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The Augusta News-Review, May 17, 1973 -
■Walking ■
I With KM ■
■ Dignity Mt
by Al Irby B
MOTHERHOOD IS LOSING ITS “HALO”, AND THE
CULPRITS HAVE RELIGIOUS RAMIFICATIONS. THE
PROTESTANT ETHIC AND THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
DEMANDED MORE BABIES. THEN THE TECHNOLOGICAL
REVOLUTION REMOVED THE NEED FOR HUMAN
RESOURSES, AND TRIGGERED THE LIBERATION OF
WOMANHOOD.
The Women’s “EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT” may be
stymied for the present, but it is almost certain to pass in the near
future. A few State Legislatures were pressured by a handful of
die-hards fighting for the doomed “Requiem for Motherhood”.
About the year 2000, which is just 23 short years , motherhood
will be a mere specialty. This change is not being brought about
solely by the virgorous Women Liberation Movement, but it
helped. The fact that many people over-looked is the tremendous
economic and technological factors in the diminishing image of
“Motherhood”.
This nation is going through the same kind of occupational
shift as was brouth on by the “Industrial Revolution”, only on a
larger scale. The Feminist Movements in Europe and America are
really the product of technological change, and always have been,
but not clearly discerned by the masses. The movement has raised
its head, always at the historical time, when a sharp reduction in
the need of more babies was eminent.
(RELIGIOUS CONFRONTATION)
Just as the Protestant Ethic motivated the spread of
Capitalism, so will the Women’s Movement ideology motivate the
occupational shift of great masses of women into the main-stream
of our present-day computerized society. Motherhood has
traditionally been the world’s largest labor-pool. Half of their
number are assigned, often against their personal choice, to the
overworked job of producing babies, with all the resulting
obligations of child care.
THE IMPERIAL NATIONS NEEDED GIRL BABIES FOR THE
TEXTILE MILLS AND BOYS FOR CANNON FODDER
A great need of human resources was necessary to furnish
soldiers, and children to work in factories. The emphasis was on
mothers, and just as in other occupational groups, the job was
invested with an occupational mystique, a halo, and special
jargon; a particular life style and some emotional expertise.
Modern medicine has given to our society all type of
contraceptives, and foremost the “pill”, thus motherhood has
been stymied, because present day mothers have created a
dangerous condition, by overproduction on a world-wide scale.
We face the need to eradicate the ancient and honorable
occupation of “MOTHERHOOD”. Today’s women must commit
themselves to other occupations, rather than producing babies
wholesale, so male chauvinists, must move over, and reasonable
men must share a place for the little woman, in the world where
men have monopolized here-to-fore.
All women must be completely liberated, so they can enter all
areas of work, whether they wnat to be or not. The emerging
revolution against motherhood will not, however, be the first
change in form due to technological change. The nineteeth
century industrial revolution produced an important but largely
unnoticed change in the mother’s role. When machines took men
away from the home, the upbringing of children was left to
women, before that the men were the sole disciplinarians.
(THE WOMAN’S TOUCH MAY BE THE REASON FOR THE
GENERATION OF ADOLESCENT PERMISSIVENESS)
Men had physical superiority and economic power in the
family. They have always relied on force or the threat of it; and
they molded and shaped behavior by fear. Women just the
opposite, they were lacking in economic power, status or physical
clout, had no alternative, but to use their feminine persuasion in
taking over the rearing of the children.
After the Industrial Revolution, women took over the
socialization of the children , and they were transformed from
manipulation by threat of force to manipulation by seduction,
enticement and guilt.
(THE WOMAN’S TOUCH, WAS IT GOOD OR BAD ?)
Brutal punishment, such as spanking and slapping have become
extinct among middle-classes, both white and black. Mothers, still
until today shape the development of the child by assuming love
and trust. The changed style of child rearing has had specific
consequences for the character formation so children in all highly
industrailized countries. The emphasis has shifted from brutal to
feminine compassion.
In the U.S. and a few European countries, during the past 30
years the image of motherhood as an occupation, due to reduced
babies because of the pill and modern contraception have led
leading child psychologists to believe that today’s juvenile
permissiveness is caused by indulgent mothers.
(MOTHERHOOD FIGHTS TO HOLD ON TO THEIR JOBS)
Every occupational group fights like fury to hold onto their
bread and butter, and the fairer sex is no exception; when
threatened with technological grab, the ladies were trying to
tetain a monopoly over its top skill. Women, or rather mothers
are continuing to apply their customary technical skills even
when they are unwanted.
Mothers are accused of developing an obsession over their
children’s internal lives, social behavior, and interpersonal
attitudes. They simply have nothing else to do. Mothers are
known to meddle into their children lives, even when they’re
grown and married. To give up their overmanipulated offsprings
would mean retirement.
The young people of today long for real internal choices not
choices that are forced upon them, and they showing new
possibilities by rejecting their parent’s smug values. They have
turned against the Protestant Ethic with its crass and simplistic
exploitation of external quilt. Instead of feeling guilty when they
have done something, they are guilty, when they fail to do
something good for someone less fortunate.
