Undoubtedly there have been some big stories to grace the airwaves and newspapers of the land this year. I know with all the information that comes our way, it's hard to keep track of all of it, let alone categorize it by importance. Was it the Union busting and subsequent mass protests in Wisconsin? No. Was it the roller coaster ride, known as the stock market? No. Was it the unofficial start to the presidential campaign season and all the whoop la over the candidates? No. Was it the threat of a government shut-down last spring or the huge debt ceiling debacle this summer? No. Was it the killing of Bin Laden? No. Or, Was it the on-going and record number of service people killed in Afghanistan this year? No. Was it the 10th Anniversary of 9/11? No. How about an unemployment rate stuck at 9.1%? No. In my opinion it was none of these items, though each one is important.
The big news I'm referring to broke about two weeks ago. The United States Census Bureau reported that, based on the latest census data, our nation's poverty rate increased to 15.1%. This item was reported in most of the mainstream media. It showed up in the newspapers and even got a mention on the network news shows. It was news for roughly one day. Then, of course, we moved on to the usual reporting about Rick Perry calling Social Security an unconstitutional ponzi scheme; or John Boehner's unwavering support of "job creators"- that elusive bunch who aren't creating any jobs; or what bracelet Michelle Obama was wearing and where she really got it; or President Obama's poll numbers.
In all seriousness, I believe this is the most important news story for this reason: the rise in the poverty rate in this, the richest country in the world, will negatively effect American life for all of us, for a generation or two, at least. Sometimes I think it's hard for us to understand what this actually means. However the implications of this news deserves our utmost attention. I hope we won't just gloss over this issue and toss it aside like yesterday's news. Because unlike many news stories- this one is tomorrow's news as well. We won't feel it all at once, but the effects will creep into our lives in ways that effect all of us one way or another.
Consider what these numbers mean to people in real life. In a country of just over three hundred million, over 42 million of us live in poverty. That is roughly equal to the total populations of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Montana and Arizona. This is the highest level of poverty since 1993. Last year alone 2.6 million more people became impoverished. That's as many people (total) as live in the State of Nevada. That's just the increase in one year. Poverty increased for every racial and ethnic group except Asian Americans. Even more disturbing is that childhood poverty is at 20% compared to general population rates of 15.1%. One in every five children in this, the wealthiest country, is poor. Among African Americans the childhood poverty rate is 40%. This is both shocking and disgraceful.
We tend to absorb numbers and go on our way. Statistics are interesting to a point, but then we drift away from them without realizing the human agony they represent. Perhaps the agony of real life poverty and despair is too much to dwell on. But, in these numbers we should see a grave warning to all of us. When this kind of trend continues we will experience an overall decline in many areas. As poverty increases the standard of living of a whole nation slowly erodes. Education, health care, infrastructure all begin to melt away. We cannot afford to allow our education system to degrade. We already rank a paltry 16th in the world for the proportion of college graduates. And every forecast reinforces the need to have more highly educated people for the jobs of the future. We're headed in the wrong direction.
We also learned from the census report that the median income of Americans has actually gone down 2.3 %. All this has happened while the wealth of the top 2% has increased dramatically. The middle class is shrinking- the poor are increasing in numbers, and the top are accumulating all the wealth. In the midst of this situation the President suggested the millionaires and billionaires pay more taxes- not a ton more- just a rate that goes from a 36% marginal rate to 39%. Three lousy per cent! But the Republican candidates and the House Republicans decided this was "class warfare".
There has already been class warfare in our time. It started about 30 years ago with advent of Reagan's policies. His policies created the greatest wealth disparity in history- until now. The policies of the G.W.Bush presidency pushed it to unbelievable levels. The war is over. The middle class and the poor lost. Today's numbers prove that. But then the poor always lose because this country's balance of power, economically and politically, is measured in money. Those without it rarely win. But, therein lies the warning.
