Moms are Remodeling the House…in the USA

Posted: October 25, 2010 | Author: HumanPersuasion | Filed under: About Human Persuasion, Politics | Leave a comment »

“You…don’t wanna mess with moms who are rising up.”

I heard Sarah Palin say this line on the radio yesterday.

And while there’s a motherly metamorphosis going on, did anybody notice how revolutionary this statement was?

The greatest thing about the USA (and Mrs. Palin’s above comment) is that she can say it, knowing full well that there are only peaceful inclinations in the electorate.

There are:

• women/moms who are freshly engaging political issues of concern to them…and others who don’t like her or what she stands for, or her accent
• and the US men…those standing with her in principle and those working against her on issues

Here in America, a candidate’s remarks don’t lead to physical violence in their bid for office. That is not a major concern in US politics, because Americans peacefully move through elections.

Does Talking To “Moms” Ignore Men?

One question is, has it been a smart strategy for Mama Palin to talk so directly to women in her run for office, and thereby (in a gender sense), possibly alienate men?

I know Female Marketer extraordinaire Michele Miller would probably think Palin has a fine election strategy…as Miller makes money showing businesses how best to attract ONLY the female mind.

Is reaching out to women and not men specifically, really Palin’s strategy? Probably not. Actually I’m sure it’s not.

But after hearing that one line of hers yesterday on the radio, I started considering this post.

I know I tend to not go where lots of women are. I just don’t want a manicure, makeup or a midwife.

Has Palin had this experience at her rallies? More women attendees than men? I don’t know.

I’m sure there are plenty of men who’d respond to the principles she stands for because admittedly…a Republican rally is anything but a gynecologist office.

American Gender Standards

I don’t know a man who doesn’t love women in general. Men love everything about women.

That’s a good standard.

But I also don’t know a man who wants a woman to protect him, as she stands face-to-face with his enemy.

And I know plenty of men who would like a woman to stand next to him (out of harm’s way), while he stands face-to-face with her enemy.

Biblical Gender Distinction

In the Bible GOD is associated with the man, not the woman. If you’re wondering “Why did He choose to do that?” that’s an interesting question. Because after all, He made them both, male and female.

GOD has all qualities of men and women. He is androgynous. The major biblical gender distinction for Him is established immediately in the first verse of the first book, Gen. 1:1.

“In the beginning GOD created the heavens and the earth.”

The Hebrew word for ‘GOD’ is ‘Elohim,’ meaning literally ‘The Strong Ones.’

In the beginning The Strong Ones created the heavens and the earth.

Now bring this introductory line & spiritual principle down to our existence: physical strength readily separates men from women.

But according to the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians 3:28, there is neither man nor woman in Christ; so it is only in an intellectually enlightened culture such as America where we can act like this same kind of gender androgyny holds true for the masses of the world.

But it doesn’t.

In our technologically savvy land, physical strength isn’t as necessary as in other parts of the world.

When more Americans were watching for the harvest moon (and feeding the rest of the world in the 20th Century by the way), the idea of a woman running for President would have been laughable. Was that because physical strength was what helped drive a more agricultural economy?

None of this is to say that in both biblical (heavenly) and social contexts (earthly), men and women aren’t absolutely equal in opportunity…just not in strength.

Will the World Respond to a Woman?

Are men and women equal in the type of mass response drawn? Maybe so here in “philosophically superior USA.” Even still, I don’t hurry to be where lots of women are.

Remember though, a political rally is no nail salon.

What’s just as important (and maybe  more so) is what would be the mass world response to a President Palin? Because you wouldn’t even get east of Africa before realizing world response to women is unlike our response…which is filled with years of Western values.

Americans like the idea of enlightening the world in how we value the person, no matter the gender, ethnicity, etc. Does the son of a Kenyan having ALL the power of the greatest military on earth ring a bell? His name is President Barack Obama.

Does History Favor a President Palin?

Having said the above, I still think history favors Palin (or another strong woman) becoming President some day.

Why? Because two of our “brother nations” produced women leadership at key times…like Margaret Thatcher of England & Golda Meir of Israel.

Oct. 12, 1984 Thatcher spoke at a Conservative Conference after the IRA bombed it; she insisted the conference not be canceled, but continue anyway:

“The bomb attack on the Grand Hotel early this morning was first and foremost an inhuman, undiscriminating attempt to massacre innocent unsuspecting men and women…and the fact that we are gathered here now—shocked, but composed and determined—is a sign not only that this attack has failed, but that all attempts to destroy democracy by terrorism will fail.“

And Golda Meir of Israel:

“We don’t thrive on military acts. We do them because we have to, and thank God we are efficient. “

I don’t know how the world of TODAY responds to the force and strength of female leaders like these, at least not without them having strong male counterparts in allied nations (Ronald Reagan & Richard Nixon are they for the above two women).

But when I think of a woman leading, in isolation from some complimentary male power, I can’t help but call to mind Kurt Vonnegut:

“The only missile they can ever think of throwing at anybody is a ball or a bridal bouquet. “

(-Bluebeard, p. 239)

Vonnegut poetically recognized that force and strength aren’t the gift of women.

Gift of Women

What is the gift of women?

Love, beauty tranquility, and insightful intellect are just a few I treasure.

“Women are a decorative sex.”

(-Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, p 51)

Whereas men have a tendency to be more aggressive, loud or even coarse, women are not.

Ladies tend to be far more agreeable, quiet and smooth with language.

Aggression, violence and dominance aren’t traits in the female playbook.

I don’t know what precisely the future holds for women at the role of Commander-in-Chief.

I feel certain she will disembark Air Force One someday.

And the First Gentleman will descend behind her.

“Whether women are better than men I cannot say – but I can say they are certainly no worse.”

-Golda Meir

PS: It’s true I admit it…I do go where women go; I’d go into a local Anthropologie clothing store in a second to look for my wife a dress.

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