Ultimately when women are truly free, body and soul, they
will choose to be mother on the same basis that motivates a man
to be an engineer, only when one desires.
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Page 4
46,000 Americans
killed in Vietnam
can't vote this year.
What's your excuse?
' LETTERS TO EDITOR |
Dear Editor:
Mr. Dodd Vernon, Associate
Editor of the Chronicle,
publicshed an editorial in the
March 25, 1973, edition of
that paper in which he
supported revenue sharing
based upon “the possibility of
irregularities under massive
federal programs”. He used as
example, the indictments that
had been brought against seven
persons, “who may be as
innocent as new-fallen snow,”
of Operation Mainstream in
our local program. He argued
that the “possibility” of that
kind of irregularity has “moved
the administration in
Washington to dismantle
OEO.”
Since Mr. Vernon suggested
that the public’s eyes should be
opened, must the public
conclude that the indictments
of the several persons (the
number grows daily) in the
Nixon Administration should
mean that that Administration
should be dismantle? Keep in
mind that CSRA EOA, Inc. is
efficient enough to detect
irregularities in its programs
but it took newspaper
reporters, not the Nixon
Administration, to bring the
Watergate crimes and the other
crimes of that administration
to light. Can we further
conclude that someone who
had surrounded himself in such
high position with so many
persons who “may be as
innocent as new-fallen snow”
but who have been indicted
should himself be removed
from office? Can a person so
close to so many persons who
can be indicted including his
attorney general, be as
innocent as new fallen snow?
The courts have ruled that
the dismantling of OEO and
the impounding of certain
funds , were in themselves,
illegal acts. How can the
public, whose eyes are now
open, ever trust this
Administration not to do
illegal acts for which poor folk
have been given life
imprisonment and, in some
cases, killed?
Community Action Agencies
and other federally funded
THE AUGUSTA NEWS-REVIEW
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METHODIST c
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BARTON VILLAGE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH ON OLD McDUFFIE
ROAD JUST ACROSS FROM MOUNT ZION GARDENS WILL HAVE ITS
FIRST REGULAR WORSHIP SERVICE ON MAY 20, 1973 AT 9:30 A.M.
t
FORMAL ORGANIZATIONAL AND CHARTER MEMBER SERVICES WILL
BE HELD AT ?:30 P.M. JUNE 3, 1973. WE INVITE EVERYONE TO COME
AND WORSHIP WITH US IN THIS SERVICE. ALSO, WE WiLL START
RECEIVING NEW MEMBERS MAY 20, 1973 AT THE 9:30 A.M. MORNING
SERVICE. THOSE PERSONS WHO WOULD LiKE TO BE CHARTER
MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH ARE
INVITED TO JOIN BEFORE THE JUNE 3RD SERVICES.
YOURS IN CHRIST
Del ma Hagood | |
District Superintendent H . A Oft
V jhHm F' s h er ' r - ’wl
Pastor
1 * f t ! Mir
programs designed to help the
poor have been far better
committed and prepared to
police themselves than the
Nixon Administration has been
able to do. Also, these
programs have been effective in
community development and
in providing an avenue for the
poor to have some influence on
the programs that affect their
lives. The Nixon
Administration and the public,
if their eyes are really open,
must know this. Can it be that
the programs are having too
much success for the
Administration and the
non-poor are worried because
minorities are able to enjoy
some of the freedoms that
others have enjoyed? Can that
be the real reason the Nixon
Administration wanted to
dismantle OEO and cut our
other social programs? I submit
that that seems to be more
consistant with the behavior of
that administration than a
concern about irregularities or
criminal activity.
Thank you, Mr. Vernon, for
providing the arguments, and
thanks to the public whose
eyes are now open for seeing to
whose actions the arguments
apply.
Sincerely,
Charles F. Smith, Chairman
Board of Directors, CSRA
Economic Opportunities
Authority
3041 Dent Street
Augusta, Ga.
SPRAYER I
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HARDWARE
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NEWS BOYS
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Verno" E. Jordaa, Jr. f L
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THE WATERGATE SYMBOL
The Watergate scandal is one that has rocked the very
foundations of our society. It has paralyzed the government,
damaged relations with other countries, and called into question
the very credibility of our political institutions.
But I fear that the concentration on who did what to whom
and why may obscure some of the deeper meanings of this affair.
For example, Watergate can be seen as a symbol of a view of
our society and the political process that is founded on suspicion
and mistrust. In the Watergate affair, men in high places
apparently believed that the ends justified the means, even when
those means were illegal. It stands for the very opposite of the
open society we have been taught is the goal of a democracy.
If Watergate is symptomatic of such a distrustful view of
society, then its ultimate importance might be in examining some
other recent events that share that discredited view.
The systematic dismantling of social programs, the
disengagement of the government from the war on poverty, the
stress on what has been called “law and order,” and other
examples of indifference and even antagonism to the needs of
poor people and minorities share with Watergate a mistrust of the
masses of people and of their democratic institutions.
