More Random Thoughts

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If you haven't seen the movie Joy, it's worth your time. It's the true story of the world's first in vitro fertilization baby in 1978. Robert Edwards, Patrick Steptoe and Jean Purdy were a devoted team that worked tirelessly to ten years to help infertile women conceive. At the very end, the commentary said that while the men received recognition and awards for their efforts, Jean Purdy was excluded and did not receive any acknowledgement until 2015, many years after her death.

Reading that sent me down that rabbit hole where I have been before, reading and learning about the many dozens of women who have given us great literature, scientific discoveries, art and research. Why were they excluded from history books and college courses? Is it fear or jealousy or both? Is that exclusion still going on or has it stopped? I've actually no idea. 

In Charlotte Whitton's words, "Women have to do twice as well as men in order to be thought half as good. Fortunately, that is not difficult."

Everyone thought Fred Astaire was such a wonderful dancer, but Ginger Rogers did everything he did backwards and in heels. Does that make her the better dancer? Maybe not but you have to admit, just as good. 

It's been nearly two hundred years since Elizabeth Cady Stanton held the first Women's Rights Convention. And here we are. Two steps forward, sometimes three steps back. I do wonder when we'll get on an equal footing. Not in my lifetime I'm sure, but I'm hopeful for my granddaughters. And my great granddaughters. What I do know is that the men and women in my family stand firmly for equality and equity for all, so there is hope.

And speaking of hope, I just watched Abraham Lincoln, a mini series of three episodes each two hours long. I encourage you to view it on Netflix. In our history books, we received such a washed down, pitiful version of the civil war, of Lincoln's brilliance, of the evolution of thought and beliefs prevalent at that time. Democracy is more than messy. It's a powder keg that can explode at any time. It certainly exploded in 1859. And it feels like we are close to that once again. Just remember, we survived, and went through the agony of piecing ourselves back together in a new form, better than before, but still filled with enormous opportunities for growth. Remember to vote!

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