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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. „ , Auction Grace woo d Ratti Hwy. 25 & Tobacco Rd. Auction Every Wed. At 7:30 Sundays At 2 P.M. Open Daily You Buy Or Sell 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 PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY Mallory K. Millender Editor and Publisher Mailing Address: Box 953 Augusta, Ga. Phone 722-4555 Second Class Postage Paid Augusta, Ga. 30901 SUBSCRIPTION RATES Payable in Advance One Year in Richmond County $5.00 tax incl. 6 Months $2.50 tax incl. One Year elsewhere $6.00 tax incl. ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Classified Advertising Deadline 12 noon on Tuesday Display Advertising Deadline 12 noon On Tuesday News Items Printed Free METHODIST c 4A Ii W 1 11. # <~ AJ 2-a ? 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 ALL YOM K&l I I LAWU •"•.-’J I MRPEN | J HARPWAK rR” | ANTOPOLSKY I HARDWARE iiiiiimn 1245 broad iiuhihhil WANTED NEWS BOYS Good Pay CALL Newa—Review Office 722-4555 TO BE Zjggy EQUAL 5 Verno" E. Jordaa, Jr. f L y qp FF F WF 'W 'wHf W*F 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. CITIZENS ] OAN COMPANY. INC. 412 NINTH STREET Signature - auto - loans FURNITURE - COME IN OR PHONE TODAY - IF YOU NEED CASH Phone 724-7457 FLOWERS BUS: 738*5401 RES: 793-3SOI f SUBSCRIBE I TODAY JI THE AUGUSTA NEWS—REVIEW P. 0. BOX 953 AUGUSTA, GEORGIA 30903 NAME ADDRESS lU, CITY |||l One year (in county)ss.oo One year (out of county)s6.oo • a 5 years (in County)s2o.oo 5 years (out of county)s2s.oo Fgoing 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”.