When we look back over the great civilizations and the great empires, we see that greed at the top, and too many have-nots at the bottom, leads to the destruction of those great civilizations. When too many have nothing and too few control too much of the wealth change happens. It is not the peripheral moral issues of the day that decay a people. Those are just the distractions that keep us from dealing with the real issues. Ultimately economic and political justice and fairness define a great people. When 400 families in this country own more wealth than 150 million of us, the situation cries out for radical change. It will inevitably come. It always does when this kind of injustice continues. This many people will not tolerate the injustice. History is very clear on this issue. When this many people are deprived of the necessities of life while the privilidged continue to grab more and more- change comes. Our challenge is to recognize the need for this kind of change and act now to move it forward without the violence that usually accompanies radical change.
I've mentioned before that we are at a cultural crossroads. We must decide what kind of people we want to be. In a land as rich as ours we simply have to develop the will as a people to demand that our leaders work for social justice and against the greed that is hurting so many of us. As of now many of our leaders are owned by the very forces that create and perpetuate these injustices This has to change. This is about our basic values; and more importantly our long-term vision as a people.
Thanks for looking in.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
9/11 Remembered- From a Distance
This event will be one of those where we always remember where we were when we heard the news. Even though I was only in the 3rd grade when we were told of JFK's assassination, I still remember the event, and all the details of my movements, as if it were yesterday. So it was on that Tuesday morning as I was driving to work before 7:00 a.m. our time. The second plane had just crashed into the South Tower, and word was just coming over the car radio that there was a blast at the Pentagon. The news was coming at a frenetic pace, but it was clear this was an event like no other.
I got in to work and immediately went to the Internet to search CNN.com. I was still trying to figure out what just happened and who was behind it. We had staff meetings on Tuesday mornings, so we gathered together at 8:15 in what was the most somber of meetings. No company business today- in fact not much conversation at all as we spent a lot of time just looking at each other. Our Director had family in New York, though not in Manhattan, so she was trying to reach her daughter. Then something was said by a physician on our staff that sticks with me to this day. She just said, "well, there goes our civil liberties". It wasn't meant to be snide or callous. We were all trying to see what tomorrow would look like after this unique tragedy. But it was strangely prophetic.
As the day went on more news kept coming, all of it bad. The towers collapsed. There was no recovery of surviving victims in the buildings. ER's sat empty- no wounded, they were all just dead. The count had not begun, but we knew there would be thousands dead, many firefighters among them. Another hijacked plane had gone down in Pennsylvania. The government was in disarray and no one was even sure where the President was. There was growing fear of additional attacks, all transportation stopped, and we froze in place. Even the weather here went from being a calm sunny morning to being a blustery, dusty day with a haze in the air to match our moods. The country was on edge, stunned with grief, anxious with fear, and somewhat paralyzed by the unknown.
Ten years have passed now and I, like so many others, have tried to understand what this all means for us and the future of our country. The attack revealed a great many things about us as a people. Extraordinarily great things about our culture and our people were revealed- and sadly, some very dark parts of our character were revealed too. I could never cover all that this event means to so many people, but I will look briefly at those aspects that strike me now. I know this for sure: September 11th, 2001 is a date that was the beginning of undeniable change for all of us.
Among the things that we experienced on that day was a sense of unity. This is critically important to remember. It is critical because it seems the loss of unity, in purpose and spirit, is what tears at us most today. But, in the immediate days after the attack that sense of unity was so profound. I think the nations of the world sensed it too. It had been a long time since there was an outpouring of good will towards this country from nations around the globe. Unfortunately, we squandered those feelings instead of building on them.
The events of 9/11 also revealed incredible acts of individual and group heroism and courage. There are literally thousands of stories of Americans coming to the aid of each other. I can't recall another time when we as a nation came to revere and respect the public employees who protect us and rescue us without question everyday. I don't think any of us have viewed firefighters, paramedics, or police the same way since 9/11. Now we call them "first responders" and they are seen so differently than the day before 9/11. They haven't changed- but the way we see them and appreciate them most certainly has. To some extent our feelings about those who serve in the armed forces has changed too. I remember in the days of the Viet Nam war, soldiers could not return to claim the respect and gratitude of the nation. Today we see it differently. We respect those who wear our uniform in ways we did not only a generation ago. We respect the work and the sacrifice, and we don't hold them responsible for the political decisions of others. This is a good thing.