Coupling Watergate and the budget cuts may seem strange to
some, but they are both indicative of a concern for ends without
consideration of the means. They are both -- in the flagrant abuse
of power as well as in heartlessness towards the poor - subversive
of a free and open society.
Such a free society must be one in which contending political
ideas may freely circulate without harassment, and one in which
individuals, families and minority groups are not penalized by
poverty and discrimination.
While Watergate was dominating the headlines, a Senate report
said that some twelve million Americans are still malnourished
and indicated that their numbers may increase because of the rise
in food prices. To me, this is as much of a scandal as Watergate.
And neglecting those hungry twelve million is part of the
mind-set that can tolerate bugging, stealing files, and other
actions that undermine democracy.
Everyone seems to agree that the Watergate disclosures have
severely damaged the country, but too few people also realize
that the country is damaged if it rolls back to social reforms of
the 19605. Scandals and investigations make good headlines ,
hunger and want do not.
Long after the Watergate mess fades into the history books, it
will be seen htat the failure of our time was not in its lapses of
political morality, but in its failure to do something about the
pervasive social and racial conflicts that divide this society.
It should be remembered that Watergate is a “white folks’
mess,” not because black people are innately better or are
incapable of abusing power, but because no blacks were part of
the federal and party hierarchy. Thus, even in this, blacks are
notable by their exclusion. To abuse responsibilities, one must
first be in a responsible position.
1 hope the lessons of Watergate will be learned - and quickly.
Already there seems to be a new awareness of the importance of a
free press, of the basic strength of the democratic institutions
that exposed the scandal, andof the need for a more open
government.
It is my hope that this will be reflected further in a new, more
enlightened attitude toward black Americans by the
Administration, and by a revised view of the basic social programs
it planned to end.
Watergate is being fully exposed. Now it’s time to turn the
spotlight on the unmet needs and unfulfilled dreams of America’s
poor and its minorities.
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I PLACES I
■ PHILIP WARING
I ■
ORCHIDS TO PILGRIM LIFE
It has been indeed good to pick up the NEWS-REVIEW and
other Black weekly newspapers from other cities and read about
the Pilgrim Health and Life Insurance Company 75th
Anniversary;
Congratulations to W.S. Hornsby, Jr. and all of hiS fine staff
and board associates for an outstanding job. And let’s not forget
the beloved founders and others who developed the company.
Some years ago in a Going Places column I had the opportunity
to coining a phrase, “Blacks Who Helped Build Augusta”. As this
history is written Pilgrim Life will stand foremost and tall in the
economic-business sector.
The Watergate incident is bringing about some change in the
White House attitude on needed social programs and indicated in a
Chicago newspaper editorial:
WEINBERGER EXPLAINS
HEW Sec. Caspar W. Weinberger’s explanation of the Nixon
Administration’s acute retrenchment of critical social programs
had the tone and solemnity of a surgical post mortem.
Explanation after the fact, as a rule, is plastered with a logic that
yields little room for refutation. And Weinberger’s mastery of
syllogism makes him a most convincing defender of the
Administration’s budget cuts.
Without emotional display or betterness, Weinberger inveighed
against the negative reaction to the economic reallocation and
restructuring of urgent programs as wholly at variance with harsh
realities of governmental commitments.
The program cuts which have received the brunt of public
criticism are among others, Day Care, the Committee on Urban
Opportunity and the much disputed Revenue Sharing. They are
said to be in procedural rearrangement in which existing special
outlay will be combined under new management.
Weinberger’s skillful use of words, his immaculate phrasing and
faultless logic make him easily a most effective and impressive
defender of the Nixon restructural program at a time when the
Administration is suffering the acute pains of the Watergate tragic
error.
To date, Weinberger’s explanation of Mr. Nixon’s position on
the yet burning issue of school busing, is one that might have
removed much heat from the controversy had it been proffered in
the earlier stage of the debate on school racial balance. He said
the Administration was against busing for the sake of statistical
integration. It would rather tackle residential segregation as a
more basic concern. The inference is clear and rational:
Elimination of housing segregation would ipso facto do away
with gerrymandered school districts and eliminate racial
separation. The trouble with this argument is that Mr. Nixon has
made no such commitment and has not availed himself of the
opportunity to defend with palatable reasoning his much
trumpeted anti-busing stand. Were his oppostion to this busing
mechanism based on the assumption advanced by the perceptive,
new HEW secretary, public outcry against Mr. Nixon’s passionate
preservation of the status quo would have been less strident, less
caustic. A better taste would have been left in the mouths of
busing proponents.
RESTRICTIONS EASED
Two months of protests have caused the Nixon Administration
to ease some of the staff restrictions it wanted to place on federal
support of Day Care for Children, Aid to the Aged, blind and
disabled, and similar social service programs.
Instead, Health, Education and Welfare Secretary Caspar
Weinberger has substituted a relaxed set of regulations that he
said were final, and would focus the 52.5 billion program
“Directly on those most in need’.
The new rules ease proposed restrictions on day care eligibility
and federal matching of privately donated money. Some
programs still require recertification of eligible individuals every
six months, a requirement that brought Congressional charges of
“impoundment by red tape”.