Phyllis Schlafly - Part II

Ms. Schlafly made one point in her talk that I would like to agree with. She said that from the 1960s and 70s, the goal of the feminists was to degrade the homemaker.

At first, I would have disagreed. However, I had a college degree and worked outside the home. I felt respected and held a position where I was rapidly advancing.

Because my husband took a job in another community, I left my position, but could not find another similar one. I ended up working in a factory until I was laid off.

Soon we were in the midst of diapers, and I chose to stay home until the children went to school. By the time all three were in school, I was considering the possibility of home schooling.

As I prepared to take on this new venture, I heard such things as, “Do you really think you can teach your children all subjects?” or “What training do you have?” or “Won’t your children suffer from not being with other children all day?”

I know that most of these questions came from sincere, caring friends. Some, on the other hand, did not. I could tell that some were meant to discourage and degrade me.

As the years passed, I recognized over and over that being home with my children drew scorn from some. The respect that I once enjoyed was gone. This saddened me, but I drew strength from the fact that I believed I was doing what God wanted me to do. God loves me and that is really all that matters.

So, yes, Ms Schlafly, our society has worked to degrade the homemaker. I experienced that degradation. Such a sad thing too because my best days have been those at home with my family.

Wisdom of Phyllis Schlafly

I had the opportunity to hear Phyllis Schlafly speak yesterday. What an inspiration! Whether you agree with her politics or not, she encourages one to know what is important and work toward that goal.

Phyllis lived through the depression so she understands what it takes to get by during the hard times. Still, she proclaims that women have it better in the USA than anywhere in the world. I believe she is right.

During her talk Phyllis listed several ‘lies’ that permeate our society about feminism. I am not going to go through and defend/oppose those points. Her positions, which she expounds upon in her book The Flip Side of Feminism, made me realize that often in society we hear statements made so many times that we tend to accept/believe them without checking them out.

Also, we tend to do more accepting when we are in agreement with the particular point of view. Maybe that is the time we should review our own perspective – to be assured we have valid ground to stand on. Reminds me of the Thessalonians who, after hearing Paul, went home to search the Scriptures to see if those things were true.

We have access to many speakers and a multitude of books and magazines. It is more important than ever to check – “to see if these things are so.”