ERA | idealisticrebel

dearSusanB

For those of you who don’t know, Susan B. Anthony was one of the original Suffragettes. She was one of the many American women who felt that women should be equal and should have the vote. And yes, she and many others were arrested and put into jail. They went on a hunger strike. When the media found out about it, there was hell to pay. The women were released and soon after they got the vote. Speaking for every woman in my family, Susan, we thank you for all you suffered, endured and how steadfast you stood to the belief that women should have the vote. Now that we have our first female candidate for President, gratitude goes out to you, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the hundreds of women who walked out of their homes without putting dinner on the table and picked up signs and began marching and protesting. Thank you, the women of the twenty first century.

My sister and I went to an ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) Rally, which is coming up again for a vote in Congress, soon.

Back in the 1970’s we tried, and failed, to get this important Amendment passed. In the United States, no woman of any color or culture or religion is legally equal to any man of any many of any color, culture or religion.

This is the 21st Century, and it is time to remedy this. It will bring justice to women who have had to struggle without the support of the law on their side.

The below lyrics were written by Helen Reddy and Ray Burton, and I’ve included a video of the song as well.

The Equal Rights Amendment would not mean that women and men are “the same”. It does not require shared toilets, or ignore the physical differences between the sexes. It means equal protection and responsibility under the law.

Let’s make 2015 the year that every American Citizen is truly, legally equally for the first time in American History. I think our forefathers would be please.

Photograph and Copyright by Barbara Mattio 2015

bjwordpressdivider

I Am Woman

–Helen Reddy and Ray Burton

I am woman, hear me roar

In numbers too big to ignore

And I know too much to go back an’ pretend

‘Cause I’ve heard it all before

And I’ve been down there on the floor

No one’s ever gonna keep me down again

Oh yes, I am wise

But it’s wisdom born of pain

Yes, I’ve paid the price

But look how much I’ve gained

If I have to, I can do anything

I am strong

(Strong)

I am invincible

(Invincible)

I am woman

You can bend but never break me

‘Cause it only serves to make me

More determined to achieve my final goal

And I come back even stronger

Not a novice any longer

‘Cause you’ve deepened the conviction in my soul

Oh yes, I am wise

But it’s wisdom born of pain

Yes, I’ve paid the price

But look how much I’ve gained

If I have to, I can do anything

I am strong

(Strong)

I am invincible

(Invincible)

I am woman

I am woman watch me grow

See me standing toe to toe

As I spread my lovin’ arms across the land

But I’m still an embryo

With a long, long way to go

Until I make my brother understand

Oh yes, I am wise

But it’s wisdom born of pain

Yes, I’ve paid the price

But look how much I’ve gained

If I have to, I can face anything

I am strong

(Strong)

I am invincible

(Invincible)

I am woman

I am invincible

I am strong

I am woman

I am invincible

I am strong

I am woman

bjwordpressdivider

Yes, I was there. I remember the marches and the picketing. I remember men and some women calling us foul names and throwing things at us. I remember the feminist men who marched with us in solidarity. We marched for all women, for rich and poor, steel workers and housewives, college professors and college professors. We marched for ourselves and for our children and their children. Girls and boys, because inequality is unfair even to those it favors. It is taking a long time to make people understand that equality whether between the sexes or nationalities or religions or any other imaginary divider is necessary. We will not stop until we succeed. Let your mothers, grandmothers, sisters, girlfriends and wives be your legal equal. You have nothing to lose and the strength of millions to gain.

Namaste,

Barbara, the Idealisticrebel