Unfortunately here in the United States we have a mindset that is endeavoring to move women's rights back into medieval times. I am appalled at the mentality of men in power. A case in point is North Carolina's current bill SB31 which will make holistic healers felons and be sent to prison. In other words, only licensed AMA physicians and those who push the pharmaceutical drugs will be allowed to practice. This is a travesty and especially for women who make up the majority of holistic medicine. It is a fact that more people die from mainstream doctors and medications than from holistic practioners and herbal use. We, as a country are in retrograde.
Another aspect of retrograde is the U.S. representatives wanting to do away with Planned Parenthood and thus we have an impasse with the U.S. budget. I won't go into the qualities of having Planned Parenthood as one can Google it and learn about how it helps women and men to make wise choices. By doing away with Planned Parenthood, abortion would be outlawed. What most people do not understand is that a fetus may not want to be born to a woman who does not want it. In other words, the spirit of the fetus also has choices. It has up to a year after birth to decide to stay or die. An aborted fetus always has eternal life and will come again to someone who wants it. Why is there is such an anti-abortion mentality? Is this so that these babies can be brought up to be in the military and then get killed? It just does not make sense. These same men in the seat of power have a history of promiscious sex and of course, few of them would support a child born out of wedlock. Oh, the hipocrisy of it all!
If ones sifts through the mindset of those who are pursuing shoving women back into the dark ages, one will find that there is a fear-based mindset that women are smarter than men. These type of men who can be bought by the pharmaceutical companies and other corporate world entities, enjoy the power they can wield and to hell with women.
It is time for women to become vocal. It almost happened in the sixties, however the challenge is that women did it to themselves because they could not as a collective agree. One has only to read Roseanne Barr's book, "Roseannearchy" to understand how the women's movement fell part. One of the most obvious culprit was Phyllis Schlafly. She was a lawyer, had about 8 children and became the Republican's darling. She was also well paid for her speaking tours. She helped to shut down the Equal Rights Amendment. Here is one of her quotes: "ERA means abortion funding, means homosexual privileges, means whatever else." The Republicans have now created a clone of Schlafly and that is Sarah Palin. What an afront to women!
Right now, I am on my soapbox. When I was growing up in Texas, there was an old saying that I abhor. "Keep the women, barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen." I am also against Christianity as it is practiced today by the majority who think they are Christians. I am a retired minister of Divine Science and know the Bible. It is interesting how men who profess to be Christians mis-interpret the teachings of Jesus. All one has to do is read Matthew, Chapter 5. This is the Sermon on the Mount and read about doing to others as you would have them to do to you as well as 'love your neighbors' as yourself.' This is said to be the greatest sermon ever said. And yet, it is tarnished by those in the pulpits.
Being a mother of three sons, I am not anti-male. I have three beautiful adult sons and I am proud of their accomplishments. Their father was a career military man who spent 2 tours in Vietnam – a war that ushered in the use of drugs into this country. It was a fight over the 'Golden Triangle' – the largest opium producing and heroin production in the world until in this century Afghanistan moved to the top of the list. Drug the population and gain control and now we are ruled by Corporate World. However, all is not lost.
We as individuals can only take care of ourselves and for those who have small children, teach them the Sermon on the Mount. It is also to let go of our fears, our prejudices, and to mentally step back and see things as they are, but not follow the crowd. In the midst of change of chaos we can individually be honorable people. There are major earth changes already in motion and we can ride the waves by creating our own individual lives for the future. We are indeed, the future.
Showing posts with label women's rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label women's rights. Show all posts
Friday, April 08, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
From My Soapbox
March is the designated month to honor women and they should be and not just the month of March or Mother's day, but every day. We are indeed slowly making our way to having equal rights. At the present time, we appear to be moving backwards now that the Republicans are in office. Sometimes I wonder where their brains are or if we now have a recession in the intelligence of the people in this party. At one time I was considered a Republican and I will admit I had a one-sided view on many things. However, the Watergate scandal of Richard Nixon cracked my cosmic egg and I began to see another view of the world. I bless him and his cronies for the evolution of my mind.
