Feminism: Or... Keeping the Lights On -- Soc
*
Maureen Dowd offers this retrospective on what she considers the modern retreat from feminism. Personally, I'm a feminist. And a proud one. There are moral and ethical reasons to support the equality of women and men (feminism), but there's also a very simple, selfish reason to do so.
Simply stated, if we give up half of our most brilliant minds by restricting their opportunities and potential, then we also give up half of our greatest scientists, artists, inventors, leaders, writers and so on who could otherwise illuminate our lives and in many cases save them.
I don't ever want to get an advantage over this girl or that women if the same system that promotes such inequality one day fails to offer me the cure to cancer or some other disease... because the person who should have made that breakthrough never got their scholarship or their tenure due to some form of inequality. I don't want to have the lights go out because the scientist who should have discovered an ideal source of alternative energy never got the job. I don't want to die on an operating table because the guy opening me up wasn't nearly as good as the woman who should have been there in his stead.
Quite simply, people should get earn their positions and status based on merit, not gender. Or race. Or inherited wealth or connections. Sexual equality is an obvious issue to most people because it's inescapable. No matter how you try to cloister yourself or eliminate other differences, there will always be two sexes who have to live with each other and get along as best they can. And hopefully gain from each others' differences, rather than merely tolerating them. You can try to retreat from that reality, but you'll quickly find there's nowhere to go. Unless you plan to hide in your room, and hope the lights stay on regardless.
Future Imperative
Maureen Dowd offers this retrospective on what she considers the modern retreat from feminism. Personally, I'm a feminist. And a proud one. There are moral and ethical reasons to support the equality of women and men (feminism), but there's also a very simple, selfish reason to do so.
Simply stated, if we give up half of our most brilliant minds by restricting their opportunities and potential, then we also give up half of our greatest scientists, artists, inventors, leaders, writers and so on who could otherwise illuminate our lives and in many cases save them.
I don't ever want to get an advantage over this girl or that women if the same system that promotes such inequality one day fails to offer me the cure to cancer or some other disease... because the person who should have made that breakthrough never got their scholarship or their tenure due to some form of inequality. I don't want to have the lights go out because the scientist who should have discovered an ideal source of alternative energy never got the job. I don't want to die on an operating table because the guy opening me up wasn't nearly as good as the woman who should have been there in his stead.
Quite simply, people should get earn their positions and status based on merit, not gender. Or race. Or inherited wealth or connections. Sexual equality is an obvious issue to most people because it's inescapable. No matter how you try to cloister yourself or eliminate other differences, there will always be two sexes who have to live with each other and get along as best they can. And hopefully gain from each others' differences, rather than merely tolerating them. You can try to retreat from that reality, but you'll quickly find there's nowhere to go. Unless you plan to hide in your room, and hope the lights stay on regardless.
Future Imperative
posted by Ralph Cerchione | Monday, October 31, 2005
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home