January 29th, 2002.
Tuesday
mildly un-informed ranting and raving:I spent a good bit of the day reading up on the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. I mentioned something about the ERA yesterday, so I thought I'd look into it a little more. And what better place to do that than work? After reading over the proposed equal rights amendment, as well as each amendment to the Constitution, I'd have to say that I am still against the ERA. Frankly, I can't believe there are still people talking about it. Not because I don't think it's a grand idea. I just think it would be redundant. Everything in the ERA is already in the books. The way I see it, the passing of the ERA would just mean that women need extra protection under the law, like they're some sort of second-class citizen. The 14th Amendment already gives the whole shpeal about equal protection of the law to all persons. Isn't that good enough? Even if you wanted to argue that the 14th and 19th Amendments were somehow bullshit and not enforced or whatever, then what reason would you have to believe that yet another law would be any better? Is it a slight to women that all males of all races got the vote before any women? Why is there no mention of race in the Equal Rights Amendment? Oh, "equal rights" refers to women and men. See, that's not clear. I thought it was just equal rights across the board. I didn't know it was that specific. Is gender a bigger issue than race? Who sets these priorities? Shouldn't it be the Equal Rights For Women Amendment? I still don't see why you need a whole new Amendment for this. Then again, I don't really understand why we needed an Amendment regarding the salaries of Congressmen, either. I have to say, the more I read about it, the more I can see the point. But not enough. And why don't we devote our energies to something a little more worthy of the effort, like the repealing or serious alteration of the Second Amendment?
I am often embarrassed by things I write, moments after writing them. This is one of those cases. Just me thinking out loud. Figuratively speaking of course.
I got a lot of flack for some of what I wrote yesterday about womenfolk. Some of Caryn's friends were quite upset, I was told. But we'll worry about that later. I wasn't that surprised, but I was still shocked in some regards, and I felt kind of bad. After a brief dialogue with Jen down in DC, I feel better about what I wrote yesterday. Jen, a woman by her own admission, didn't seem to have a problem with some of my views on feminism. Plus, she's knitting me a scarf. We like Jen.
On another political note- You know, I really, really try to like George W. Bush. Don't ask me why. It's the romantic in me. You know, you always hope to see the villain reformed, or the idiot save the village, that sort of thing? Anyway, I was at work, watching a clip of an interview with him, and Tom Brokaw or whoever was asking him about being president, just bullshit general questions. And the clip they show is George saying "I just really, really like being the President." Help me out, George. You're really making it tough(er) for me to defend you in public. Is this what you're reduced to without the speech writers? "I really, really like being President?" Why didn't you just say "I like playing Mr. President! Being President Rules! Osama's a meanie! I wish he'd go away! If we could find him."
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