I really can't blame it all on the Republicans as we also have a few pea-headed Democrats. The House just pass a bill to ban Planned Parenthood. Women are the ones who suffer from this as well as the potential of banning abortions. As I recall, medical funds for abortion are becoming very limited. I have often wondered how there can be such limited pea-headed brains and this is both men and women who think that an abortion kills a living fetus and is a crime. Have they every considered that there is no difference between aborting a fetus and raising children only to have them go into the military and be killed or maimed for life? Somehow, there is an imbalance in this crippled thinking.
Speaking of crippled thinking. The following is pretty scary. "Tea Party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has unveiled a plan for cutting $400 billion in federal spending that includes freezing Veterans Affairs Department health care spending and cutting veterans’ disability benefits. Her proposed VA budget cuts would account for $4.5 billion of the savings included in the plan, posted on her official House of Representatives website." And this from a woman. Shame on her! Having been married to a career military man for 23 years who spent 2 tours in Vietnam, I can tell you that being affected by the Agent Orange does not produce health. He died with the side-effects.
I often think of the geat women who fought for women's rights to vote. Women such as Elizbeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott who were the first to approach this. It took Alice Paul, who with other women picketed the White House, "In 1913, Paul led a march of eight thousand participants on President Woodrow Wilson's inauguration day. (Half a million spectators watched; two hundred were injured in the violence that broke out.) During Wilson's second inaugural in 1917, Paul led a march around the White House." President Woodrow Wilson ordered her to be taken to jail where she and other women were subjected to many indignities and brutal treatment. Finally in 1920 the 19th Amendment was passed giving women the right to vote. Unfortunately the Equal Rights Amendment for women has not been passed. It only needs three states to ratify it.
Women who are in politics should be grateful to the women who have gone before them and yet, today we have such women as Sarah Palin who reflects the mindlessness of women. How have we women regressed instead of moving forward?
One woman who should be honored is Marie Curie. She was the first woman to be given a Nobel Prize. First in 1903 for physics and the second time in 1911 in the field of chemistry. From 1903 – 2009, there have only been 41 or 42 women who received Nobel Prizes and the largest number are in Literature and Peace. I don't think it is due to the lack of a woman's ability. One woman who should have been recognized for a Nobel Prize was Rosalind Franklin. James Watson and Francis Crick are credited for discovering DNA and were awarded Nobel Prizes. What most people do not know is that they used Franklin's papers on her discovery of DNA as their basis. The rest is history.
It is up to each individual woman to take a look at her life and decide what kind of a woman does she want to be. Knowledge is power. We do not have to be mental wizards, but we do need to determine our own lives and not allow the political arena to determine what we can and cannot do. It is time to take our power back and to use our voices. Bigotry and prejudices should have no room in our lives. We are here to evolve.
Am I too hard on the men? Perhaps. However, I have three sons who have determined their own lives and I am proud of them. I practically raised them alone because their father was away so much. I also cut the apron strings to allow them to determine the course of their own life.
As we move into the month of March, join me in being a voice for women's rights – each in our own way. Honor those women who have gone before us and choose a future that you want. It is time we move out of oppression and suppression, however it is an individual choice.
March is the designated month to honor women and they should be and not just the month of March or Mother's day, but every day. We are indeed slowly making our way to having equal rights. At the present time, we appear to be moving backwards now that the Republicans are in office. Sometimes I wonder where their brains are or if we now have a recession in the intelligence of the people in this party. At one time I was considered a Republican and I will admit I had a one-sided view on many things. However, the Watergate scandal of Richard Nixon cracked my cosmic egg and I began to see another view of the world. I bless him and his cronies for the evolution of my mind.
I really can't blame it all on the Republicans as we also have a few pea-headed Democrats. The House just pass a bill to ban Planned Parenthood. Women are the ones who suffer from this as well as the potential of banning abortions. As I recall, medical funds for abortion are becoming very limited. I have often wondered how there can be such limited pea-headed brains and this is both men and women who think that an abortion kills a living fetus and is a crime. Have they every considered that there is no difference between aborting a fetus and raising children only to have them go into the military and be killed or maimed for life? Somehow, there is an imbalance in this crippled thinking.
