Bill White
“Being a woman is a terribly difficult task since it consists principally in dealing with man” – Joseph Conrad
“A beautiful lady is an accident of nature. A beautiful old lady is a work of art” – Louis Nizer
Albert Einstein once described insanity as repeating the same act over and over, each time expecting a different result. Unfortunately one curse of maturity is that we so often end up repeating ourselves. Poor Bell! But here goes anyway-
Female flexibility was apparent recently in Haiti when authorities, attempting to distribute food peacefully, allowed only women in the lines. The food went out successfully then! Given a fair chance, women exhibit remarkable leadership qualities, even though when assuming power they’re often obliged to play by the boys rules. Or take, for example two women, total strangers, meeting in the mall. Within a short time they’re talking on surprisingly intimate levels. Women often display this openess we lads often lack – along with the related ability to function well cooperatively. BUT most importantly, they exhibit a pragmatism, frequently allowing them to do whatever needs to be done without the heavy agendas we guys are prone to dragging around. I once wrote an essay called, “Upper Body Strength”, the theme of which was that, in evolutionary terms, the male torso made us boss. (Try following that idea to some of its conclusions!)
One can only weep at the thought of women strapping explosives to a body meant to create rather than destroy. Again, age old motives of revenge and sanctimonious sin seem often to overrule genetic predispositions. The kind of insanity cited by the “New York Times” in examining the endless conflict in the Congo. The most lethal struggle since WWII, it’s claimed at least thirty times as many lives as the Haiti earthquake. For every Hutu fighter sent back to Rwanda, at least seven women were raped! Such women are then mainly rejected by their husbands, and viewed unsuitable for marriage.
Nonetheless, despite such grim statistics regarding women’s lot worldwide, Womankind in the electronic age is on the move. As Unitarian Universalists we should be hugely proud of a religious denomination wherein a majority of the ministers and spiritual leaders are women. For we menfolk, there’s everything to gain, nothing to lose – so it’s up to us to help the new, “strong” gender find their way every chance we get!
SHALOM
FEBRUARY MEETINGS.
The Panhandle Free Thought Society meets Saturday,Feb 13th, 10:30AM, at the fellowship. The question to ponder, “Does Altruism really exist or is it really self-interest in disguise?” Kindly come join in.
The Freethinkers gather Saturday, February 20th 10:30AM at the fellowship to find out if there really is such a thing as Free Will, or is everything determined? Determine to join us if you can…