A Liberal Perspective On The Life And Philosophies Of Phyllis Schlafly
It was announced on September 05, 2016 that Phyllis Schlafly had passed away at the age of 92.
First of all, let me just say that even though my entire life I have I have been absolutely and unequivocally opposed to Phyllis Schlafly’s life long positions on politics and her philosophies on American life in general.
I will also say that as a fellow human being I offer condolences to her family in their time of grief.
As a liberal, I believe that Phyllis Schlafly was directly responsible for defeating the 1972 Equal Right’s amendment or ERA.
The ERA was a simple declaration that consisted of only three definitive sentences that would guarantee Equal Rights under the law for all and could not be denied based upon sex. The full text read:
- Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
- Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
- Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
As a liberal, these three simple sentences made perfect sense, I mean seriously who could possibly object to equal opportunity, or to put it another way it would create a level playing field for both men and women.
This motto is engraved right on the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). I mean it is literally carved in stone.
For me, I grew in up in Southern California to a typical middle class family, in a typical three bedroom home. Both my parents worked to give both my sister and me, a pretty typical middle class life. So the concept of equal opportunity for all made perfect sense.
I mean who could possibly have an issue with this. The ERA was literally a no brainer, right? Who could possibly object to such a profoundly obvious ideal?
Phyllis Schafly did. I mean what the f*ck. Here is Phyllis Schafly’s take on The Equal Right’s Amendment:
To quote Chloe Angyal and Nick Visser of the Huffington post:
“Schlafly argued that an ERA would harm American housewives, warning that it would make it more difficult for mothers to obtain custody in divorce cases and that it would do away with alimony and child support requirements. She also argued that it would lead to same-sex marriage and government funding for abortions, both of which she fiercely opposed, despite having a gay son.
Most powerfully, she argued that an Equal Rights Amendment would lead to the conscription of women into the armed forces. It was largely due to Schlafly’s lobbying that the amendment fell three states short of ratification, and died. Schafly threw a party to celebrate its demise. ”
How very fucking profound! Virtually all of Phyllis Schlafly’s predictions have already come true, except for women being conscripted into the military, and of course the equal pay for equal work part. All Phyllis Schafly did was delay women the equal opportunity they deserved for over forty fucking years.
Think about that for a moment………..
While the rest of us mourned for the defeat of the American dream, Phyllis Schafly decided to add insult to injury. Phyllis Schafly had the gall to trow a party celebrating the fact that the ERA fell short by three States all because of her rabid misguided and very vocal objection to it.
Phyllis Schlafly was not a great conservative stateswoman and activist as she has been portrayed by the conservative press. Phyllis Schafly was a misguided reactionary and stooge who longed for the fictional America what was portrayed on 1050’s television e.g.- Leave it to Beaver, The Donna Reed Show, and My Three Sons.
The early 1970’s were a time of great political change and exciting opportunity. Millions of people had dreams of a new “all inclusive America”. Phyllis Schlafly decided it was her job to quash those dreams, and attempt to hold onto a fictional American reality that never existed in the first place. What sort of monster would do this and then throw a party celebrating it’s defeat? Phyllis Schafly that’s who.
The really sad thing is she was also able to persuade enough other delusional Americans who also believed in fictional 1950’s America to vote against their own best interests to defeat this important constitutional amendment. I will go as far as to say that Phyllis Schafly was as Anti-American as; Joseph McCarthy, George Wallace, Lester Maddox, slavery, and segregation. Yes, I feel that strongly about her delusional and reactionary positions. Well maybe the segregation and slavery part is a bit harsh, but you get the idea.
But it wasn’t only The Equal Rights Amendment, OH NO! If that were the only case, Phyllis Schlafly would only have been a minor footnote in American History.
Sarah K. Burris posted 15 of Phyllis Schlafly’s most disturbing quotes on www.rawstory.com on September 05, 2016 Here is just a few of them;
Blaming the Violence Against Women Act for broken marriages:
“When marriages are broken by false allegations of domestic violence, U.S. taxpayers fork up an estimated $20 billion a year to support the resulting single-parent, welfare-dependent families.” – Schlafly, Feb. 2011.
What feminism means:
“And the first commandment of feminism is: I am woman; thou shalt not tolerate strange gods who assert that women have capabilities or often choose roles that are different from men’s.” – Schlafly, “Feminists On The Warpath Get Their Man, Feb. 2005.
Sexual harassment isn’t a big deal:
“Non-criminal sexual harassment on the job is not a problem for the virtuous woman except in the rarest of cases.” -Schlafly before the United States Senate, 1981.
Married women can’t be raped:
“By getting married, the woman has consented to sex, and I don’t think you can call it rape.” – “Schlafly cranks up agitation at Bates” Sun Journal, 2007.
ERA will equal gay rights:
“ERA means abortion funding, means homosexual privileges, means whatever else.” – Schlafly, “A new version of the ERA”. CNN, 1999.
The way men treat feminists:
“Men should stop treating feminists like ladies, and instead treat them like the men they say they want to be.” – Schlafly, “Feminists On The Warpath Get Their Man.” Feb. 2005.
Women in the military:
“Every country that has experimented with women in actual combat has abandoned the idea, and the notion that Israel uses women in combat is a feminist myth.” – Schlafly, “Women Don’t Belong In Ground Combat,” June, 2005.
On comprehensive sex education:
“Sex education classes are like in-home sales parties for abortions.” – Schalfly, Feb. 1997.
You certainly don’t have to take my word for it as there are many videos on YouTube.com that show Phyllis Schalfly spouting this sort of poisonous vitriol. I encourage you to look them up for yourselves.
Phyllis Schalfly’s xenophobic, bigoted, hateful, and reactionary brand of Anti-American conservatism bears a striking resemblance to the current 2016 Republican candidate for President, Donald Trump.
This sort of poisonous vitriol will never truly die until everyone wakes up and starts voting for their own self interests and the interest of the country as a whole instead of against it. Stop being sheep and voting out of ignorance and one-liner campaign promises.
The sad thing is too many people do more research into the sale items at the supermarket and whether they actually received their .50 cents off at the checkout they they do researching policy positions and considering what is good for the whole country instead of the wants and needs of the few. Democracy is founded on a well educated educated population.
Many Americans today can’t pass a simple civics test. Get involved. Get your information from multiple reputable news sources, weigh the issues and make up your own mind. Consider the motivations and hidden agendas of anyone delivering political news and commentary.
You may have noticed that the 1st, 2nd and 3rd words, of this post start off with “A Liberal Perspective” at least you know right off the bat exactly where I stand, others may not be so straight forward. Now, that’s something to think about.
Lastly, I believe that America is never going back to a fictional past that never actually existed. America will keep evolving just as the founding fathers intended. America will always keep evolving into that more perfect union that our founding fathers so perfectly envisioned.
The Phyllis Schalfly’s and Donald Trump’s of the world may only slow the inexorable wheel of progress our founding fathers intended, but they can never stop it, or reverse the trends we have fought so hard to attain.
Embrace the new reality and societal norms! I promise, you have nothing to fear.
America is at it’s greatest when we embrace diversity and love one another as fellow human beings. This is how we form that more perfect union, a union that includes EVERYONE no matter what their race, sex, creed, religion, non-religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation, country of orientation, and everything else.
E pluribus unum, Out of mayn, One
Are you with me?!
As Always,
I Am, Tom Dye, The Safety Guy
September 06,2017