Speaking of crippled thinking. The following is pretty scary. "Tea Party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has unveiled a plan for cutting $400 billion in federal spending that includes freezing Veterans Affairs Department health care spending and cutting veterans’ disability benefits. Her proposed VA budget cuts would account for $4.5 billion of the savings included in the plan, posted on her official House of Representatives website." And this from a woman. Shame on her! Having been married to a career military man for 23 years who spent 2 tours in Vietnam, I can tell you that being affected by the Agent Orange does not produce health. He died with the side-effects.
I often think of the geat women who fought for women's rights to vote. Women such as Elizbeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott who were the first to approach this. It took Alice Paul, who with other women picketed the White House, "In 1913, Paul led a march of eight thousand participants on President Woodrow Wilson's inauguration day. (Half a million spectators watched; two hundred were injured in the violence that broke out.) During Wilson's second inaugural in 1917, Paul led a march around the White House." President Woodrow Wilson ordered her to be taken to jail where she and other women were subjected to many indignities and brutal treatment. Finally in 1920 the 19th Amendment was passed giving women the right to vote. Unfortunately the Equal Rights Amendment for women has not been passed. It only needs three states to ratify it.
Women who are in politics should be grateful to the women who have gone before them and yet, today we have such women as Sarah Palin who reflects the mindlessness of women. How have we women regressed instead of moving forward?
One woman who should be honored is Marie Curie. She was the first woman to be given a Nobel Prize. First in 1903 for physics and the second time in 1911 in the field of chemistry. From 1903 – 2009, there have only been 41 or 42 women who received Nobel Prizes and the largest number are in Literature and Peace. I don't think it is due to the lack of a woman's ability. One woman who should have been recognized for a Nobel Prize was Rosalind Franklin. James Watson and Francis Crick are credited for discovering DNA and were awarded Nobel Prizes. What most people do not know is that they used Franklin's papers on her discovery of DNA as their basis. The rest is history.
It is up to each individual woman to take a look at her life and decide what kind of a woman does she want to be. Knowledge is power. We do not have to be mental wizards, but we do need to determine our own lives and not allow the political arena to determine what we can and cannot do. It is time to take our power back and to use our voices. Bigotry and prejudices should have no room in our lives. We are here to evolve.
Am I too hard on the men? Perhaps. However, I have three sons who have determined their own lives and I am proud of them. I practically raised them alone because their father was away so much. I also cut the apron strings to allow them to determine the course of their own life.
As we move into the month of March, join me in being a voice for women's rights – each in our own way. Honor those women who have gone before us and choose a future that you want. It is time we move out of oppression and suppression, however it is an individual choice.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Celebrating 100 Years of Women's Right to Vote in Washington State
HONORING WOMEN WHO HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE.
If I had my druthers, I would be most happy to say that all women in the United States had the right to vote for 100 years. On Monday, February 1, the women of Washington State will be celebrating their 100 years of the right to vote. The move for equal voting laws began in 1854 when a member of the Washington Territorial Legislature introduced an amendment for this and it failed to pass by one vote even though another bill passed in the same year, which gave all male white citizens above the age of 21 the right to vote. Even though this was voted down, it rallied the women and they filled the large cities and the small towns. They were angry and argued that the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment used the word 'citizen' meaning 'all persons born or naturalized in the United States did not mean only white males over 21 years of age.
When the Territorial Legislature passed the law giving the right to vote to 'all white citizens above the age of 21" some of the suffragists tested their voting rights based on the U.S. 14th Amendment in 1869 at White River. Their votes were rejected although fifteen women in Thurston County successfully voted in 1870.
The women of Washington State began organizing parties, marches, and demonstrations. Actually Washington was a territory because it was not admitted into the Union until November 11, 1889. One forceful woman was Emma Smith DeVoe who after moving to Tacoma organized speeches, rallies and demonstration forcing the issues into the open. In 1883, both houses of the legislature signed into law a bill giving women voting rights and the governor signed it. However, in 1887 the Washington Territorial Supreme Count revoked suffrage because of a suit brought by a gambler who had been indicted by a grand jury that included women. This did not stop the women.
In February 1910, the legislators allowed a vote to amend the State Constitution giving women the right to vote. It passed and the suffragists had distributed one million pieces of literature. Washington State joined the states Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and Colorado who had already enacted the women's right to vote. The right to vote did not become nationwide until the 21st Amendment initiated by suffragist Alice Paul was ratified by the necessary number of states.
