I Belong in the Suffragist's Era

I believe that if I ever existed in the past, I would have been fighting for the rights of women.  I think I would have been protesting for something or another, especially for the right of women to vote. I would have been working towards the goal that women be allowed to work to provide for themselves, especially if single or widowed.  Another goal would have been for women to own their property, without having to defer to a man. 

I am not necessarily saying that I would have fought for women to be allowed to have all the abortions they ever wanted.  I'm not even saying that I would really want to work outside of the house if I were married.  I'm just saying that a woman should be able to help her spouse financially if she could handle the physical and emotional aspects of working, whether in or out of the house.  She should not have to be considered a man's property, born to him or married to him, without any rights of her own.  It is sad to think that other cultures and nations still have this situation in their hands.  Hopefully with time, this will change elsewhere and also improve here in the United States.

In today's standards, women are still not getting paid fairly in the United States.  If I worked at Walmart, I would only be making $7 an hour--that is, if I were to get hired.  You see, with a university degree, I would probably be over-qualified to work there.  My husband gets paid over twice the amount (as a seasoned welder) than I would earn at Walmart. It wouldn't be worth it for me to work there or at any other similar job site.  I think about the cost of the gas, the upkeep of the car, having to leave my kids behind, the stress of dealing with rude/greedy customers, and I realize that I should just stay home and educate my children.  Anyway, there are other opportunities to make money with virtual (online) and physical (yard) sales.

When I was a teenager, a teacher once told me that I resembled a protester.  I immediately took that as a compliment.  Since then, as an adult I have emailed my representatives many times.  I have added my voice to certain issues that were dear to my heart like home schooling and parent's rights.  Much like the empty chairs and small bookcase above imply, we must decide when to stand up out of them and exact change in our society. 

What sorts of things do we fill our shelves with?  Books, knick knacks or artifacts?  What about our hearts?  What's important in our lives?  Let's act on what is top priority in our lives and not worry about the rest.

How about you, my readers?  What era or time period would you belong to?  Why?  What would it mean to you?  Think it over.

My peace I spread to you, my beloveds.