The worst thing about terrorism is, that it works! Tactics like these generate terror. Another word for terror is fear; and fear is a powerful thing that usually results in behaviors we wouldn't ordinarily engage in. Fear reveals things about ourselves we might try to hide deep down, or keep at bay. Fear causes us to be reactive, instead of reflective and measured in our responses. The last ten years have been a study, a text book example, of how to demoralize a people. Our fear led our leaders to direct us into seemingly endless wars. Immediately after 9/11 we went into Afghanistan and promptly liberated the capital city, installed a government and then neglected the rest of the country while off on other missions. We were attacked so we had to attack back, and I would agree that needed to happen in Afghanistan. But then we kept using, in fact embellishing, the images of fear to engage in yet another war in Iraq. This one was all about fear and, as it turned out, deception.
In more reflective times we would never attack a country that did not attack us first,because it would be below the dignity and status of the world's only super-power and greatest democracy. But we did it this time. Our environment of fear permitted us to permit our leaders to wage a war, commit lives and limbs and enormous amounts of money to an endeavor that was based on lies. That war revealed that we would tolerate inhumane treatment of prisoners, rendition of prisoners, and torture. We even waged war in civilian areas, then never bothered counted the dead. At home we trampled on our own civil liberties, with illegal wiretaps, searches, and detentions. When some objected, they said: "if you're not guilty, what do you have to worry about?" But our Constitution was what we needed to worry about. We allowed it because we were afraid. We were so wounded by the attacks of 9/11 that, in many ways, we forgot who we are and what we stand for. Even today the architects, The Cheney's, the Rumsfeld's, and the Bush's still try to justify those actions we call atrocities, when done by others. Instead of holding them to account, we buy their damn books and put them on talk shows.
Another casualty was "the common good" and our civility in the political arena. Politics became about being "with me or against me". If you're "against me" it became normal to question one's loyalty and patriotism. Foreign policy became about "being with us-or against us". In less fearful times our ability to reason, compromise, and be statesmanlike, would have ruled the day. This cost us the compassion and support of other nations. In less fearful times we would have not risked our entire national treasure borrowing the money to fight these wars, then come back in following years to blame the new President because he just put them on the books, instead of pretending like these war debts didn't exist.
I believe the troubles we face now, domestic and foreign, economic, social and political, are a direct result of what happened ten years ago. It was the beginning of a decade of decline, and changes in our national character. Even the hopeful events, and there have been some since 9/11, have been overshadowed by the fear, and our lost sense of what is best about us. We now view this from a distance of ten years. But these events will only be truly understood by historians who examine this period many generations from now. We will need a far greater distance than ten years to understand this one. That's because we are not healed yet- we have not stopped reacting yet- we have not regained our footing and our true character yet. Some of you may see my thoughts as too critical, perhaps even unpatriotic. They aren't. They are meant to be a plea to reclaim our true values. They are meant to remind us that the best of us is reflected in the heroism and humanity among Americans on that day, not the wave of fear that took hold of us in terrorism's wake.
Thanks for looking in.
I got in to work and immediately went to the Internet to search CNN.com. I was still trying to figure out what just happened and who was behind it. We had staff meetings on Tuesday mornings, so we gathered together at 8:15 in what was the most somber of meetings. No company business today- in fact not much conversation at all as we spent a lot of time just looking at each other. Our Director had family in New York, though not in Manhattan, so she was trying to reach her daughter. Then something was said by a physician on our staff that sticks with me to this day. She just said, "well, there goes our civil liberties". It wasn't meant to be snide or callous. We were all trying to see what tomorrow would look like after this unique tragedy. But it was strangely prophetic.