Even though women have the right to vote today, there are still many hurdles to overcome and one is the Equal Rights Amendment, which needs only three more states to ratify it. This amendment gives all women equal rights. It is pitiful that women have to gain equality law by law and also an amendment. When is this going to stop? If it is to be, it is up to each woman individually to bombard their national representatives to garner the votes from the states who have not ratified the E.R.A.
Frances Perkins
One notable woman who is rarely recognized or honored for her achievements is Frances Perkins. Some will say Frances who? Frances was born in 1880 in Boston. She attended college in New York State and developed a passion to help the underprivileged. In 1911 she was working for the Factory Investigation Commission in New York City when the Shirtwaist Factory Fire occurred. From her biography by Naomi Pasachoff, the writer tells of Perkins being horrified that 146 immigrant women had jumped to their deaths. Perkins lobbied until she had a law passed in the city for all buildings to have fire escapes.
Perkins became active in politics and what I have gleaned from her biography is that she was persistent without seemingly being abrasive in her approaches. As she worked her way up the political ladder, she always made friends with the wife of the politicians. She worked for Franklin Delano Roosevelt and became a friend of his wife Eleanor. This seems to be a trait Perkins had or a ploy to become friends with the wives and then there would be no jealousy of her while working with their husbands - smart woman. With the election of F.D.R. as President, Perkins became his Secretary of Labor and the first woman cabinet member. She was also at that time as the first selected cabinet member to be in line for the presidency if he should pass.
As the Secretary of Labor from 1933-1945, Perkins initiated and with F.D.R. backing her, the Social Security Act, Civilian Conservation Corps, Unemployment Insurance, Public Works Agency and its successor the Federal Works Agency and the Fair Standards Act. Therefore, I salute Frances Perkins for love and caring for the poor and wanting to make life better for them.
Her biography is The Woman Behind the New Deal: Frances Perkins by Naomi Pasachoff.
Thursday, July 03, 2008
ARE WE FREE?
The word freedom has been interpreted in many ways, but are we free? Here in the U.S. we celebrate the 4th of July with picnics, bar-b-ques, displaying the American flag and proclaiming we are patriotic Americans. The majority of the people have no idea that instead of freedom that we have been carefully herded into enslavement. We are an enslaved people, because we are enslaved to our beliefs, our attitudes and our habits.
It has been eons since women were free. Women have been treated no better than a servant in the majority of the world. Women have been under the thumb of the males for the most part. There have been and are men who treat women a equals and I honor them. When I say men or males in this article, I am talking about the men who wield power over women. Women are still considered sex objects and the dumb blond jokes are sickening because they demean intelligent women who happen to have blond hair.
Religions have perpetuated the enslavement of women by not allowing them to take their rightful place in the pulpit whether it be Catholic, Protestant, Jew or Muslim. For the most part, it is still the women all over the world who bear the children. I do not think the male has the capacity--yet. Am I anti-male? Not at all. I have three sons who are wonderful men, husbands and fathers.
How do we break the chains of enslavement? How many have the strength and will to say no? One of the first chains to break is that of prejudice. Too many people look upon others with suspicion because they are different. What if each of us began to accept the differences in other people and look for something wonderful about them? What if each of us dropped our prejudices against color, language, dress and an opposing belief in God?
What if we women teach our children not to be prejudice and this includes making fun of others. Children can be cruel in many ways, because they are echos of what they hear and learn in the home. Name-calling by children is a cruel past-time. Shame on we women if we allow this in our children.
We have also become enslaved to the advertising corporate world. It use to be that when digestive aids were advertised on television that it was aimed at the older people. Now, I have noticed the actors in these ads are for the most part women that look to be in their thirties. It is subtle programming that one is sick. If women would begin to think for themselves and to look at the commercials as an observer, then a different picture would begin to form and all we have to do is refuse to buy the products. It is time to be discerning.
We women have a brain the same as men. We each have highways in our brain labeled neuronets. Our highways are activated by the belief systems, attitudes and emotions we perpetuate. Freedom comes with a price and that is to give up trying to be like everyone else and this goes for men also.
On this 4th of July, freedom is calling out. It is an opportunity to examine our prejudices, what pushes our buttons, to forgive ourselves and others, and to work for the equality of all people all over the world.
