“Women are not more moral than men. We are only uncorrupted by power. But we do not want to imitate men, to join this country as it is, and I think our very participation will change it. Perhaps women elected leaders—and there will be many of them—will not be so likely to dominate black people or yellow or men; anybody who looks different from us.”

The 1970s were a tumultuous time. In some ways, the decade was a continuation of the 1960s. Women, African Americans, Native Americans, gays and lesbians and other marginalized people continued their fight for equality. Economic equality of the sexes still proved an elusive goal. Even as women moved into nontraditional jobs and many companies established new job‐training programs and opened day care centers for working mothers, disparities in pay for men and women doing the same job remained significant. Businesswomen pointed to the existence of a “glass ceiling,” meaning that women could go so far up the corporate ladder but no farther. At the same time, gender stereotyping began to diminish. The use of gender‐neutral terms for certain jobs became part of the American lexicon.

Women desperately sought equality in the workplace, and wanted to assume the same responsibilities and opportunities men have had for centuries.

This is a quote from Gloria Steinem from February of 1972. She was speaking on women’s oppression and how equality did not exist. She is specifically saying in this quote that women were treated as second class citizens whose only function is to have children. The society at this time had not yet accepted women’s equality and women were still thought to be incapable of self governance hence the need for male dominance. Steinem is try to explain just how short sighted that mentality is and how unfair it is. She simply wants “social cohesion”, as Howard Zinn’s book calls it, she wants women to have equal opportunity and treatment. In this era women were rising against injustice but much like the civil rights movement it would take time before women would be accepted and integrated. Steinem herself was a woman so she knew and saw the unjustified treatment of women. She is not, however, trying to forward some radical agenda like WITCH, but rather she is using common sense to show why women should have social equality. She is a woman in a man’s world and that is just not fair to her.

P.S. Though originally posted on December 7th it didn’t appear. This is a copied and pasted repost so excuse me if there are two of the same posts.

“As we grew, however, our comfort was penetrated by events too troubling to dismiss. First, the permeating and victimizing fact of human degradation, symbolized by the Southern struggle against racial bigotry, compelled most of us from silence to activism. Second, the enclosing fact of the Cold War, symbolized by the presence of the bomb,brouth awareness that we ourselves, and our friends, and millions of abstract “others” we know more directly because of our common peril, might die at anytime. We might deliberately ignore,or avoid, or fail to feel all other human problems, but not these two, for these were too immediate and crushing in their impact, too challenging in the demand that we as individuals take the responsibility for encounter and resolution.” (Tom Hayden 323)

The 1960s was the first time Americans saw the generation gap that we are all too common with today. This was the first time that the ambitions and principles of a generation (the Baby Boomers) greatly differed, and even challenged, those of the previous generation. Young adults were no longer striving for the same goals as previous generation. This led to a toxic “us vs. them” mentality that has caused civil unrest since. But what caused this particular generation to become so utterly dissatisfied with American society?

Many Baby Boomers were involved with the Civil Rights Movement and anti-poverty programs and became passionate about social idealism. It became their mission to fix the apparent flaws in their society that earlier generations treated lackadaisically. Initially, this idealism focused on changing the arbitrarily rigid structure and rules of universities but transformed to protesting the Vietnam War and the draft. Student groups wanting to cement their new vision formed the “New Left” political party. The “New Left” wanted social and political changes to be determined by well-educated and younger individuals, unlike the “Old Left” that put too much power in the too few hands of capitalist groups. The Port Huron Statement was written by a “new left” student group  that called for immediate action to tackle the injustices plaguing society such as racism, poverty, corruption and the government’s abuse of power (Vietnam, the draft).  For the first time, students across the country organized and vocally expressed their outrage through demonstrations. The older generation did not understand and merely saw young adults as rebels and troublemakers for rising against the previously established social order.

Tom Grace, The Shooting at Kent State (1970)

” I think the memorial should state: “On May 4, 1970, units of the Ohio National Guard Company H. 107th Armored Cavalry (Troop G) and Company A, 145th Infantry Regiment shot and killed four student protesters and wounded nine others during a demonstration against the U.S. invasion of Cambodia.”  Straight-out, simple facts.”

As a person who experienced the shooting at Kent State and saw the aftermath of it all, the quote shows that he believes it’s best to be straightforward about what occurred on the memorial. The fact that military soldiers, who are suppose to be the protectors and wardens of society, killed four students as well as injuring nine shows corruption in the use of the military and increased emphasis towards politics. The students themselves were trying to convey their thoughts against Nixon’s Cambodia Campaign and despite their freedom of speech, were fired out to subside their demonstration.

The shooting at Kent State (1970)

“When the national guardsmen got to the top of the hell all of a sudden there was just a quick movement , a flurry of activity, and then a crack or two cracks of rifle fire, and I thought, Oh my God! I turned and started running as fast as I could. I don’t think I got more than a step or two and all of a sudden I was on the ground. It was just like somebody had come over and given me a body blow and knocked me right down. The bullet had entered my left heel and had literally knocked me right down.”

-Tom Grace

As Tom grace describes the horrific events of Kent state shootings of innocent college students who were protesting against the Cambodian campaign by the President Nixon. This quote represents the immoral actions by the Nixon government. Government seems to care none for the people and rather was busy with re-electing the President. The Shootings were a result of Nixon’s Cambodian Campaign, and the victims were mostly the college students who were protesting against invasion of Cambodia.

