WE’VE COME A LONG WAY BABY

Lately the newspapers and airwaves are full of comments about the new "War on Women".  In this case it's primarily concern about a  war on women's reproductive rights, but in the not too distant past, the war was raging about many aspects of women's lives.  That's the fear of many who remember the "bad old days",  that we're regressing little by little back into those unenlightened times.

I admit, unfortunately I'm old enough to have lived through some of that history.

I had the privilege of meeting Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem, and had three unpleasant encounters with an amazingly nasty, foul mouthed Phyllis Schlafly.

I marched for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in Peoria and Springfield, and lobbied the Illinois General Assembly, along with busloads of farm women bearing baskets of homemade bread to soften them up.  Then we watched in frustration as ratification failed.

Four decades ago, my male pastor informed me that women would never be allowed to enter the ministry.  If they wanted to serve God, they should teach in a parochial school.  For some unknown reason, it also took a male reproductive organ to light candles, serve on council, (unless you wanted to be the secretary), and pass an offering plate.  Now I have been blessed to have had a woman for my pastor.

No matter what the weather, girls had to wear dresses to school and church.  They also didn’t cut grass, take out the garbage, or have organized sports.  Those were boy things.  The only decent options presented to high school girls for non- homemaking careers were teaching and nursing.

A survey I conducted for one of my women’s studies classes at ISU back in the early seventies concurred with the prevailing attitudes that people wouldn’t use a woman lawyer, and would only go to a woman doctor for less serious ailments. 

Once, in high school, I was surprised to find myself in the non-college track English class.  My previous teacher, tracked me down, took me aside and told me I didn’t belong there, get out now.  I went to my advisor, only to have her tell me that it wasn’t necessary for a woman to go to college, that she could have a fulfilled life with a high school education.  Just find a man.  She advised me to take home economics.  I bugged them until they changed my class schedule, but it wasn’t easy.

At college, I once peeked at my records while my advisor was out of the room.  Imagine my surprise when I saw that when I told my high school advisor I wanted to try pre-law, he put in my records I wanted to be a legal secretary.  I had never taken a secretarial class in my life.  I have the utmost respect for secretaries, but that was not a skill set I had.

I remember when my mom found out that the man who held her managerial job previously, received a salary twice as large as hers. She confronted her boss and he said,” Why do you think we hired a woman? We can pay you less.” She went to the State’s Attorney for justice and was patronized and informed, “that’s how life is”.

I remember the “shot heard round the world” when Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in the tennis “battle of the sexes”.

I could reminisce for pages, but I don’t have enough room.  Suffice it to say, as they said back then, “we’ve come a long way baby.”

But, we’re not there yet.  Women are apathetic about their rights, not appreciating the hard won battles of the past.  If they’re not diligent, those rights could slip away.  They still receive an average of 80 cents to a man’s dollar in the workplace.  The glass ceiling is above their heads, only now in stealth form, and just the thought of a woman running for president brings all the sexists out of the woodwork.  Lawmakers seem more adamant about laws protecting the flag, or English, than laws protecting women, especially our poor sisters.

So, as the new "War on Women" heats up during this election year, let’s remember the old adage, “Those who ignore the mistakes of the past, are bound to repeat them in the future.”

      

Plastic Peeve

On the front page of the Peoria Journal Star today, a headline announced that legislation is being considered to do away with plastic shopping bags.

May I comment?

Whoo hoo!

Consider my pet peeve, the plastic shopping bag.  I hate them.

On a personal level, they’re a pain.  They fall over in the car, dumping groceries to roll around in the back, driving me nuts.  Baggers insist on putting just a couple items in each bag, leaving me with an army of the things to load and unload, and then I’m stuck with them.  They multiply at night when no one is looking, then jump out and attack whenever I try to walk past their storage area.

I’ve stared at what I thought was a cool bird for long periods of time before realizing that it was just a white or brown plastic bag stuck in a tree.  And, as dumb as that sounds, I was glad to learn that it’s a common mistake.  “Bird Watcher’s Digest” has had several articles about those blasted bags being the nemesis of bird watchers.

If you’ve ever paid attention as you drive the country roads in Central Illinois, there are plastic bags stuck in trees and bushes in unbelievable numbers.  Just look around, you’ll be amazed. Those ubiquitous plastic shopping bags are everywhere.  They are multiplying in the wild and we need thin the herd. 

On an environmental level, studies estimate that Americans alone use over use over 84 billion plastic bags annually.  Besides being unsightly roadside attractions, they take hundreds of years to break down as they flap from trees, clog storm drains, float in the breeze, fill the bellies, and kill animals that mistake them for food, and clutter landfills.  As they decompose, tiny toxic bits seep into the waterways and the earth, poisoning the planet for hundreds of years to come.

Plastic bags are made from oil, gas, and coal by-products, wasting resources and polluting the Earth by their production.

So, next time the bagger asks paper or plastic, get a jump on the legislators and say paper, or better yet say “No” bag.  Many stores now sell canvas reusable bags, or bring any canvas bag from home.  If you’re stuck with plastic bags, many stores, such as Krogers, have recycling bins inside their front doors.  Consider recycling instead of filling up your local landfill.

With lots of tiny steps in the right direction, we can get closer to the goal of getting rid of those darn bags, before the legislation wheels even start to churn.

Congress Wants Your Church to Spend $50,000?