As long as you keep a person down, some part of you has to be down there to hold him down, so it means you cannot soar as you otherwise might.- Marian Anderson
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
A WOMAN'S PREROGATIVE TO CHANGE HER MIND
It has only been within the last 100 years since women have made inroads in the realization that a woman has a mind. History has not been kind to women or their intelligence. There are women in history who have left their mark, however they are few and far in between.
What is mind? One could say that mind is an accumulation of knowledge and experiences. Or, some would say it is the level of intelligence. Mind is all of this and how we use our mind determines our level of intelligence. What some may call intelligence could be categorized in levels of intelligence. I will return to this subject later. First, I will share how women have been programmed to think of themselves as lesser beings and how men have been programmed to think they are the superior beings.
Women have for eons been the beings who have been the objects of the most prejudiced of all. It seems as though there has always been prejudice whether it be color, creed, culture or religion. But the one class of the most prejudice has been against women regardless of her color, creed, culture or religion.
It is time now for women to use her prerogative to change her mind. The word prerogative is used without most of us really thinking about its meaning. I grew up saying perogative, however I have since learned that this is a misspelling and a mispronouncing. Somehow I prefer perogative – a personal choice. I have often said over the years when questioned as to why I made a decision to do something different other than what I had first said and my reply was “It’s a woman’s perogative to change her mind.”
According to Dictionary.com, the correct definition is An exclusive right or privilege held by a person or group, especially a hereditary or official right.
We do have the right to change your mind.
What is mind? One could say that mind is an accumulation of knowledge and experiences. Or, some would say it is the level of intelligence. Mind is all of this and how we use our mind determines our level of intelligence. What some may call intelligence could be categorized in levels of intelligence. I will return to this subject later. First, I will share how women have been programmed to think of themselves as lesser beings and how men have been programmed to think they are the superior beings.
Women have for eons been the beings who have been the objects of the most prejudiced of all. It seems as though there has always been prejudice whether it be color, creed, culture or religion. But the one class of the most prejudice has been against women regardless of her color, creed, culture or religion.
It is time now for women to use her prerogative to change her mind. The word prerogative is used without most of us really thinking about its meaning. I grew up saying perogative, however I have since learned that this is a misspelling and a mispronouncing. Somehow I prefer perogative – a personal choice. I have often said over the years when questioned as to why I made a decision to do something different other than what I had first said and my reply was “It’s a woman’s perogative to change her mind.”
According to Dictionary.com, the correct definition is An exclusive right or privilege held by a person or group, especially a hereditary or official right.
We do have the right to change your mind.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
A CRITICAL POINT FOR WOMEN
Bettye Johnson ©
History…tells me nothing that does not either vex or weary me.
The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars and pestilence in every page;
The men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all –
It is very tiresome. Jane Austen (1775-1817)
We are at a critical point of evolution of not only the Earth but for humans as well. No longer can we women sit back and allow the men to continue as they have for the past eons. War seems to be their solution for greed, retaliation and conquest. The time is now for women to resurrect the feminine principle. As I understand it, the feminine principle is one of life-giving, nurturing, creativity and an ongoing evolutionary process. Mother Nature is considered the feminine principle. Another name for Earth is Gaia, the feminine.
In looking up the word ‘feminine’ in the New World Dictionary of American Language, I was astounded – yet why should I be – at the definition given. “Feminine: 1) female; of women; girls 2) having qualities regarded as characteristic of women and girls, as gentleness, weakness, delicacy, modesty, etc.” It really is a dichotomy in view of the feminine principle is action in Mother Nature. Nature is not weak nor is she delicate or modest. At times she is not gentle. Man may be able to harness Nature, but no one can tame Her. Now who made up the definition of feminine? Why of course, a man.
Is it any wonder that women have been thought to be powerless? The male history writers gave the few women in history that had power manly attributes. Males write history. This is why now women have to re-empower themselves. We look to Nature. A seed is planted in Her soil and nurtured until it sprouts and becomes.
Praying for peace will not work. All through the past, people have prayed for peace and it did not bring lasting peace. One side usually has been declared the victor with the winner writing the history. People from both sides were praying to the God they believed in. It makes one wonder, is one God more powerful than the other? The Dai Lama did not keep the Chinese out of Tibet. The Jews did not keep Hitler from sending many of them to the ovens. Germany did not win. The Civil War in the United States had brother pitted against brother, Christian against Christian with the South losing. Is God dead? No, it is humans acting out their greed, anger, hatred and fear. God is the observer - both loving and allowing.
