I wore my “No Kings” shirt into the grocery store a few days ago. It’s blue and simply says NOPE in large white letters. A crown hangs lopsidedly on the E. Most people have no idea what the shirt means so I rarely get any comments about it one way or another. Thus I was quite surprised when the cashier immediately remarked that she loved my shirt as she casually keyed the prices of the food I had purchased into the register.
I was a bit surprised that she had even noticed what I was wearing so my response was simply to thank her for the compliment but she was not finished with her commentary. She asked me if I had gone to any of the No Kings protests and I mentioned that I had been to three of them so far. I pointed out that there will be one on March 28, but I am uncertain as to whether or not I will be able to attend because I am still recovering from a total knee replacement. She thanked me for protesting in the past and then asked me why I thought that Americans will not vote for a woman. for president.
She went on and on as I quietly thought about the role of women in the United States and across the world who had contributed so much to the betterment of humankind with intelligence and courage. As my mind flipped quickly through their stories I too began to wonder why there is so often mistrust of women in leadership roles but a willingness to give less than bright men the helm of state over and over again.
The truth is that the mythologies that appraise the abilities of women still remain stuck in negative stereotyping. Women are all too often judged with a much higher standard than men. The old trope that women are too emotional to be trusted to make rational decisions is very much alive in much of the world and definitely in the United States. Such thinking led our Founding Fathers to ignore the potential of women to make good choices by choosing to deny them the right to vote. Not even Abigail Adams’ plea to her husband to “not forget the women”was enough to convince the men who creating our new government that women were smart enough to be trusted with a voice in government.
Great Britain, Germany, Mexico, Israel and India have all had women at the helm of government just to name a few, but here in the United Staes we focus more on how a woman laughs or uses emotions to make decisions when considering whether or not she has what it takes to be president. When push comes to shove many would rather place their trust in a male bully with openly racist ideas than a well educated and experienced woman whom they ridiculously fear will bring us to the brink of war with raging hormones.
Let’s face it. Women are still relegated to mostly supporting roles in business and government even as women now outnumber men in achieving higher educational levels. Too many people want to put women back in the roles of housewife and mothers whether they choose that occupation or not. While women indeed have more choices for how to live their lives than ever before, even those who ascend to high ranks in the world of work generally have lower salaries than men at the same level. The truth is that women have to dance backward in heels to demonstrate their abilities.
While I would not deny the progress that women have slowly made in the United States, I do have to wonder why it has taken so long for them to be considered the true equals of men. Obviously women are not as physically strong as men in certain circumstances but their mental acuity measures up at every level. Women are capable of successfully managing everything from a home to a corporation. They may have different and less aggressive styles of leadership but they have demonstrated time and again that in matters of the mind they are as outstanding as their male counterparts.
Perhaps we have not yet found the perfect female candidates to run for office against men but if we would fairly judge those who have tried to lead us we would do well to look at their track records and listen to what they have to say rather than homing in on trivial judgements of superficialities.
I have read countless biographies of great women and as a member of that group as well I have often wondered why they have always had such a difficult time breaking the glass ceiling that feels so much lower than the one that men have conquer.ed Even a brief look at Abigail Adams makes it clear that she was better educated, more well read, and many times more intuitive than her husband John but he became president while she never even had the right to vote.
It is often said that Eleanor Roosevelt was Franklin’s conscience. She is the one who created the idea of talking regularly with the people of the United States. She pushed for the civil rights of all people when he was reluctant to move in that direction.
Even I have been guilty of overlooking the accomplishments of women in my family. I brag about my brother who worked as an engineer for NASA and helped to design the navigation system for the International Space Station. I simply mention that my sister-in-law was a NASA engineer as well. Only recently I was looking at awards my brother had received for his work then I glanced at a massive collection of kudos presented to my sister-in-law. I saw that she had twice as many awards and eventually served as a spokesperson for the international space program. Somehow even I had underestimated her contributions, a tendency that seems to exist for all women.
Thanks to historians we learn over and over again just how much potential lies in the marrow of America’s women. We should constantly encourage our ladies to be the best in whatever they strive to be. It’s way past time for showing our trust of them in whatever roles they choose to attain. We have not yet truly seen how much they are capable of achieving. It is long past time to set aside the unfounded distrust of them. They have so much to offer. We need not fear how well they will do.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 