On the Road

     The more people we get to know, the wide variety of people we listen to, the better we see the total picture: history beyond textbooks, cultures beyond our own, real life situations, philosophies with  similarities and differences.  Everyone deserves to be treated equally under the law, within religions, in society, and in marriage.
     What seems to be one thing from a distance is very different close up.  Anybody who is experiencing something is more expert than the experts.  Decisions are best made by the people affected by them.  One of the simplest paths to deep change is for the less powerful to speak as much as they listen, and for the most powerful to listen as much as they speak.
     Patriarchy causes an imbalance in power and an unhealthy society.  Women should decide whether and when to give birth.  Pressuring women to have too many children is the biggest cause of environmental distress.  Males and females should have equal educational opportunities and equal pay for the same job.  All ethnic groups should be treated equally.
     A big difference exists between protesting people's rules and making one's own.  For decades, many women have organized people who saw the need for change, who continue to do what it takes to have equal rights and eradicate racism and sexism.
     Most of the ideas in this blog come from Gloria Steinem's book "My Life on the Road."  As she traveled throughout her life to many foreign countries and to many places in the US, she listened to people, learned their history, their stories, and their hopes for the future.  She wrote and spoke about what she learned and organized people who are still making strides toward equality.