Saturday, July 4, 2015

GENDER EQUALITY IN AMERICA

Ex-president Jimmy Carter posted something on FACEBOOK that is more significant than I think he realizes. He disavows the Southern Baptist Convention because their leaders quote, “a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be "subservient" to their husbands . . .”. Of course, he selected the word ‘ordained’ because of its meaning to religious folks as something officially decreed, which in terms of religious gobbledygook means someone has appointed him or herself to give orders to others. Gender equality struck a chord with me as a subject for this liberal blog site in the year before a presidential election, because the Southern Baptist Dogma seems to parallel fundamental GOP dogma. Also, as biologists interested in evolutionary psychology, I look for something innate in our being as the source or basis of these feelings, which, in this case, relates to gender superiority. Also, as a biologist, I am aware of many species of animals where one gender is superior to another. We usually base our judgment on physical strength. Few would deny human males are physically superior to females. Of course, there are those who are quick to point out exception but they are just that, exceptions. When curious people evaluate human natural history they find many interesting things such as family structure, a long parental dependent childhood, provision of food referred to as hunter-gatherer, family and group defense, including sexual partner selections, among many others. Without question, the tasked attributed to the male are those requiring strength, of course, the question of what came, developed, evolved first is always there; the strongest ones defends the family or tribe because the strongest individuals are the best to do that task. What Jimmy Carter, and those of us who are more liberals than conservative believe seems to violate a fundamental premise endowed in our genetics. In light of the “new” social ethic, for males to dominate females is somehow fundamentally wrong. In addition, we as a people are abandoning violence in general as evidenced by our eschewing wars on a worldwide scale, decreasing murders, and otherwise increasing our humanity even in such things as our treatment of animals. Also, we think nothing of carrying the preservation of life to an extreme. Are we abandoning our genetic backgrounds of survival of the fittest in favor of empathy, which results in preservation of the unfit? What is happening to the human species is not happening in any other species. Consider the idea of feminism, which holds that there is no difference between females and males. Of course, this is nonsense at all levels, physical, mental, or physiological. Women think differently from males but whether they think better is open to question. The bigger question is where is this new kind of thinking taking us as a species? How has Jimmy Carter changed your view of life? It certainly changed his. However, in truth the change is no more significant than one man who is embracing the new set of moral principles, which is affirming ourselves as something special therefore above all else. With our understanding of the power of genetics, we are more willing to face transgender issues such as working outside the home, househusband, same-sex marriage, as well as child adoption and childcare by males but that does not mean we should abandon traditional values. Some of those who oppose accepting these new cultural standards or ethics cite their fear that the new “ways” will somehow damage or destroy the old rather than just broaden them. As ridiculous as it sounds, same-sex marriage has no effect on traditional marriage and certainly will not destroy it. Having a female president will not destroy America. Nevertheless, I am at a loss to tell you how it will be better or worse than having a male president. After all, the world has had both kings and queens a lot longer than we have had only male presidents. URL: firetreepub.blogspot.com Comments Invited and not moderated

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