Peace as this world knows it is tenuous. There has to be a more effective way for this world to evolve beyond war and strife. There must be a shift from a male dominated world to a world of women and men sharing as partners. It must be a partnership of respect with no suppression of either sex. Women must be given freedom from abuse, enslavement and prejudice. Men must be freed from their prison of being in charge, the breadwinner, along with being abusive. It is time for a change in the way we view our world. Women can impact the world by effectively coming together as a cohesive group and demanding change.
We are living in trying times. Today we are reeling from the shock of September 11, 2002. We have war in Iraq. Throughout history (his-story), there have been wars. For the most part women have had little or no say in the affairs of a country, a continent, or the world. With a few exceptions, men have ruled the world and women along with their children are swept up in the maelstrom of war sending their sons and now their daughters. Some never return home. Is this what motherhood is all about? Are we raising our children to be fodder for a war machine?
Women became dis-empowered five thousand years ago and before. We, the females, have become the largest group of people where there is tremendous bias and prejudice against. Women in Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt and most African nations are subjected to genital mutilation. They never know the pleasure of copulation. Women of Muslim countries such as Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and even parts of India are enslaved by a belief system and treated no better than a slave. They have no rights.
It is interesting to note that these Muslim women for the most part wear black tents and the black color is known to enhance heat. Since it is very hot in these countries, these tents are like ovens. However, the men wear white, which is cooling.
In India, women were and are being burned on a pyre when the husband dies, because there is no room in the society for a widow. Even today widows go to a place where they can live together and wait until they die. Even though this is changing, there are still instances of a man or even his mother who will kill the wife by pouring boiling oil on her. This is done because the dowry has run out or the mother-in-law does not like her. The Washington Post ran an article regarding an Indian mother who killed her three small daughters and herself by jumping into a well. She did this to escape harassment from her husband and mother-in-law because the fan and television promised as part of the dowry by the young mother’s family had not been provided. There are many barbaric acts against women.
Women are stoned to death for adultery in Muslim societies. We can say that is terrible however Pat Robertson, of the Christian Right, is reported to have said in regard to our space program and the possibility of extraterrestrials that “…the threat is so serious that people who believe in space aliens should be put to death by stoning – according to “God’s word.” This was purportedly said in 1997. It is unfortunate this mentality is alive today.
Women have had little to say in the churches. There has been no female Pope or Dai Lama. In the Protestant churches some headway has been made like that of a snail. However, the sexual practices of priests and churchmen are being uncovered with their molestation of young children.
Even today we have women who work against the freedom of other women. I am speaking specifically of Phyllis Schlafly. In the 1970’s I worked for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment for women. This amendment was written in 1921 by suffragist (feminist) Alice Paul. It had been introduced in Congress every session since 1923. It passed Congress in 1972, but failed to be ratified by the necessary thirty-eight states by the deadline of July 1982. Thirty-five states ratified it. It failed by three states.
Schlafly was one of its outspoken critics stating it was not needed. Here was a woman who claimed to be pro-family. Her stand was that a woman’s place was in the home and women should not take jobs from men. The women on welfare and single mothers did not count. Not only was she a paid speaker and a writer of articles and books, it also, meant she was away from home quite a bit. That is the height of hypocrisy. Today she has a column on Internet and her latest is still bashing women. “Hooray for Hootie! At last we have a real man who can resist the histrionics of the pushy feminists. It’s so refreshing to know that somewhere there is an American man willing to stand his ground…”
It was these feminists nee suffragists who in the 1920’s worked hard to see that women had the right to vote and worked to get an amendment to the Constitution for no sex discrimination. Unfortunately many of our elected femaile government senators and representatives fully realize the sacrifice that women such as Alice Paul gave in order for them to have the vote and the privilege of holding offices.
Women have been subjected to just about every abomination that man can envision. In China it became the practice during the Latter Tang Dynasty (923-936 AD) to bind the feet of young girls beginning around age 3 so that their feet never grew. Big feet were considered alien to feudal virtues. It continued even when it was banned by the Manchuria who established the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). In remote mountainous areas, women still had their feet bound even when the New China was founded in 1949. However, the last manufacturer of shoes for these feet closed its doors in the 1990’s.