As the day went on more news kept coming, all of it bad. The towers collapsed. There was no recovery of surviving victims in the buildings. ER's sat empty- no wounded, they were all just dead. The count had not begun, but we knew there would be thousands dead, many firefighters among them. Another hijacked plane had gone down in Pennsylvania. The government was in disarray and no one was even sure where the President was. There was growing fear of additional attacks, all transportation stopped, and we froze in place. Even the weather here went from being a calm sunny morning to being a blustery, dusty day with a haze in the air to match our moods. The country was on edge, stunned with grief, anxious with fear, and somewhat paralyzed by the unknown.
Ten years have passed now and I, like so many others, have tried to understand what this all means for us and the future of our country. The attack revealed a great many things about us as a people. Extraordinarily great things about our culture and our people were revealed- and sadly, some very dark parts of our character were revealed too. I could never cover all that this event means to so many people, but I will look briefly at those aspects that strike me now. I know this for sure: September 11th, 2001 is a date that was the beginning of undeniable change for all of us.
Among the things that we experienced on that day was a sense of unity. This is critically important to remember. It is critical because it seems the loss of unity, in purpose and spirit, is what tears at us most today. But, in the immediate days after the attack that sense of unity was so profound. I think the nations of the world sensed it too. It had been a long time since there was an outpouring of good will towards this country from nations around the globe. Unfortunately, we squandered those feelings instead of building on them.
The events of 9/11 also revealed incredible acts of individual and group heroism and courage. There are literally thousands of stories of Americans coming to the aid of each other. I can't recall another time when we as a nation came to revere and respect the public employees who protect us and rescue us without question everyday. I don't think any of us have viewed firefighters, paramedics, or police the same way since 9/11. Now we call them "first responders" and they are seen so differently than the day before 9/11. They haven't changed- but the way we see them and appreciate them most certainly has. To some extent our feelings about those who serve in the armed forces has changed too. I remember in the days of the Viet Nam war, soldiers could not return to claim the respect and gratitude of the nation. Today we see it differently. We respect those who wear our uniform in ways we did not only a generation ago. We respect the work and the sacrifice, and we don't hold them responsible for the political decisions of others. This is a good thing.
The worst thing about terrorism is, that it works! Tactics like these generate terror. Another word for terror is fear; and fear is a powerful thing that usually results in behaviors we wouldn't ordinarily engage in. Fear reveals things about ourselves we might try to hide deep down, or keep at bay. Fear causes us to be reactive, instead of reflective and measured in our responses. The last ten years have been a study, a text book example, of how to demoralize a people. Our fear led our leaders to direct us into seemingly endless wars. Immediately after 9/11 we went into Afghanistan and promptly liberated the capital city, installed a government and then neglected the rest of the country while off on other missions. We were attacked so we had to attack back, and I would agree that needed to happen in Afghanistan. But then we kept using, in fact embellishing, the images of fear to engage in yet another war in Iraq. This one was all about fear and, as it turned out, deception.
In more reflective times we would never attack a country that did not attack us first,because it would be below the dignity and status of the world's only super-power and greatest democracy. But we did it this time. Our environment of fear permitted us to permit our leaders to wage a war, commit lives and limbs and enormous amounts of money to an endeavor that was based on lies. That war revealed that we would tolerate inhumane treatment of prisoners, rendition of prisoners, and torture. We even waged war in civilian areas, then never bothered counted the dead. At home we trampled on our own civil liberties, with illegal wiretaps, searches, and detentions. When some objected, they said: "if you're not guilty, what do you have to worry about?" But our Constitution was what we needed to worry about. We allowed it because we were afraid. We were so wounded by the attacks of 9/11 that, in many ways, we forgot who we are and what we stand for. Even today the architects, The Cheney's, the Rumsfeld's, and the Bush's still try to justify those actions we call atrocities, when done by others. Instead of holding them to account, we buy their damn books and put them on talk shows.
Another casualty was "the common good" and our civility in the political arena. Politics became about being "with me or against me". If you're "against me" it became normal to question one's loyalty and patriotism. Foreign policy became about "being with us-or against us". In less fearful times our ability to reason, compromise, and be statesmanlike, would have ruled the day. This cost us the compassion and support of other nations. In less fearful times we would have not risked our entire national treasure borrowing the money to fight these wars, then come back in following years to blame the new President because he just put them on the books, instead of pretending like these war debts didn't exist.
I believe the troubles we face now, domestic and foreign, economic, social and political, are a direct result of what happened ten years ago. It was the beginning of a decade of decline, and changes in our national character. Even the hopeful events, and there have been some since 9/11, have been overshadowed by the fear, and our lost sense of what is best about us. We now view this from a distance of ten years. But these events will only be truly understood by historians who examine this period many generations from now. We will need a far greater distance than ten years to understand this one. That's because we are not healed yet- we have not stopped reacting yet- we have not regained our footing and our true character yet. Some of you may see my thoughts as too critical, perhaps even unpatriotic. They aren't. They are meant to be a plea to reclaim our true values. They are meant to remind us that the best of us is reflected in the heroism and humanity among Americans on that day, not the wave of fear that took hold of us in terrorism's wake.
Thanks for looking in.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
My Two Daughters... and Gloria Steinem
Ordinarily I would never refer to these very special young women as "my" daughters. In truth, they are far more a product of their mother's influence and fine example than they are mine. They are also the products of a loving extended family and they have been enriched along the way by grandparents, aunts and uncles and caring adults. But as I was developing my thoughts for this article, I felt it would be proper to to use the word "my", in describing my notions on this subject.
Please allow me to introduce my daughters. I don't have their permission to write about them, but I'm sure they would give their old dad some latitude to share his feelings and perceptions about them. My oldest daughter, Erin, is now in her mid-thirties. She is a wife and and a mother. She has two children from her first marriage and now has a step-son with her her husband. I won't bore you with any of the "growing-up" stories about her. She's the kind of person who would love to know we still remember those cute, but embarrassing childhood moments- yet not particularly want them shared with the world.
Erin is also a college graduate and has been working in her chosen profession since she graduated. She works in a rather large Mental Health and Social Service agency that specializes in helping the victims of sexual abuse- often child victims. She is the Intake Coordinator, which means she and her colleague are the first to hear the painful stories, and the horrific details of families seeking treatment and healing. Her job is ensure they get the help they need. I have tremendous respect for her. Not only does she conduct herself in the most professional manner, she has earned the respect of a great many professionals in the social service community. Being part of that community myself, I can only say that she makes me so very proud of her. But the source of my true admiration for her is in the kind of person she has turned out to be. In spite of what some might think is a depressing job, she maintains a positive, hopeful, and respectful attitude towards everyone she encounters. In spite of some personal challenges in her life, she has raised her children so beautifully, and is happily married. She studies the art of parenting, and has committed many self-sacrificing acts to ensure her kids get the best schooling and have a safe, secure, and loving home. She has devoted friends and she would do anything for them, as they would for her. She a complete and wonderful woman.
My younger daughter, Emily, is two years younger than Erin. She too is a wife and mother. She and her husband have a five year old son and they are expecting a new daughter in January. Emily, has always been an outgoing and highly engaging person. She had academic and athletic success in high school, then went on to college. Her path through college took her further from home. She graduated from the Terry School of Business at the University of Georgia. She moved to Portland and managed a small bistro before beginning a career with Sysco Foods. She is also working in her chosen profession and was recently promoted to a management position. I won't tell you any of her childhood foibles either, but I can tell you that her path has led us to very proud of her too.
I've had the chance to see Emily in her professional environment a few times and each time I've been introduced to one of her customers or other managers they go out of their way to tell me what a special person she is. She is rising fast in a very competitive business, and making her mark as only Em can do. Like her sister, she too has made me proud because of the kind of person and parent she is. This is the kid who swore she never have a baby because of "the diaper issue". Now, of course we all see she and her husband being such great parents.
