Women Warriors

I was going to open this blog with the quote "History is written by the winners", but when I searched for the source, I discovered there is NO agreement on the source, though several important folks are cited. So. I think I'll use my own version.

"History is written by those in charge."

Just after midnight this morning, I watched a PBS program about the history of women warriors in the USA. I found it very thought provoking--especially the point made over and over that the vast proportion of women were never recognized for their contributions to our freedom. Most didn't qualify for benefits, medals, promotions, or even an historical footnote.

And why would that be?

Because men were in charge and women were second class citizens, even in the midst of war. That is a terrible commentary on the value our country places on women. And I'm not just talking about the men. From the earliest examples, the women warriors were vilified by the "good" women who stayed home.

There is still a feeling among the "good" women that any woman in the military is obviously no better than she should be.

The program opened with a powerful statement from a very elderly woman. She said, "When I served in the Navy, women weren't allowed to vote, yet." Read that again. Women couldn't vote, but the country was happy to ship them overseas to battlefields--because they were useful.

And that old fallacy about women in combat? Women have been wounded and died on battlefields from the beginning because the enemy is not worried about the noncombatant's purpose for being there. No, if that individual isn't 'us', then they automatically qualify as 'the enemy' and are fair game.

It seems to me we (women) are our own worst enemy. We talk a good game about a united front against male tyranny, but when it gets down to it, somewhere in our gut, we buckle under. Partially, that might be conditioning. But mostly, I suspect it's because we are willing to let the men make the decisions.

If we were truly united in demanding recognition for women in all walks of life, men would not be in charge. We would have a balance of men and women in business, politics, education, medicine, military and technology.

The truth is this. A woman can carry a gun just as easily as a man. A woman can demonstrate courage as much as any man. Brave women have moved into all fields of endeavor. But when they do, they do it alone. Because their sisters are standing back, frowning with disapproval because they're not at home, keeping house and having babies.

For info about the program, click on the photo!