Holy Moly -Congress Wants Your Church to Spend $50,000?

The lines at our local food pantries are long enough, but if the members of our illustrious House have their way, they could get a lot longer.

The House of Representatives just proposed to cut more than $169 billion from SNAP, formerly the food stamps program. Here's the best part, some representatives argued that feeding hungry people is really the "work of the churches".

These representatives are essentially saying that every church across America, big, small, and tiny, needs to come up with an extra $50,000 dedicated to feeding people, every year for the next 10 years,  to make up for these cuts. The Hartford Institute for Religion and Research estimates there are 335,000 religious congregations in the United States. If the proposals by the House of Representatives to cut SNAP by $133.5 billion and $36 billion are enacted, each congregation will have to spend approximately $50,000 to feed those who would see a reduction or loss of benefits.  And, that doesn't count the volunteer hours involved.

Really? How much volunteer time and money do these guys think we all have! They are so out of touch with everyday people that what they believe has no foothold in reality!

 

Our food pantry at my church has been in existance since 1983. Many of the same volunteers have given countless hours for 30 years. Our hope and prayer is that the need goes down, not up! We really don't have the energy to do this forever! It is impossible (unless no one is working at a job at your church) to get a steady stream of volunteers and new faces (so that the regulars don't get burnt out), to work for free. Do any of these guys in the House, (and I say guys literally) ever volunteer on a regular basis? If they did, they wouldn't foist new responsibilities on the already over extended. 

 

Most of the churches of this nation do a yeomans job of honoring Matthew 25:31-46, by their comments, the House members are disrespecting that commitment.  Shame on them! 

Earth Day 2012

In case you missed it, or even if you didn’t, the nation celebrated “Earth Day 2012” on Sunday April 22nd. There were many local and national events on that day, and there are more to come through out the next couple of weeks.

I admit I’m old enough to remember the first “Earth Day” in 1970. Actually, a short story I wrote for an “Earth Day” writing contest sponsored by ISU around 1973 was the first time I received compensation for my writing. My story, titled “Unbalanced”, won first place in the fiction category, and I received a whopping $5.00.

In 1969, US Senator Gaylord Nelson, a Democrat from Wisconsin, came up with the idea of “Earth day”. He was concerned that across the country, evidence of environmental degradation was overwhelming, and everyone noticed except the political establishment. The environmental issue was not on the nation's political agenda. People were concerned, but the politicians weren’t. He thought that if he could tap into the concerns of the public, and direct the student anti-war energy into the environmental cause, he could generate demonstrations across the country that would force the issue onto the national political scene. At a conference in 1969, Senator Nelson announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a national grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment. The result of his announcement was more than he could have imagined. Inquiries poured into his office from all across the country. When the first “Earth Day” was over, 20 million demonstrators and thousands of schools and local communities had participated.

I can remember some of the demonstrations on the ISU campus during the early 70s. The protests themselves were pretty exciting, but the added entertainment provided by the “streakers” made those events even more memorable. However, that’s another story.

Forty two years later, we’re not only still celebrating “Earth day”, but its message is as relevant as ever. We continue to consume or destroy our air, water, soil, forests, minerals, rivers, lakes, oceans, scenic beauty, wildlife habitats and bio-diversity. This is not a sustainable situation in the long term. We can stick our heads in the sand for a while, but eventually our bottoms are going to notice a problem. When it’s all gone, we’ll have nothing left except a wasteland.

Maybe, in honor of “Earth Day” you’d like to resolve to personally have less of a negative impact on the earth, but aren’t sure how to go about it. Here are some simple things you can do to begin the process of being a better environmental steward.
• Lower your thermostat. Buy a programmable thermostat.
• Reuse your water bottle. Reuse everything at least once, especially plastics, like disposable plates, silverware, and cups. Also baggies. • Start a compost pile in your back yard.
• Buy foods locally if you can. If it’s in season, buy it at farmer’s markets and produce stands.
• Buy compact fluorescent light bulbs.
• Recycle your newspapers, glass, and anything else you can. Things that we can recycle locally include; newspapers, glass bottles and jars, tin and aluminum containers, plastic, mixed waste paper (cardboard, phone books, magazines, junk mail, office paper, brown bags); and used motor oil. Also, electronics and appliances.
• Buy products that use recyclable materials whenever possible, or products made from recycled materials.
• Bring your own bags to the grocery store. Given a choice between plastic and paper, opt for paper. If you must use plastic grocery bags, recycle them for doggie poop bags or for small trashcan liners.
• Consider organic cleaning products like vinegar, borax, and baking soda.
• If you have a baby, try using cloth diapers.
• Consider buying a fuel-efficient car or a hybrid.
• Recycle your technology. Retro Tech in Peoria accepts your old electronics and appliances for recycling.
• Switch to fair trade or shade coffee. (Bird friendly)
• Plant trees.
• Reduce waste. Throw fewer things out. If you have clothes, furniture, household goods, toys etc. that you don’t want anymore, don’t drag them to the curb. Take them to one of the many places in town that accepts used items, such as “The Church Mouse” on Main St. in Peoria. This is a store full of pre-loved items run by the Lutheran Women of Greater Peoria, who use the profits to help non profit agencies, such as Lutheran Social Services.

So, on “Earth Day” and beyond, let’s remember the words of Chief Seattle, Chief of the Suquamish people. “This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.”
Amen!