So what does any of this have to do with Gloria Steinem? Gloria Steinem was one of the leaders of the "Women's Liberation" movement of the '60's and '70's. She is a journalist, writer and activist for women's equality. Ms. Steinem began "Ms." magazine and became a leading national voice for women's rights. She is now in her late 70's, but remains a voice for women's rights. It was after watching a documentary about Gloria Steinem that I began to think about my two daughter's lives in the way I'm describing to you now.
Men have often made jokes about the women's movement in this country and resisted it with all their might, as they did the sufferage movement. It was Steinem, Betty Friedan, and Bella Abzug and many, many others who suffered the taunts and the hatred of those who questioned their femininity or sexuality- those who accused them of every vile motive under the sun in advancing the rights of women. But being the father of daughters ought to cause men to have some gratitude for the work that women like Gloria Steinem did on behalf of our (my) daughters. In the paragraphs above I described two women who were able to attend college, begin and flourish in careers of their choosing, and have the freedom to have families without risking either career or family. There was a time not that long ago (within my lifetime) when this would not have been possible. We must remember it has been less than 100 years since women were even recognized as full citizens, with the right to vote in this country.
When I refer to Erin and Emily as "my" daughters it isn't out of a sense of possessing them- it is out of a sense of responsibility to them. I don't view the Women's Movement as an affront to traditional family values as so many claimed then, and some still do today. My family values include the value of my daughters being able to seek higher education and work in a profession they choose; the value of having my daughters being paid a fair and equitable wage, not based on gender; the value of having my daughters be free from sexual harassment in the workplace; and the value of them being able to pursue any goal in life they choose, not being limited to prescribed roles defined by men.
The work that was begun so many years ago is not finished. Institutions, businesses, government, and churches still have not granted full equality to women. Progress is there, but not complete. There is still wage disparity for women. Women still earn only $.78 to every dollar men earn. In an advanced country like ours, there are only 93 women out of 535 in Congress (House and Senate combined) There are only six women Governors out of fifty. There are only 15 Women CEOs amongst the Fortune 500 companies. In less advanced cultures women are totally subjugated by men based on antiquated religious beliefs or barbaric custums, where female genital mutilation is common, or women are subject to honor killings at the whim of a man. Even today in the oldest and largest of the western Christian religions, the Roman Catholic Church, not one women can, or ever has, held a position of leadership, let alone ministry.
So there is still a great deal to be accomplished. It is up to all of us to keep pushing. They are your daughters and they are my daughters. If we fathers say we want the best for our daughters then we have a responsibility to work for true equality for women. You see, now I have a granddaughter and another on the way. I hope progress towards equality will march forward in their lifetime too.
Thanks for looking in.
Please allow me to introduce my daughters. I don't have their permission to write about them, but I'm sure they would give their old dad some latitude to share his feelings and perceptions about them. My oldest daughter, Erin, is now in her mid-thirties. She is a wife and and a mother. She has two children from her first marriage and now has a step-son with her her husband. I won't bore you with any of the "growing-up" stories about her. She's the kind of person who would love to know we still remember those cute, but embarrassing childhood moments- yet not particularly want them shared with the world.
Erin is also a college graduate and has been working in her chosen profession since she graduated. She works in a rather large Mental Health and Social Service agency that specializes in helping the victims of sexual abuse- often child victims. She is the Intake Coordinator, which means she and her colleague are the first to hear the painful stories, and the horrific details of families seeking treatment and healing. Her job is ensure they get the help they need. I have tremendous respect for her. Not only does she conduct herself in the most professional manner, she has earned the respect of a great many professionals in the social service community. Being part of that community myself, I can only say that she makes me so very proud of her. But the source of my true admiration for her is in the kind of person she has turned out to be. In spite of what some might think is a depressing job, she maintains a positive, hopeful, and respectful attitude towards everyone she encounters. In spite of some personal challenges in her life, she has raised her children so beautifully, and is happily married. She studies the art of parenting, and has committed many self-sacrificing acts to ensure her kids get the best schooling and have a safe, secure, and loving home. She has devoted friends and she would do anything for them, as they would for her. She a complete and wonderful woman.
