In August 1920, women won the right to vote. By 1970, only one woman was in Congress. This year more than 300 women are running for federal offices and more than 30,000 have shown interest in running for all offices in the country.
The repudiation of women in 2016 by selecting a corrupt man over a fully qualified woman was eye-opening; so eye-opening that millions of women protested and are now campaigning for offices all over the U.S. There will be many victories for these women and some will be life changing. Black women are the most highly educated segment in America and their leadership can only bring a new level of equality and fairness in local, state and federal offices.
Change is never easy. Just as Obama’s two-term presidency and Hillary’s presidential campaign stirred every bigot, racist and misogynist to display their Sauron nature; these groundbreaking female candidates are being drenched by that same hate spew.
Men have ruled all aspects of the world for more than 2000 years, mostly with an iron fist. Wars have been almost continual and now our earth and atmosphere are almost ruined; in our country, millions are starving, millions more live in poverty, our nation’s infrastructure is crumbling and our society is teetering on the edge.
Instead of applauding and encouraging women to take positions of leadership for the sake of us all, male politicians demand that they be left in power to make the decisions, even when those decisions are disastrous.
This is a time for deep introspection and action. Now is the time for all men of courage to support strong women who are capable leaders. For men to be free, they must reject ingrained patriarchal patterns.
It is true women and men have different priorities and ways of interacting with one another. For generations, in order to be in the “game,” women had to play by men’s rules. This time, women are representing their authentic selves and it seems to be a winning strategy.
When asked, “What can men do to help?” Michelle Obama simply responded, “Be better.”
What does this have to do with free parking?