Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Bay Buchanan at St. Kate's (sort of) and The U
As mentioned in previous posts, here, here, here, here and here, conservative, pro-life speaker Bay Buchanan was to speak at St. Kate's and the University of Minnesota today.
St. Kate's administration decided to play games with the Minnesota Association of Scholars (MAS) to prevent Ms. Buchanan from coming onto the St. Kate campus but there's always an alternative. We moved the talk across the street to the Luci Ancora Restaurant. The crowd was small but the talk was impressive. Bay discussed the role of feminism as it began and how it has changed over the years.
While the feminist movement was successful in promoting more education for more women, there were three major pitfalls that have haunted far too many women since the inception of "feminism" in the 1950's. The first negative issue was the premise that fulfillment for women could be found only in the workplace. The second was that yesterday's feminists turned into a very selfish bunch - nothing was greater than what they could do for themselves, including aborting unwanted or untimely children. The third issue is the belief, still perpetuated by Hillary and many of her crowd, that women are victims and need the government to help them - with childcare, schooling, etc.
In January of 2008, all looked good for the NOW crowd. Their icon, Hillary Clinton, the epitome of a feminist was positioned to crack the last glass ceiling. Then along came Barry..... and their dreams were crushed. But, hey, then along came Sarah.
As Bay stated, Sarah was not exactly the icon these feminists wanted. Yet, Sarah had done it all: educated herself; married; had kids; done the PTA and hockey thing; went into politics and wow, took on the establishment, an incumbent governor, and succeeded - without government help but with true grit. So what's the problem with Sarah, a real feminist? Well, Sarah is (horrors) a Republican, a Christian and a mom who kept her child even after she knew it would have health problems. And, like it or not, she's the new face of feminism.
The audience at the U was small but very interested in what Bay had to say. Half the audience was comprised of men. All were incredibly attentive and asked excellent questions. Bay is quite knowledgeable on a variety of topics though her passion is abortion, what it has done to the psyche of women and what it has done to discourse in our nation.
Youth today need to hear the other side of many, many social issues. Unfortunately, too much of their "education" is influenced by left/Democrat professors (who outnumber conservative/
Republican professors by 6:1-9:1 depending on subject matter). We owe it to our children, our leaders of tomorrow, to make sure they learn not only US History but also hear of those views that do not get coverage by the mainstream media. Bay made a dent in this one-sided coverage. She is well worth hearing - I only wish more knew of her and could hear her speak. She knows her material and is passionate about her beliefs. We need more people like her.
Disclosure: King and I are on the board of the Minnesota Association of Scholars.
UPDATE: Last Friday, I highlighted the fact that a spokesman for St. Kate's had posted a comment defending their decision on the basis of a purported need to protect their status as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. I noted an analysis by the Foundation for individual Rights in Education (FIRE) that shows this to be a disingenuous basis for banning political speech on campus. Today, FIRE quotes from our comments in a greatly expanded discussion of the St. Kate's and 501(c)(3).
St. Kate's administration decided to play games with the Minnesota Association of Scholars (MAS) to prevent Ms. Buchanan from coming onto the St. Kate campus but there's always an alternative. We moved the talk across the street to the Luci Ancora Restaurant. The crowd was small but the talk was impressive. Bay discussed the role of feminism as it began and how it has changed over the years.
While the feminist movement was successful in promoting more education for more women, there were three major pitfalls that have haunted far too many women since the inception of "feminism" in the 1950's. The first negative issue was the premise that fulfillment for women could be found only in the workplace. The second was that yesterday's feminists turned into a very selfish bunch - nothing was greater than what they could do for themselves, including aborting unwanted or untimely children. The third issue is the belief, still perpetuated by Hillary and many of her crowd, that women are victims and need the government to help them - with childcare, schooling, etc.
In January of 2008, all looked good for the NOW crowd. Their icon, Hillary Clinton, the epitome of a feminist was positioned to crack the last glass ceiling. Then along came Barry..... and their dreams were crushed. But, hey, then along came Sarah.
As Bay stated, Sarah was not exactly the icon these feminists wanted. Yet, Sarah had done it all: educated herself; married; had kids; done the PTA and hockey thing; went into politics and wow, took on the establishment, an incumbent governor, and succeeded - without government help but with true grit. So what's the problem with Sarah, a real feminist? Well, Sarah is (horrors) a Republican, a Christian and a mom who kept her child even after she knew it would have health problems. And, like it or not, she's the new face of feminism.
The audience at the U was small but very interested in what Bay had to say. Half the audience was comprised of men. All were incredibly attentive and asked excellent questions. Bay is quite knowledgeable on a variety of topics though her passion is abortion, what it has done to the psyche of women and what it has done to discourse in our nation.
Youth today need to hear the other side of many, many social issues. Unfortunately, too much of their "education" is influenced by left/Democrat professors (who outnumber conservative/
Republican professors by 6:1-9:1 depending on subject matter). We owe it to our children, our leaders of tomorrow, to make sure they learn not only US History but also hear of those views that do not get coverage by the mainstream media. Bay made a dent in this one-sided coverage. She is well worth hearing - I only wish more knew of her and could hear her speak. She knows her material and is passionate about her beliefs. We need more people like her.
Disclosure: King and I are on the board of the Minnesota Association of Scholars.
UPDATE: Last Friday, I highlighted the fact that a spokesman for St. Kate's had posted a comment defending their decision on the basis of a purported need to protect their status as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. I noted an analysis by the Foundation for individual Rights in Education (FIRE) that shows this to be a disingenuous basis for banning political speech on campus. Today, FIRE quotes from our comments in a greatly expanded discussion of the St. Kate's and 501(c)(3).
Labels: Feminists
