Friday, April 08, 2011

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.”

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1 Comments:

At 11:07 AM, Anonymous j said...

Hi Sheila,

I had planned to go hear Phylis but forgot all about it when my surgery got delayed. I heard her years ago, in the early 1970s at a Christian Anti-Communism Crusade in Milwaukee to which my Social Studies colleague and I took a couple of very bright students.

You might guess that my perspective and Phylis' don't align at very many points. But I agree that there is a "flip-side" to feminism.

It is interesting that I'm drawn to women who are, even though they don't label themselves so, feminist. They are so in the sense that they believe in full rights for women and equal pay. I think my mother was one of those and so is my wife. The woman I colaborated with on drama for many years was also a very "strong" woman in all the senses that I admire. I worked with many female teachers and union advocates who understood how to value their womanliness without demeaning manliness.

I have a feeling the Phylis Schafly was that kind of woman too in terms of her seeking to be heard and seeking to be a presence in the world. I think, somehow, her message became so strident in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, that she was seen as an opponent of women's rights. I would like to have heard her and see if time and aging had softened the edges of her anti-feminish. I would hope so. I think it has softened the edges of a lot of my opinions, perhaps not enough to satisfy some folks, but I'm really aiming to please on One Someone.

I'm feeling better everyday as relates to the incisions. I'm hoping to see more progress on the other aspects of heart function.

 

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