the health of the earth’s body are connected were prevailing concepts during our walk.
We met several supporters at Public House, where we discussed our Action Council model. Planned Parenthood has a distributed organizing model, where we identify, support and develop community leadership to create their own organized networks of activists. Our organizing and advocacy staff provide training and consultative support to help everyday citizens learn how to become powerful advocates and community organizers. Anyone who would like to get plugged into your nearest local action council, contact us at [email protected] and we’ll get you connected.
The evening ended perfectly and appropriately with an exhibit of Katarina Riesing’s art, which delves into perceptions of the body, its parts, and its perceived imperfections through gorgeous silk embroidery.
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