Moms for Liberty: ‘Joyful warriors’ or anti-government conspiracists? The 2-year-old group could have a serious impact on the presidential race

  Motherhood language and symbolism have been part of every U.S. social movement, from the American Revolution to Prohibition and the fight against drunk drivers. Half of Americans are women, most become mothers, and many are conservative.

  The U.S. is also a nation of organizing, so conservative moms – like all moms – often band together.

  Lately, the mothers group dominating media attention is Moms for Liberty, self-described “joyful warriors … stok[ing] the fires of liberty” with the slogan “We Don’t Co-Parent with the Government.”

  Others see them as well-organized, publicity-savvy anti-government conspiracists.

Masks and mandates: How individual rights and government regulation are both necessary for a free society

  I’ve been thinking a lot about the tension between demanding “individual rights” – in the sense of deciding whether or not to wear a mask – and calling for more action on the part of our government to protect us from the coronavirus pandemic.

  I’m a political theorist, which means I study how communities are organized, how power is exercised, and how people relate to one another in and between communities. I’ve realized – through talking to friends and thinking about the protests against COVID-19-related restrictions that have taken place around the country – that many people do not understand that individual rights and state power are not really opposites.