In order to build an understanding of that which I'm referring; let me explain. I remember sitting down with my Grandmother and discussing sex and women's issues. She told me in her day, women weren't allowed to vote. She was one of a number of women who chained themselves to a courthouse door in Minneapolis during that period to campaign for the right to vote. Voting for women was passed in America on August 26, 1920. Things we take so casually and matter of fact now were once won with perservance.
Today, we sit around tables of women to discuss how Sen. Clinton's gender affected her campaign and how her candidacy has shaped the national conversation about the role of women.
We casually discuss sex and motherhood or the work force. We've come a long way or have we? Look around and you will find it's still a man's world. Women are still oppressed. For the most part, it is subtle oppression. Some are not allowed to think or talk for themselves. Even in America, there are places where women are not allowed to think or talk for themselves. Men making decisions that affect a woman's life without her input. Don't think so? Think about El Dorado, Texas in April of this year. Think about Elizabeth Smart's abduction. Oprah said she had to learn to take care of finances personally and she wouldn't be where she is today if she hadn't.
It's not some far off place where women are being oppressed, it's right here in America. It might be in your very own home. I don't care if you're a stay at home Mom, young woman, business woman or entrepreneur woman, we as women need to empower ourselves. If you're a man reading this blog, it could be your Mother, sister or daughter. Look at these statistics:
* 1 out of every 2 marriages ends in divorce and on average, in the first year after the divorce, the woman’s standard of living drops 73% ,
* Of the elderly living in poverty, 3 out of 4 are women, yet 80% of them were not poor when their husbands were alive,
* 58% of baby female boomers have an average of only $10,000 set aside for retirement,
* 47% of women over the age of 50 are single,
* Nearly 7 out of 10 women will at some time live in poverty during their life,
* 90% of all women have sole responsibility for their finances some time during their lifetime, yet 79% of all women have not planned for this.
The struggle of all our people is to free ourselves mentally, financially and morally from the "oughtness" and of the mainstream oppressive value system of the American life. For many women the struggle is for actual physical and spiritual survival. These battles cannot be waged by women alone but are intrinsically bound together with our sisters and brothers. Many sisters have not understood this phenomenon and perceive that women are merely perpetuating machoism because they have not been so quick to denounce their interdependence with their men. Men and women need to work out new supportive and freeing roles with each other, but that will have to happen within the constraint of the struggle for justice in America. We need to realize we are helping each other achieve all we can be. Yes, men if you're reading this, you need to debunk the male "macho" ego and get a supportive one. Women reading this, need to listen, regardless of what role you play, it is freedom for humanity for all to be equal. For justice to be done outside of America, it needs to begin with America. The power of one to change.
It takes courage to change. Just think . . . Just one drop of water can cause a ripple effect that courses across the terrain of water. Just as our words positive or negative can makes such an impact on the people around us. Our thoughts and actions that we have can plow a course through the universal consciousness. Wow what power we have when we control our thoughts and words and speak with wisdom, love and clarity for human kind.
I have a dream that one day any woman regardless of ancestory will be able to live without the fear of oppression. We cannot move forward alone. Men can not survive without us. So we need to learn to work together in moving forward. Our future depends upon it.
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