Tom Grace, The Shooting at Kent State (1970)

“He has very poor eyesight, and on glasses, and on May 4 he couldn’t get the gas mask on over his glasses, so he had to war the gas mask without glasses. He was blind as a bat without them, and he admitted he just knew he was shooting in a certain direction. That was a startling admission.  There was a guy out there who could hardly see, blasting away with an M-1.”

As Tom Grace who were one of the victim at the shooting remembers sending fairly blinded guardsman to the scene, I believe this statement is as shocking as the actual Kent State Shooting.  . This shows how little the government care about its citizens.  The government plan to draft young american to Cambodia without clear justification or explanation. Either we will be force to fight in Cambodia or be shoot to death if we were on their way. This is the moment we are out here by our own and  the Government is up their for their own profits. Talk about distrust and cynicism.

Tom Grace, The Shooting at Kent State (1970)

“On May 4, 1970, units of the Ohio National Guard… shot and killed four student protestors and wounded nine others during a demonstration against the U.S. invasion of Cambodia”

This quote written by Tom Grace, a student who was injured during a protest at his school, captures the kind of suspicion and violence that was embedded in the United States during 1970’s. This was an extremely radical time in terms of social disorder and how individuals identified themselves as part of the society. There was a sense of alienation, and Americans were losing trust in the government and the bureaucratic system. Violent outbursts were so widespread during this time that even after students at their campus were shot and killed, the public reaction was that the students were wrong and had no right to protest.

This quote is important because it reflects on a time where students were shot and killed just for the crime of peacefully demonstrating. This incident was an example of the little power that the people had to control what happened in their country, and it was actually the leaders and the government that called the shots. Much of the young generation was against America’s war on Vietnam, yet they were drafted to join the military and could not even protest against it without the fear of getting killed while doing so. Thus, it is not surprising why much of the 1970’s were plagued with feelings of helplessness, alienation and resentment against the bureaucratic system of America.

“Women are not more moral than men. We are only uncorrupted by power. But we do not want to imitate men, to join this country as it is, and I think our very participation will change it. Perhaps women elected leaders—and there will be many of them—will not be so likely to dominate black people or yellow or men; anybody who looks different from us.”

in the early 70s, women couldn’t  appear in the society, they can only stay at home and take care anything at home without any rights or power. in that society, people thought that women were inclined to take care of home, kids and husband. they didnt have the ability to get into that complex and high-level society, they only wanted women were totally disconnected with outside world. in their mind, men is the one who needed to be in charge in everything.

as Gloria Steinem said above,  women are not more moral than meb, but only uncorrupted by power. what she meant is that she thought women and men are totally equal on morality, but the difference between them is that power can change a man easily, but women dont. she as a writer and editor in america at this moment, but she still had to face the legal and social discrimination because of her gender from the work to the living place. she thought one day their participation will change this situation that people will change their mind to women, just like they changed mind to black people ro anyone else. even though the society didnt really want these kinds of women to appear, women still need to step up and protest for their rights and position. and this is the time for women  to show the power to the society to prove that women can play an important role as much as men can.

“Women are not more moral than men. We are only uncorrupted by power. But we do not want to imitate men, to join this country as it is, and I think our very participation will change it. Perhaps women elected leaders—and there will be many of them—will not be so likely to dominate black people or yellow or men; anybody who looks different from us.”

In early 1900s women didn’t play any type of important role in society. They were just seen as house wives and caretakers. The purpose of a wife was to take care of the kids, house and husband. The husband, father or man of the house was seen as he provider. He worked in order to provide his family with food and anything else needed. The “man” of the house was in control because he was the one bringing the paycheck every week.

Steinem’s view on this type of society and stereotypes was that it had to stop. In the late 60s and 70s women decided to step up and protest. No longer will women stay quiet and take all the discrimination given to them by the corrupted minds of the current society. It was about time someone stepped up and popped the big bubble of stereotypes that women were inferior to men. Steinem believed that if two people worked to provide for the household, then the family would be much more united and strong. Two paychecks is much better than one.

Gloria Steinem – “Equal Rights for Women – Yes and No” (1970)

Ms. Steinem writes this amendment to the constitution with the goal of rebutting “another myth, that some are already treated equally in this society. I am sure there has already been ample testimony to prove that equal pay for equal work, equal chance for advancement, and equal training or encouragement is obscenely scarce  in every field, even those – like food and fashion – that are supposedly “feminine”.” Her job as a female journalist, in a male dominated society and job market, put her  in the unique position of allowing her to have her voice heard by many more people than if she had conformed the the patriarchal norms of a stay-at-home mother and housewife. And she did just that; she forced her way into the limelight and loudly exposed the flaws in the patriarchy. Having a female uncorrupted by the power that men have been granted for so long would provide an interesting – and perhaps more moral – perspective on the issues that have plagued us for so long. As bystanders for thousands of years, there is an objectiveness that has been missing from the world scene. Women not only need to break out of the roles that have been forced upon us for so long, but realize that there is a much greater purpose generated for them; jobs need to be gender-neutral, and the stereotype that food and fashion are “feminine” roles needs to be dismissed as an old fashioned way of thinking, in order for people to be able to advance themselves.