ly 35 states, leaving it three states short of the 38 required for ratification.
It is the spirit of those words that women need to honor in our thoughts, statements, and actions, regardless of whether we favor an Amendment or not. Women still do not hold a significant level of power in American society, and are denied basic human rights around the world on a daily basis. That cannot be acceptable.
As time has gone on, thankfully the debate over the ERA, has changed. (It has been reintroduced into every Congress since then.) Women’s issues are less about the threat of being drafted into the military, and more about the right to fight for our nation in a combat situation. Alimony and child custody have been awarded to both men and women, as should be the case in a just and equal society. As for public restrooms, I suspect they will primarily remain separate to serve the desires of most people, rather than by law, but unisex restrooms certainly do exist outside of Ally McBeal.
In a more modern discussion about equal rights for women depicted in the West Wing, Rob Lowe’s character of Sam Seaborn takes on Ainsley Hayes played by Emily Procter. At one point he states, “You know something like 40% of all women oppose the ERA and in my entire life I’ve never met one of them.” In response, the young Republican sticks out her hand and shocks him with the words, “Ainsley Hayes, nice to meet you.”
Later in the discussion he flat out asks how she can have an objection to the ERA and Ainsley replies, “Because it’s humiliating. A new Amendment we vote on declaring that I am equal under the law to a man? I am mortified to discover there is reason to believe I wasn’t before. I am a citizen of this country. I am not a special subset in need of your protection. I do not have to have my rights handed down to me by a bunch of old, white men. The same Article 14 that protects you, protects me, and I went to law school just to make sure.”
I remember watching that for the first time, and thinking it was brilliant, and restored my faith in why the country I loved had not ever managed to pass this Amendment to protect my rights. I fundamentally wanted to believe what Ainsley said to be true. The sad reality though, is that it may not be, at least not in everyday practice.
We still have a very long way to go toward equality, yet we don’t seem to spend nearly as much time and energy fighting for it as women like Helen Milliken did.
In order for these inalienable rights to be upheld and extended to all members of our society, the people in power must not only believe in them, but have a clear grasp of circumstances that violate them, in order to fairly interpret the letter of the law. How can we be sure of that interpretation, when those in power have so little personal experience with the issues? Can men really be expected to fully understand the women’s perspective when it comes to working conditions, pay, medical issues, childcare, or violence?
It’s 2012 and women compose nearly 51% of the American population, but just 16.8% of the U.S. Congress. Only 18 of the Fortune 500 companies are headed up by women. A mere six states currently have female Governors, and we have yet to see a woman as President. These numbers need to change for the nation to equally care for all of its citizens.
I hope the passing of Mrs. Milliken will give us pause for reflection on the debt of gratitude we owe her generation, and those before her, as well as on the work yet to be done. Certainly our daughters deserve better examples of feminine success than the Kardashian empire built upon a sex tape, and can be better served than by the likes of Todd Akin or Richard Mourdack. Let's get to work.
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