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John Meacham, senior editor of Newsweek magazine, wrote an editorial in the June 21, 2010, publication titled, "Primary Examples For Our Daughters." He discussed the importance of the 2010 primary elections for young women. The number of women running for public office, along with an African-American in the Oval Office, demonstrates the promise of opportunity for all women and minorities. He was quick to note that the "fabled glass ceiling" has not yet been broken as we still struggle with prejudices. Yet, he declared, from the recent elections, "But one thing is clear: We are living in a different, and I think better, country than we had just a few years ago, for the iconography of politics has changed in ways that are impossible to undo. African-Americans and women are now embedded in elective life."
Watching the elections with him was his 3½-year-old daughter, Mary. When asked, John told Mary that these women wanted to be president. Hearing that, she paused, and then answered, "But girls can't be president." Upon further inquiry as to why girls cannot be president, Mary showed him a place mat souvenir that the family purchased in an excursion to the nation's capital. As it showed all the color portraits of the presidents she confessed why a woman could not be president, "There aren't any pictures of them." Meacham wrote, "She had drawn this conclusion from, of all things, a place mat." Meacham concluded, "The color bar has now been broken on those knickknacks, and soon, one hopes, the gender barrier will be, too."
The passage from our lectionary reading is titled, by some commentaries, as "The Encouragement." The people were discouraged at the small size and even smaller progress that was being made in the rebuilding of the temple. Then Haggai reminded his people that there are a few people in the community who were present and remember the splendor of Solomon's Temple. They realize though this temple is smaller, "The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house." This is because God will once again claim the temple as his own.
Those of us who have lived prior to the Civil Rights Movement are encouraged in the change of the political landscape we see today. It is a change that is not limited to politics, but has extended itself into all facets of our society. Along with Haggai, we can offer words of encouragement that, "The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house." There is a future for all the Mary's of our nation.
Ron L.
Watching the elections with him was his 3½-year-old daughter, Mary. When asked, John told Mary that these women wanted to be president. Hearing that, she paused, and then answered, "But girls can't be president." Upon further inquiry as to why girls cannot be president, Mary showed him a place mat souvenir that the family purchased in an excursion to the nation's capital. As it showed all the color portraits of the presidents she confessed why a woman could not be president, "There aren't any pictures of them." Meacham wrote, "She had drawn this conclusion from, of all things, a place mat." Meacham concluded, "The color bar has now been broken on those knickknacks, and soon, one hopes, the gender barrier will be, too."
The passage from our lectionary reading is titled, by some commentaries, as "The Encouragement." The people were discouraged at the small size and even smaller progress that was being made in the rebuilding of the temple. Then Haggai reminded his people that there are a few people in the community who were present and remember the splendor of Solomon's Temple. They realize though this temple is smaller, "The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house." This is because God will once again claim the temple as his own.
Those of us who have lived prior to the Civil Rights Movement are encouraged in the change of the political landscape we see today. It is a change that is not limited to politics, but has extended itself into all facets of our society. Along with Haggai, we can offer words of encouragement that, "The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house." There is a future for all the Mary's of our nation.
Ron L.
