I have some reflections on issues of civil rights and social justice given a recent “this day in history” and the MLK holiday. On January 12, 1915 a constitutional amendment resolution was debated in the house for 10 hours and rejected 174 to 204. This resolution was about women’s right to vote. It was denied- voted down. Two hundred and four of the people who were elected to serve our country deemed that women should not have the right to vote. Earlier that year, the Senate sent a similar statement (35-34). Although it was a bare majority, it was not the necessary two-thirds. One of the arguments against ratifying the amendment was that states should have the authority to do what they wish with the right to vote within their own boundaries. Suffragists (those who were for women’s right to vote) were said to be suffering from “hysteria.” Even President Wilson and leading politicians dodged the amendment stating that it should go to the states and not the national government.
I highlight this moment in history to make the point that change is a part of our own lives and that of our country’s, and we should open our eyes to ways that we can empower others rather than shut them down. Here is where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. comes in. He stated, “What affects one of us directly affects us all indirectly. I am not what I ought to be until you are what you are ought to be.”
The men running the government at that time thought America was pretty great- a civilized place, the country to look up to. However, looking back we can see ways that their sight was limited. Women had a great deal to contribute to our country in the long and short term. Remember it was women’s labor that helped keep our industries going through the war.
I believe that we suffer from the same restricted vision today. There are a number of issues facing our country and we seem to express an air of certainty that they things are just fine the way they are; leave well enough alone. What will we look back on and be blown away by our complacency, judgment (or lack there of) or plain ignorance?
“What affects one of us directly affects us all indirectly. I am not what I ought to be until you are what you are ought to be.”
I look forward to others' thoughts- Dr. Kira
I highlight this moment in history to make the point that change is a part of our own lives and that of our country’s, and we should open our eyes to ways that we can empower others rather than shut them down. Here is where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. comes in. He stated, “What affects one of us directly affects us all indirectly. I am not what I ought to be until you are what you are ought to be.”
The men running the government at that time thought America was pretty great- a civilized place, the country to look up to. However, looking back we can see ways that their sight was limited. Women had a great deal to contribute to our country in the long and short term. Remember it was women’s labor that helped keep our industries going through the war.
I believe that we suffer from the same restricted vision today. There are a number of issues facing our country and we seem to express an air of certainty that they things are just fine the way they are; leave well enough alone. What will we look back on and be blown away by our complacency, judgment (or lack there of) or plain ignorance?
“What affects one of us directly affects us all indirectly. I am not what I ought to be until you are what you are ought to be.”
I look forward to others' thoughts- Dr. Kira
posted by Dr. Dialogue at
12:18 PM
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