My younger daughter, Emily, is two years younger than Erin. She too is a wife and mother. She and her husband have a five year old son and they are expecting a new daughter in January. Emily, has always been an outgoing and highly engaging person. She had academic and athletic success in high school, then went on to college. Her path through college took her further from home. She graduated from the Terry School of Business at the University of Georgia. She moved to Portland and managed a small bistro before beginning a career with Sysco Foods. She is also working in her chosen profession and was recently promoted to a management position. I won't tell you any of her childhood foibles either, but I can tell you that her path has led us to very proud of her too.
I've had the chance to see Emily in her professional environment a few times and each time I've been introduced to one of her customers or other managers they go out of their way to tell me what a special person she is. She is rising fast in a very competitive business, and making her mark as only Em can do. Like her sister, she too has made me proud because of the kind of person and parent she is. This is the kid who swore she never have a baby because of "the diaper issue". Now, of course we all see she and her husband being such great parents.
So what does any of this have to do with Gloria Steinem? Gloria Steinem was one of the leaders of the "Women's Liberation" movement of the '60's and '70's. She is a journalist, writer and activist for women's equality. Ms. Steinem began "Ms." magazine and became a leading national voice for women's rights. She is now in her late 70's, but remains a voice for women's rights. It was after watching a documentary about Gloria Steinem that I began to think about my two daughter's lives in the way I'm describing to you now.
Men have often made jokes about the women's movement in this country and resisted it with all their might, as they did the sufferage movement. It was Steinem, Betty Friedan, and Bella Abzug and many, many others who suffered the taunts and the hatred of those who questioned their femininity or sexuality- those who accused them of every vile motive under the sun in advancing the rights of women. But being the father of daughters ought to cause men to have some gratitude for the work that women like Gloria Steinem did on behalf of our (my) daughters. In the paragraphs above I described two women who were able to attend college, begin and flourish in careers of their choosing, and have the freedom to have families without risking either career or family. There was a time not that long ago (within my lifetime) when this would not have been possible. We must remember it has been less than 100 years since women were even recognized as full citizens, with the right to vote in this country.
When I refer to Erin and Emily as "my" daughters it isn't out of a sense of possessing them- it is out of a sense of responsibility to them. I don't view the Women's Movement as an affront to traditional family values as so many claimed then, and some still do today. My family values include the value of my daughters being able to seek higher education and work in a profession they choose; the value of having my daughters being paid a fair and equitable wage, not based on gender; the value of having my daughters be free from sexual harassment in the workplace; and the value of them being able to pursue any goal in life they choose, not being limited to prescribed roles defined by men.
The work that was begun so many years ago is not finished. Institutions, businesses, government, and churches still have not granted full equality to women. Progress is there, but not complete. There is still wage disparity for women. Women still earn only $.78 to every dollar men earn. In an advanced country like ours, there are only 93 women out of 535 in Congress (House and Senate combined) There are only six women Governors out of fifty. There are only 15 Women CEOs amongst the Fortune 500 companies. In less advanced cultures women are totally subjugated by men based on antiquated religious beliefs or barbaric custums, where female genital mutilation is common, or women are subject to honor killings at the whim of a man. Even today in the oldest and largest of the western Christian religions, the Roman Catholic Church, not one women can, or ever has, held a position of leadership, let alone ministry.
So there is still a great deal to be accomplished. It is up to all of us to keep pushing. They are your daughters and they are my daughters. If we fathers say we want the best for our daughters then we have a responsibility to work for true equality for women. You see, now I have a granddaughter and another on the way. I hope progress towards equality will march forward in their lifetime too.
Thanks for looking in.
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