Even today, in the twenty-first century we really have no freedom to partake in the running of this world. In every country, men are the decision makers. Few women in the past one hundred years have been the head of a government. Indira Gandhi of India was one and Golda Meier another. Queen Elizabeth II is a figurehead. She is not a decision maker for the government. There is a saying that ‘it is a man’s world’. And it has been.
Currently we have a woman running for the presidency and we also have a female as Speaker of the House of Representatives. These are small steps, but we should not expect them to carry the load. After all, they are operating in a man’s environment. We also have women on the picketing lines protesting the contrived war in Iraq and they are to be commended. Now is the time for the women to become vocal as well as visible.
No one can give another self esteem because it must come from the inside. Each woman should realize her worth from within and stop giving her power away. There are many avenues open for a woman to find her own worth and place in the scheme of life. Women can still do this and be a loving mother and wife. I know because I did it. It is up to the individual to take the first step. Ask and it shall be given. Knowledge is the greatest gift one can give to oneself. Knowledge is power. Seek and you will find. Life is a gift. Please treasure your life and you can make a difference.
Bettye Johnson ©
History…tells me nothing that does not either vex or weary me.
The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars and pestilence in every page;
The men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all –
It is very tiresome. Jane Austen (1775-1817)
We are at a critical point of evolution of not only the Earth but for humans as well. No longer can we women sit back and allow the men to continue as they have for the past eons. War seems to be their solution for greed, retaliation and conquest. The time is now for women to resurrect the feminine principle. As I understand it, the feminine principle is one of life-giving, nurturing, creativity and an ongoing evolutionary process. Mother Nature is considered the feminine principle. Another name for Earth is Gaia, the feminine.
In looking up the word ‘feminine’ in the New World Dictionary of American Language, I was astounded – yet why should I be – at the definition given. “Feminine: 1) female; of women; girls 2) having qualities regarded as characteristic of women and girls, as gentleness, weakness, delicacy, modesty, etc.” It really is a dichotomy in view of the feminine principle is action in Mother Nature. Nature is not weak nor is she delicate or modest. At times she is not gentle. Man may be able to harness Nature, but no one can tame Her. Now who made up the definition of feminine? Why of course, a man.
Is it any wonder that women have been thought to be powerless? The male history writers gave the few women in history that had power manly attributes. Males write history. This is why now women have to re-empower themselves. We look to Nature. A seed is planted in Her soil and nurtured until it sprouts and becomes.
Praying for peace will not work. All through the past, people have prayed for peace and it did not bring lasting peace. One side usually has been declared the victor with the winner writing the history. People from both sides were praying to the God they believed in. It makes one wonder, is one God more powerful than the other? The Dai Lama did not keep the Chinese out of Tibet. The Jews did not keep Hitler from sending many of them to the ovens. Germany did not win. The Civil War in the United States had brother pitted against brother, Christian against Christian with the South losing. Is God dead? No, it is humans acting out their greed, anger, hatred and fear. God is the observer - both loving and allowing.
Peace as this world knows it is tenuous. There has to be a more effective way for this world to evolve beyond war and strife. There must be a shift from a male dominated world to a world of women and men sharing as partners. It must be a partnership of respect with no suppression of either sex. Women must be given freedom from abuse, enslavement and prejudice. Men must be freed from their prison of being in charge, the breadwinner, along with being abusive. It is time for a change in the way we view our world. Women can impact the world by effectively coming together as a cohesive group and demanding change.
We are living in trying times. Today we are reeling from the shock of September 11, 2002. We have war in Iraq. Throughout history (his-story), there have been wars. For the most part women have had little or no say in the affairs of a country, a continent, or the world. With a few exceptions, men have ruled the world and women along with their children are swept up in the maelstrom of war sending their sons and now their daughters. Some never return home. Is this what motherhood is all about? Are we raising our children to be fodder for a war machine?
Women became dis-empowered five thousand years ago and before. We, the females, have become the largest group of people where there is tremendous bias and prejudice against. Women in Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt and most African nations are subjected to genital mutilation. They never know the pleasure of copulation. Women of Muslim countries such as Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and even parts of India are enslaved by a belief system and treated no better than a slave. They have no rights.
