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Posted on 01/10/2003 11:21:38 AM PST by MikalM
Publication date: 01/09/2003 They are way too aggressive. My proof: 200 million people were murdered in the 20th century because of war and genocide. Since most decision-makers are men, and most soldiers are men, we need to reflect a little on this problem. I know, you want to yell out Indira Gandhi! Margaret Thatcher! Golda Meir! (Everyone gets so excited that they can name three women who fall into this war-mongering category. Can anyone name a fourth woman who belongs here?) If there is a global skirmish, men should learn to say "Let's talk," or "We're sorry," but no one ever says those things. They could also try saying "Let's compromise," but that doesn't happen, either. I feel bad for most men. Their communications skills are so low, they cannot seem to handle discussing things. Our system teaches males to be competitive and aggressive. Boys who don't like football are called sissies. Hierarchical qualities are instilled in all of us, but in men in particular. These feelings serve to keep us separate, rather than interconnected. Separateness fosters violence and brutality. Men in war report a kind of homo-erotic experience, a time men can bond with other men without looking like sissies. Some report that they get erections when killing. There seems to be a strong link between aggressiveness and sexuality that I don't pretend to understand. Perhaps war is exciting and dynamic. War is a global experience, an easy way to travel. It's exciting. And even if you lose and die, you are guaranteed an honorable death. There will be flags and medals for you. All of that pomp and circumstance is a way of feeling. It's just like football. It's something big and it's outside your family and, for many, the feeling for the unit is even more intense than for the family. I wish we could figure out how to stop men and countries and their aggressive tendencies. What can we do to help men? What can men do to help themselves? Men need to bring out their nurturing and compassionate sides, rather than their frightened side. After all, the purpose of life is to understand life and learn its glorious lessons. All life is precious. All opinions and ideas, precious. We need to understand our divine nature. We need to practice being less greedy. Americans have a demanding sense of consumerism; we're taught to step on, and now kill, the "little people." We've become masters at race wars; we're imbued with a fervor to kill people if they get in our way. Women give and give and give, and it's never enough. And men take and take and take, and it's never enough. We all need to help men move along. We need to create awareness, understanding and outlets for men. They need to develop more feelings for humanity. Men need to see themselves as humans. And women need to speak up. We need to stop propping up our men. Instead of saying "it's my turn to control the remote control," we put dinner on the table faster and try to explain away our husband's temper to our shaken children. If you have a penis, perhaps you should be required to take a course in aggression and compassion. And perhaps women need to take courses on co-dependence. We can bear our sadness by educating our public about hate and prejudice and we definitely should be analyzing the ways that we can help the world instead of destroying it. I am personally in a state of despair. I've been a political activist for 34 years, and it all seems to mean nothing these days. We have these nitwits in charge of our country and we are going off (again) to kill more people. We haven't learned anything. Comment: letters@examiner.com Lani Silver is a women's studies teacher and an oral historian.
Why do men like war so much?BY LANI SILVER
Special to The Examiner MEN SEEM TO BE out of control. They like war way too much.
In her article,"Why do men like war so much", Lani Silver declares herself "personally in a state of despair", and she certainly should be, after her ridiculous screed about those dreadful men who are ruining the world and need to be sent to re-education camps immediately. Her supercilious, insulting stereotyping of men is truly disturbing and personally put me in a state of disgust. Silver displays an astonishing arrogance that can only come from a zealot. What's going on in her "womens' studies" class I wonder?
Incidentally, we're both female warmongers!
Well, that would depend on her objective. If she wants to undermine America's right to defend itself, she will say women rulers have almost never gone to war. If she wants to promote women in combat roles, she will cite the legions of women rulers who have gone to war and all the women, eg. the ancient Celts, who fought alongside men.
Former Attorney "General" Janet Reno's expedition into Waco comes to mind.
You and whose Army is gonna make me?
Hillary's probably, soon after being elected in '08.
7) Joan of Arc
8) Catherine the Great
9) Elizabeth I
Who is this bimbo? (I have probably used that word only once or twice in my 34 years, but she deserves it.) She makes many moronic statements, none of which are anything other than the typical whack-job liberal nonsense, but I will only comment on the above.
Do all of those men who created brilliant works of art, music, architecture not count? Do they not have feelings for humanity, or have an outlet? Do the men who fight to protect the safety and security of liberty not have feelings for humanity?
It is quite convenient how she forgets about man's contributions to humanity as a whole, and it is a disgrace that she scorns and shames the very people who went to fight for her right to behave like an imbecile. This article was not written by a sane person.
That is exactly what I was thinking as I read it. Good thing someone mentioned it!
I feel this woman's pain. Though she fancies herself a communicator, she has no more hope of writing something memorable than I have of swimming to Bolivia.
I think you nailed it.
I doubt this woman would be preaching "Peace, love and understanding" if she was living in Iraq.
There is FAR too much that could be done with this line ....
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...if you swim from the Pacific Ocean through the long-lost underground tunnel to Lake Titicaca, used for centuries by the submarines of the Royal Atlantean Navy. You just have to watch out for the mines.
The greater challenge is to swim to Paraguay.
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