All I know for sure is that feminists screwed up The Mummers.

Then thank them for me. I've been here (Philly burbs) for 30 years or so and seen the parade live a couple times. Still just isn't my kinda fun.

I'm a feminist. Proud to be, however you want to spin it. I believe that women and men should be valued equally as human beings. And feminism exists because of the vast histories of this not being the case.

I am thankful for the uppity grandmas that got spit on and thrown in jail to give me the vote and allow me to go to college. Oh, and that dared to "plan their parenthood". I am very glad to have been born in the last half of the 20th century in North America, and of moderate white privilege. If you think the concerns of feminists are passe, trivial, then you really haven't been paying attention to Afghanistan, Sudan, France, Pakistan, Thailand, etc., etc.

Let's look at those tough US female fighter pilots again!
Yeah, I'm a feminist.

That's exactly my point. Any government/society that wants a piece of this planet has to be strong enough to hold it. Patriarchal societies usually make that a priority, sometimes at the expense of everything else, whereas Matriarchal societies stress social improvement.

Since social improvement is desirable and strength necessary, the best solution is a balanced society where both sexes have input, both are respected and listened to. But that means nobody gets everything their own way. :grouphug:

To build a country you have to work in stages. First you have to establish a base then you have to improve it. Doing only one will just lead to failure.

Alrighty then. :)

:) And there we have it: the Utopian society of which we dream.

I agree Bruce. I just wish strength weren't so necessary. What is in us that makes us want to conquer, own, and control? As we evolve, will we ever lose the primal urges of our ancestors?

No, because the minute we do, someone else will come along who hasn't lost those urges and wipe us out. It is a very effective survival skill to want to conquer, own and control.

Or somebody will want what you've got and take it if they can. You can only have what you can defend. And being the biggest bad-ass on the block doesn't guarantee the bigger bad-ass on the next block won't covet your stuff.

So ladies, get involved in the process of running this country....you are the majority, remember. Grind down, or replace, the politicians until they give you the schools, parks, social programs, or whatever you want. Just never make the mistake, that the boys and their tanks and planes are just big over priced play toys. Defending what you've got, is very serious business and paramount to the utopia you want.

Get real, you're never gonna have it all. But rather than grouse about it, why not see how much you can get by getting involved. You may be surprised. :cool:

I was speaking of mankind in general, not us and them. :)

Wow, I didn't think I was grousing...just thinking and expressing.

Guess I'll slowly back out of this thread. It's obviously dedicated solely to fact and leaves no room for pondering. :right:

What is in us that makes us want to conquer, own, and control? As we evolve, will we ever lose the primal urges of our ancestors?

The Swiss seem to have managed it.

Maybe the conquering part, but I think they're still pretty attached to owning and controlling the land of Switzerland. They certainly wouldn't just politely hand it over without a fuss if someone else wanted it.

Well there's not really anything wrong with wanting to control your own country. It's the conquering urge that causes conflict.

Being small and landlocked may have something to do with their desire to avoid conflict. :cool: