Wednesday was International Women's Day and I missed it. I guess because I was obsessing about Rush and his remarks. To be fair there are others who do the same thing. Bill Mahr the (so-called) comedian who always giggles at his own jokes and a politician who ran against Mr. Obama (and lost) who used to refer to his wife as a c-word. There is no excuse for uncivil behavior.
Just one observation about the status of women. There are those in this world who would like to pound women back into being chattel or just servants. You can see it in all of the bills being proposed regarding birth control and abortion. These "men" want women to return to the "barefoot and pregnant" status of yesteryear. They really do. And I have no time for them. Bishop Spong's essay today asks the question, "Is Misogyny on the Rise?" He says -
"For centuries, women have struggled against male power and male-imposed definitions that were written into law to keep women in servile, second-class status. In China women’s feet were ceremonially bound, resulting in severe physical deformities, but justified by the male culture since it served to keep women from escaping the dominant male’s control. In biblical days women were defined as property, " He goes on to say ... Whatever the source of this male fear of women, it is time to stop seeking to mandate politically that women’s bodies be subject to male control, whether that control be exercised by their husbands, their bosses, the members of the United States Senate and perhaps above all by the misogynist, all-male hierarchies of medieval religious organizations.I find it frightening that we are having this discussion in 2012! ... He concludes "I find it a frightening time through which to live and it calls out to women and to men alike to flush, yes to flush, out of public life this “religiously perfumed,” but cruel, continuing oppression of women. It needs to be flushed equally by an aroused constituency of both Democrats and Republicans and the Christian Church needs to climb out of the Middle Ages and begin to call “sin” that which some still call “ancient truth,” or “sacred tradition.”
As a child who grew up in a family that respected and valued women and as an adult who worked in a traditionally female occupation (elementary teacher) I have a great respect for the abilities of women and find it appalling that these politicians who are social conservatives and are advocating the things they are advocating have any support of any female. I never did understand why the Equal Rights Amendment was defeated. To me it would have just been common sense.
I watched CBS this morning and heard the story of a 41 year old woman who started a business 5 years ago and became a billionaire. Sara Blakley is the youngest self-made billionaire to make Forbes list. You can't tell me that women aren's intelligent or have ability.
And then there is Queen Elizabeth just starting to celebrate 60 years on the throne. 85 years old and she keeps a schedule that would wear people a lot younger than her out.
I was watching a travel show on PBS the other night. One spot they visited was Istanbul and the other was Greece and then Italy. The observation which I alluded to earlier was this. In the Moslem country if you look at the people on the street there were very few women walking down the street and those who were there were wearing long black shapeless dresses and veils and scarfs. The European countries had as many women as men walking on the street and they looked vibrant and happy and free. That (in my opinion) is the way it should be. Thanks for listening.
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