CROSSVILLE —
Women now comprise more than half of most college student populations. The National Bureau of Economic Research reports that women make up about half of U.S. payrolls (49.3 percent as of Feb. 2012). One in five persons in our armed forces is female. There are nearly 100 women in the U.S. Congress. The Tennessee General Assembly is 18 percent female (most are Democratic).
More change is coming. Get used to it. Like it or not, the number of strictly male occupations is shrinking as the power of women increases. Women may still make less than men for the same work in some jobs, but that problem will level out.
Clownish mossbacks and political reactionaries still rant against birth control, but how long should we expect savvy women to accept a future that puts them neck deep in needy children while at the same time earning their daily bread and peanut butter? Roe v. Wade is safe for a while.
Will women stand against science? Forward-looking women may teach their children to seek beliefs that do not denigrate science. But there are still many fundamentalist women who trust the old beliefs more than modern science. They fight evolution and global warming with every weapon in the arsenal of misinformation. But their enlightened sisters are likely to prevail against the intimidating pecksniffs who want women uninformed, pregnant and near the pantry. There’s no good way to go back to such a regressive time.
How about women who are unwilling to accept the legitimacy of the Obama Presidency? They are led by the Tea Party and by bloviating moguls such as Donald Trump. Trump is no big respecter of women. Women may exile him to a penthouse in Trump Tower and tell him to be quiet or else to help them solve some real problems that ordinary people face every day.
Some women may become political wind-bags and pretend they are inherently superior to men, as some men still behave toward women. But today’s woman is pretty busy mothering, ironing out the Washington mess, bringing home the bacon and defending us. Those are not completely new roles for women but the trending line is upward. Call it evolution or call it change. Women don’t always want instructions from men. And female members of Congress especially don’t react kindly to being left off committees that involve reproduction and the health and welfare of families.
Men must improvise and adapt. Males are not in danger of soon becoming extinct. We are still useful now and then, but evolution is making daddy’s old world smaller and smaller while more ground is given to women who want their chance to be something other than mamas surrounded by herds of little cowboys. Some women may even want to run the world. Considering the mess that men sometimes make when they are in charge, the idea is worth serious consideration.
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This column represents alternative thoughts to other published columns in the Crossville Chronicle. "We the People" is published each Wednesday. Opinions expressed in "We the People" columns are not necessarily those of the Crossville Chronicle publisher, editor or staff. For more information, contact John Wund, editor, at jwund@frontiernet.net.
Opinion
We the People: There will still be mamas and cowboys
- Opinion
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LION AND THE LAMB: More than meets the eye
It was a quiet Saturday afternoon, and my wife Sheral suggested I join her on a shopping trip. In Crossville Sheral went inside a store and I stayed outside looking at the bargain specials. My mind was in neutral, so I almost missed the little boy’s question. He was about seven or eight, evidently had just seen his first Amish family, and they had seemed very strange to him.
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WE THE PEOPLE: No time to govern
Bob Dole’s tribute to George McGovern at the time of his death last year was both beautiful and touching. Speaking of the friendship they shared and the work they did together during their time in the Senate and later in retirement, Dole said McGovern “was one of the finest public servants I ever had the privilege to know.” He went on to say that they knew what they had in common was far more important than their different political philosophies.
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TIDBITS: Be wary of home improvement shows
Sometimes I think home improvement stores need a screening tool of some sort, perhaps some kind of licensing or reference check. For example, before one can walk in and buy that handy dandy table saw, they need three people to vouch that they aren’t likely to cut off a bodily appendage.
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STUMPTALK: Obama’s Benghazi betrayal
“Betrayal” is an ugly word. “To fail or desert especially in a time of need.” Those who pay attention to the actions of Obama are justified in saying we have been betrayed. Think about the IRS and DOJ debacles. Clearly our ambassador and his staff at the Benghazi consulate were betrayed, deserted in their time of mortal need. Obama allowed them to be murdered.
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Lion and the Lamb: When schools go beyond the three Rs
The three Rs, reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic, have always been at the foundation of education in Cumberland County. Recently, however, a fourth R has been added — religion. In permission was granted representatives of The Gideons International to distribute Bibles to fifth-graders in the Brown Elementary School in Crossville, and this took place April 11.
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We the People: Your vote — use it or lose it
A powerful faction within the Republican Party is determined to downsize our federal government. They want to reshape programs that originated to protect common folks like us.
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Stumptalk: The elephant in the room
I recently saw video footage of the president surrounded by the heads of all the services; they had assembled to address the continuing and scandalous problem of sexual harassment in the armed forces. The elephant in the room, of course, was young women in the military serving in close quarters with young men.
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We the People: Reality check, anyone?
Harry Truman had a birthday anniversary in early May. Harry was proud of being from the “show me” state. Republicans who aspire to stop all progress and set the clock back should take a lesson from Truman. He did something besides complain and obstruct progress.
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The Lion and the Lamb: The devil and the IRS
National news these past several weeks has focused on a scandal in the Internal Revenue Service. IRS agents have been targeting Tea Party and other conservative groups for additional scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status. As this story developed over the past several weeks, however, it has become apparent that the IRS problem is much greater than the complaints raised by the Tea Party.
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Tidbits: What's in a name?
Being born in the time before routine ultrasounds, my parents thought I was going to be a boy. I'm not sure if mom was carrying high or low, or if the wedding ring on a string went one way or the other, or what other old wives tale was used to determine I would be a he rather than a she, but that's what they thought and that's how they prepared.
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