Much is being made of Senator McCain's choice of a woman for his Vice President. It seems to me that some folks in the blogosphere are using this (poor) choice as a way to attack his judgment. I can't argue with that. I wonder why he did it.
I have a feeling that he is a misogynist. Misogyny is hatred (or contempt) of women. I don't think John McCain has a great deal of respect for women. He divorced his first wife and married his current one most likely for mercenary reasons. He has called her a c**t in public and is known as a womanizer.
But this is not about McCain. This is about the way we treat women in our world. One person who early in the election process declared vehemently that he would not vote for Senator Clinton was letting his misogyny show through. I mean it was obvious that he did not like her because she was a woman.
In our world there are societies where women are considered as chattel. They live their entire lives under the domination of a man. In some cultures the woman lives in her father's house. He arranges for her marriage, signs the marriage contract and delivers her to the husband who has complete control over her. She had to bring with her a dowry or "bridal price" to the marriage.
Women were not allowed to hold property in their own name and had to have a caretaker or trustee to hold their property for them.
For many women they do not even have the right to their own name. They start out life with their father's name and when they marry they change it to their husband's. This is slowly changing but I remember how much it bothered some people when my sister did not change her name.
Women in America have always been second class citizens. I recently saw a blog post describing how they were treated when they were fighting for the right to vote. They were thrown into prison cells, beaten, chained to cells and even President Wilson tried to get some of them committed. It was not until 1920 that the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote. Women in many jobs today do not make the wages that men make for doing the same work.
I have known widows who had to learn how to handle finances after their husband died because he would never allow her to have any money except for an allowance for the household.
There are so many misogynistic practices that go on in our world that we are not even aware of that I could not catalog them all. Dressing little boys in blue and little girls in pink is one example. Blue is a color that superstitious people use to ward off evil. Because little boys were more valued of course they were dressed in this color to protect them.
The world is changing. I have seen changes in my lifetime. Women are gaining. Women have property rights now. They are protected by laws (some of them too often ignored) and it is definitely inspiring to see qualified women (such as Mrs. Clinton) aspire to national office.
I still hold doors open for women but I do for men also. And it is all right with me if a woman holds the door for me (after all I am old now) - But the main thing is I look on women as equals. In fact I know some of them are superior to me. I have seen women with great executive ability. In the Order of the Eastern Star the Worthy Grand Matron is in charge of the state wide organization. My friend Betty Briggs was the Right Worthy Grand Secretary of the International Organization and believe me that takes a great deal of ability. There are women in positions of authority in Academic and business positions and they are good.
I guess my whole point for this post is that we need to respect each other as men and women (or women and men as it may be) and in doing so our world will be a better place.
Was I disappointed in John McSame's pick for a Vice President. Yes! Not because she is a woman but because for his first major choice he did not choose more wisely. I do not need to reiterate Ms Palin's shortcomings. There are enough people out there doing that. I just know that there are literally hundreds and thousands of women who would have been a much better choice. It says more to me about his judgment than it does about her qualifications.
I hope to live to see a woman as President of the United States. I was for Mrs. Clinton before I was for Obama. But I had little hope for her getting the nomination. You see I am a realist and I know that being a woman held her back. It is too bad. She would have made a good one. But to be honest, the more I see of Barak Obama the more I like him and his ideas. I am not 100% sold but I do think he will bring our country back to a place of respect in this world and I also think that his wife will make a great First Lady - ( I guess I could go on about that term also because I think it is sexist and antiquated - but I won't)
Thanks for stopping by. Hugs, jcs
2 comments:
McCain appears to have chosen her to get women's vote (we saw right through that one), but he also wants to get hold of land in Alaska. I grew up there and would hate to see him ruin it. I think drilling is as important to him as our vote. I pray he gets neither. Did you notice him check out her butt on CNN?
Of COURSE McCain, the randy old goat, chose his VP because she's a woman. Unfortunately he has no idea WHY a woman should hold high office; it's just something he heard somewhere.
But that's not the real point of this insightful post. Women are every bit as QUALIFIED to hold high office as men. Well, DUH!
Interestingly, it's only been the past 500-600 years during which women have been more and more suppressed in Western culture. During the Middle Ages, and particularly during the Crusades, women were completely eligible to hold real and financial property, and even to serve as judges in some circumstances.
Long and complicated story--but a very interesting one. Turns out that, in women's rights, the Renaissance is the problematic turning point away from equality...
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