I picked this up at a conference in '98 and think of it often, especially the last line. LIP SERVICE, in Service of the STATE THEY hired me to work 40 hours a week on breastfeeding. I did and used the time wisely. THEY called me Fanatic. THEY said, "Write us a Plan." I wrote a Plan that was realistic and workable. THEY said "We don't like that one. Try again." THEY said, "Tell us how to increase breastfeeding to 75%." I said, "work on reducing artificial feeding to 25%." THEY called me a Zealot. THEY said, "You haven't proved that Breast is really Best." I asked, "Then why are we Promoting it?" THEY called me Radical. THEY said, "We want to know what others say about breastfeeding." I quoted the American Academy of Pediatrics. THEY called me Dogmatic. THEY said, "We want mothers to make a good choice." I said, They need to know the risks of formula." THEY said I'd cause too much Guilt. THEY said "We want mothers to keep breastfeeding." I said, "Stop interfering with them." THEY said I Didn't Understand. THEY asked me to analyze their clinics. I said, "Your staff needs training." THEY called me Confrontative. THEY said they wanted me to provide Training. I asked, "WHEN do we start?" THEY called me Overzealous. THEY sent me to set up a county-wide program. I went, and it was successful. THEY called me Subversive. THEY told me they wanted to edit my proposals. I used their words, intact and in context. THEY called me Extreme. They said they wanted a Breastfeeding Advocate. I quoted research and mothers. THEY called me Biased. THEY Think that Lip Service is Enough. I know that Breastfeeding really Matters. BABIES are the Real ZEALOTS! By Linda J. Smith (Granny Zealot) ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]