The State Of The Women's Rights Movement In Modern America
March 6th 2009 13:08
"It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union...
Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less."
~Susan B. Anthony
Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less."
~Susan B. Anthony
With all the gifts inherited from world religions, ancient societies and enlightened men, who died centuries before our nation was conceived, we also gained the tools of oppression, hate and greed.
Oppression with the continuation of the practice of slavery to fund the price of our nation’s financial independence.
Oppression of the poor classes who worked for low wages doing the back breaking work a man or woman does when they can not afford to be in the rich man’s game of slave ownership.
Oppression in a tradition passed down from mother to child and father to son that said a woman was merely property rather than an equal partner to her male counterparts and therefore was not entitled to the same rights as man in the Constitution.
These inconsistencies of classism, sexism and racism have plagued the growth and moral fabric of this great nation throughout her development.
Revolutions have been waged as each group carried their respective banners screaming for equality in the forms of humane work wages, freedom from bondage and equal rights for all men and women regardless of skin color or gender.
As is the way with America we waged these revolutions and fought these wars for equal rights without blood shed, hostile take over’s or significant regime change.
Hero’s for all Americans like Susan B Anthony, Emmeline Pankhurst, Rebecca Latimer Felton and a host of others worked hand and hand with Congress to pass the Nineteenth Amendment of The United States Constitution that gave the unalienable rights for women to vote.
Much like the Civil Rights movement where President Lincoln decreed that all men were indeed free; no piece of legislation can erase centuries of oppression nor can it legislate the minds of the oppressors.
Simple minds acted out in backlash than and still act out now in the forms of a social oppression in the forms of sexism and closing the doors on those from groups whom they feel are inferior to their own.
Racism and sexism will never be 100 % eradicated in any society and for this very reason we must always remain vigilant and watchful.
The problem in our modern society comes when vigilant and watchful is intermingled with the aspects of leaders manipulating the emotion from past misdeeds for personal gain, money and power.
Dealing with the past and making sure it doesn’t repeat itself simply comes down to the ultimate balancing act.
Balancing needs of those oppressed and making sure they stand on even grounds with their counterparts while not tipping the scales so much as to create a backlash from the other side to stifle their ultimate advancement.
In any revolution there are two sides that fight for equality and change.
One side who says we must work with our oppressor to achieve equality and the other, who says we must fight, win and ultimately garner the power they have over us.
Both sides are rooted in strong world philosophy but each and every time our country has a moral affliction they always veered to the first of these philosophies.
This is most likely where the problems we have in our society stem from.
Decades upon decades of anger, pain and strife all solved with the penning of a signature from the President of The United States to make us say it's all better now.
This country has never had a true revolution in physical form and we carry around this baggage from incompletion based on our genders and race always looking to take it out on the other side in the form of our political leaders and social causes.
Like a symbiot whom attaches itself to a host, sides were formed and mandates were made across party lines that said if you were for the Women Rights and Civil Rights movement’s jump into this box and if your not with us your against us.
The purpose of this three part series into race, religion and gender wasn’t to simply state whether the practices of these individual movements were right or wrong ways of thinking but was for us to look inside of ourselves and try to understand why things were the way they are.
As proven over the past four decades there are plenty of times to debate the merits or lack there of in issues like abortion, the distribution of wealth, welfare, the toll of the War on Drugs along ethnic lines and the shattering of glass ceilings but when we look at the roots of the two party system or why a person is a liberal or a conservative it is of the utmost importance we understand the whole story.
The men and women whom we allow to inspire us, we elect to represent our interests on Capitol Hill, protect our assests, keep us safe, fight for our rights and protect our freedoms truly need to be held to a higher standard than we are currently holding them too.
Simply Being a Democrat or Republican isn’t enough.
Simply Being Pro Life or Pro Choice isn’t enough.
Simply Being Pro or Anti Guns isn’t enough.
Simply Saying What Needs To Be Said Through Legendary Speeches Isn’t Enough.
Simply Being Bipartisan As A Governor, Senator, Mayor Or Council Member Isn’t Enough.
The Possible Breaking Of A Glass Ceiling Isn’t Enough.
The changes that are coming in the way we lead our lives as world citizens are going to require a new approach in our personal lives and a reassessment for all Americans in our political structure.
Democrats can no longer be a simple easy button vote for pro choice, anti gun nor can the Republicans be considered the Darth Vader of the political spectrum centered on our countries racist and sexist past.
Our country is too large, too diverse and in too much pain to allow our leaders to wage partisan wars in the name of their respective red and blue flags.
So when will enough be enough you may ask?
Unfortunately the answer to that will come when the money runs out, we lose prosperity as a nation and the dial gets set back to the beginning and our Democratic and Republican leadership will have no choice but to sit at the table of compromise and start from scratch.
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Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Khalfani King
Politics and Culture
Khalfani King
Oldies but Goodies From Campaign 08
It's also important we take a look inwards and understand the struggles of our past and how we can work together to start a new beginning.