Aqueduct

I’m trying to do 100 miles by April 1st with a group of other knitters over at Runagogo. I love my long weekend walks. I have been doing most of my walking at night, after the kids go to bed. But on Saturdays, I go during the afternoon. I get to start with the valley behind me. The first 100 yards or so are straight up hill, then I level off, dip down and up to another hill behind our home. From there it is about 1000 feet up, gradually rising along a 4 mile twisting road through farm country. We have had a huge cloud system holding tight over us for the past few days, so the photoshoot below doesn’t show the breathtaking views that I normally see, but where you see grey, imagine a mountain range with spectacular sunsets.

Yesterday, before I started up the mountain road, I met some new neightbors. The woman on the left just bought the birthplace of Susan B. Anthony. Not sure what she will do with it yet, but she isn’t relocating her any time soon.

She is part of an organization called “Feminists for Life” - and as I was approaching her I thought of a quote I heard on NPR the day before. A senior member of the US miliary was paraphrasing Golda Meir when he said that we have to teach the Iraqis to love their sons more than they hate their enemies. The irony was not lost on me, as we continue to send our sons and daughters to kill their sons and daughters.

As I saw her unloading something out of her car, I thought I probably have far more in common with her than the one major issue that divides us. While I am pro-choice, my standpoint hasn’t grown out of patriarchial conspiracies about keeping women down. I think of it as an evil necessity and the longer both sides debate where the line is drawn between legal and illegal, the more energy is diverted from actually addressing the issue of unwanted pregnancies, of trapping young women in cycles of government sponsored poverty, and most of all, continuing the falicy that women get into this all by their lonesome and they must bear the full brunt of their choices.

Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton played major roles in my transformation into a feminist when I was a first year in college. The pair of reformers had lived two towns over and their history was integrated into the character of the region. What I remember most about my intro to the history of feminism class, though, was the constant squabbling between different strains of the women’s movement and how, in hindsight, their differences were so minor and diverted much energy from unified progress.

So I stopped, and I introduced myself, and I welcomed her to the neighborhood, and we had a lovely conversation. I met a friend of hers who was taking photos of the house and who was a passionate textile historian. We talked about women working in the cotton mills, and how it provided the social and financial training that paved the way for the labor and women’s rights movements and it did turn out that we had far more in common than what we disagreed on - which was kept silent, no mention of that which divided us.

I made two new friends yesterday, and I was glad I stopped. I think Susan B. Anthony would be proud

 

2 Responses to “ Saturday Walk ”

Comments:

1. Carol says:
   January 19th, 2007 at 7:03 am

   I understand what you mean by divisions within the women’s movement. They
   are over many things, but the issue of abortion rights spills over into the
   broader society and is a relection of the larger struggle about violent
   solutions vs. nonviolence. Hence making it ‘one of the most divisive issues
   of our day’, to quote a recent poll by Pew Research. EMILY’s List which
   funds pro-choice women candidates raised $42 million this last election
   cycle, more money than any labor union, more money than any corporation PAC,
   and more PAC money than any other social interest group in America, whether
   it is the environment, jobs creation, or anti-war. That is how divisive
   abortion is.

   Yes, if money and energy could go toward alleviating the need women have to
   chose this ‘evil necessity’, this would indeed be pro-woman. Susan B
   Anthony said, “Sweeter even than to have had the joy of caring for children
   of my own has been to me to help bring about a better state of things for
   mothers generally, so their unborn little ones could not be willed away from
   them.”

   What if we spent only half of the military budget on diplomacy and peace
   instead of the ‘evil necessity’ of war?

2. LL says:
   January 19th, 2007 at 3:11 pm

   I really liked your blog!

   I know the two women whom you met. You are correct, they are remarkable women who work in their daily life for the cause of women and peace.

   What I found most interesting is your willingness to ACTUALLY TALK to two women who disagree with you on the difficult subject of abortion. Too often many (women and men) shut down completely and will not even take the time to know a person if they are aware of their view on abortion. Trust me, I know.

   There are so many beautiful interests, hobbies, goals and experiences that we share as human beings, as women. It seems a shame that civility and reaching out in friendship is thrown to the wind.

   Again, I enjoyed reading your blog and wish you good health and happiness during this year.

   LL

   PS- I also agree with you on another point you made: I too think the Feminist Foremothers would be proud.

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