It is interesting to note that these Muslim women for the most part wear black tents and the black color is known to enhance heat. Since it is very hot in these countries, these tents are like ovens. However, the men wear white, which is cooling.
In India, women were and are being burned on a pyre when the husband dies, because there is no room in the society for a widow. Even today widows go to a place where they can live together and wait until they die. Even though this is changing, there are still instances of a man or even his mother who will kill the wife by pouring boiling oil on her. This is done because the dowry has run out or the mother-in-law does not like her. The Washington Post ran an article regarding an Indian mother who killed her three small daughters and herself by jumping into a well. She did this to escape harassment from her husband and mother-in-law because the fan and television promised as part of the dowry by the young mother’s family had not been provided. There are many barbaric acts against women.
Women are stoned to death for adultery in Muslim societies. We can say that is terrible however Pat Robertson, of the Christian Right, is reported to have said in regard to our space program and the possibility of extraterrestrials that “…the threat is so serious that people who believe in space aliens should be put to death by stoning – according to “God’s word.” This was purportedly said in 1997. It is unfortunate this mentality is alive today.
Women have had little to say in the churches. There has been no female Pope or Dai Lama. In the Protestant churches some headway has been made like that of a snail. However, the sexual practices of priests and churchmen are being uncovered with their molestation of young children.
Even today we have women who work against the freedom of other women. I am speaking specifically of Phyllis Schlafly. In the 1970’s I worked for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment for women. This amendment was written in 1921 by suffragist (feminist) Alice Paul. It had been introduced in Congress every session since 1923. It passed Congress in 1972, but failed to be ratified by the necessary thirty-eight states by the deadline of July 1982. Thirty-five states ratified it. It failed by three states.
Schlafly was one of its outspoken critics stating it was not needed. Here was a woman who claimed to be pro-family. Her stand was that a woman’s place was in the home and women should not take jobs from men. The women on welfare and single mothers did not count. Not only was she a paid speaker and a writer of articles and books, it also, meant she was away from home quite a bit. That is the height of hypocrisy. Today she has a column on Internet and her latest is still bashing women. “Hooray for Hootie! At last we have a real man who can resist the histrionics of the pushy feminists. It’s so refreshing to know that somewhere there is an American man willing to stand his ground…”
It was these feminists nee suffragists who in the 1920’s worked hard to see that women had the right to vote and worked to get an amendment to the Constitution for no sex discrimination. Unfortunately many of our elected femaile government senators and representatives fully realize the sacrifice that women such as Alice Paul gave in order for them to have the vote and the privilege of holding offices.
Women have been subjected to just about every abomination that man can envision. In China it became the practice during the Latter Tang Dynasty (923-936 AD) to bind the feet of young girls beginning around age 3 so that their feet never grew. Big feet were considered alien to feudal virtues. It continued even when it was banned by the Manchuria who established the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). In remote mountainous areas, women still had their feet bound even when the New China was founded in 1949. However, the last manufacturer of shoes for these feet closed its doors in the 1990’s.
Even today, in the twenty-first century we really have no freedom to partake in the running of this world. In every country, men are the decision makers. Few women in the past one hundred years have been the head of a government. Indira Gandhi of India was one and Golda Meier another. Queen Elizabeth II is a figurehead. She is not a decision maker for the government. There is a saying that ‘it is a man’s world’. And it has been.
Currently we have a woman running for the presidency and we also have a female as Speaker of the House of Representatives. These are small steps, but we should not expect them to carry the load. After all, they are operating in a man’s environment. We also have women on the picketing lines protesting the contrived war in Iraq and they are to be commended. Now is the time for the women to become vocal as well as visible.
No one can give another self esteem because it must come from the inside. Each woman should realize her worth from within and stop giving her power away. There are many avenues open for a woman to find her own worth and place in the scheme of life. Women can still do this and be a loving mother and wife. I know because I did it. It is up to the individual to take the first step. Ask and it shall be given. Knowledge is the greatest gift one can give to oneself. Knowledge is power. Seek and you will find. Life is a gift. Please treasure your life and you can make a difference.
Bettye Johnson ©
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