Sunday, March 28, 2004
Genius of Woman
It is not difficult to see that there are many problems today. But the greatest problem we have is how much the families have crumbled. As my friend Selwyn Duke once said, "You know the world is in bad shape when the only thing that isn't becoming more nuclear is the family." I think that one of the causes is feminism, which is a product of secularism, its cause. Back then, before secularism poisoned society, people believed in virtues such as temperance, justice, fortitude, and prudence. Ancient philosophers such as Socrates and Aristotle believed that in order to achieve the summum bonum or the greatest good, one must be virtuous. But when secularism started to become popular, it made man believe that the greatest good is material. As Alice Von Hildebrand said, "The poison of secularism has penetrated deeply into our society. It did so by stages. Men were its first victims: They became more and more convinced that in order to be someone they had to succeed in the world. Success means money, power, fame, recognition, creativity, inventiveness, etc. Many of them sacrificed their family life in order to achieve this goal: They came home just to relax or have fun. Work was the serious part of their life. Innumerable marriages have been ruined by this attitude. Wives rightly felt that they were mere appendixes -- a necessary relaxation. Husbands had little time for loving exchanges, as they were too busy. The children saw very little of their fathers." This was the beginning of the destruction of families. Men did not appreciate women because they did not recognize the acts of virtues women did. How can they? Virtue is not a material thing; it cannot be seen. Since man became materialistic, they did not give the proper respect and honor to their wives and other women. Women were to them "inferior" because they were materialistic. This then caused the battles of the sexes. Women rose up and told men that they too can be materialistic; they too can be "successful". It was adopting this secularist mentality which made it seem like the traditional view of women was that they were "inferior". The acts of virtues women did at home and at the workplace were not materialistic. And by having this materialistic mentality, it became "inferior". The feminist did nothing but accept the errors of men. They equated "equality" with doing a man's work. Feminism is nothing but women masculinized. The result of this is that men treated women like they would treat a man. Fulton J. Sheen said it best, "Once woman became man's mathematical equal, he no longer gave her a seat in a bus and no longer took off his hat in an elevator." Even worse, women began to look down on virtues of tenderness, gentleness, kindness, patience, selflessness and self-giving. In other words, they lost recognition of their "genius", the genius of woman or the feminine genius.
Back then when there were more communists in Russia than American professors, Fulton J. Sheen said, "The level of civilization is the level of its womanhood." I have hope in this fallen world because I believe that woman has a genius all her own and she can change the world by manifesting it. Women have the power because they can change men; they have the control to make men noble. Sheen said, "When man loves woman, it follows that the nobler the woman, the nobler the love; the higher demands made by the woman, the more worthy a man must be." Just think about it. If women did not dress so promiscuously, men would not treat her as an instrument for pleasure. For a woman, dressing up showing their belly buttons and cleavage might simply mean that they want to be recognized, but for a man, that means a lot more than that. It saddens me how many times I have heard girls tell me that they have been hurt by their boyfriends whom they call "jerks" because they did not give them the proper respect that they needed. It saddens me how many times girls were hurt because they had sex with whom they think was their "beloved", but the relationship did not go as well as they hoped for and now they feel used. Mostly, it saddens me when there is such a thing as "unwanted pregnancy" and then to leave the child inside a trashcan in an abortion clinic. One of the cruelest things in the world is to label a person, no matter how small, "unwanted" or "unfit". What saddens me more is that these labels came from women. Growing up with what my mother taught me, I would not expect women justifying murdering a person in the name of "choice"
My hope rests on women. If they start to manifest their genius, then this world will become a world which respects human life. This is because one aspect of the feminine genius is to recognize persons as persons. Women have the genius to recognize the dignity and sanctity of human life. They have a capacity to accept the person, not just as individuals, but persons. The difference between individuals and persons is that individuals are replaceable and persons are not. For example, if I was at the store and was to buy apples, I can say, "No, this one is bad. Give me another." But you cannot say this about persons. Every person is unique and has dignity all his own. A woman can recognize persons as persons because they can see through things. They can see past the bodies. They can "see" dignity in each person; they have in-sight. If you notice, this aspect and other aspects of the feminine genius make up what it takes to be a mother. Every woman ought to be a mother either physically or spiritually. She has the capacity to give herself for the other, to nurture, and to suffer with others. Men have trouble holding a baby, but women do not. Their gentle arms shows that they were made to hold a child. When a mother just finished giving birth and holds the baby in her hands, she sees that the baby is naked; the baby does not have jewelry, money, clothes, or any material thing, but she still sees the beauty in him. A mother sacrifices her time and her bodily strengths when the child wakes up late at night and she has to take care of him. A mother teaches her child to walk without her hands and to pick him up when he falls. A mother is usually the person the child goes to when he is afraid; her arms is his "place of safety", believing that his mother will never abandon him and will protect him. Motherhood requires a sincere giving of self, to sacrifice our wants for the good of the other. It puts primacy on love of the other. Motherhood is the reason why houses are called homes and it is also the reason why love starts at home.
No, I am not saying that women should not work. What I am saying is that wherever women go, they should manifest their feminine genius. What I am also saying is that a woman is first and foremost a mother. Yes, feminism might have brought women who can go to the moon, who can become owners and CEOs, who can be as good as Michael Jordan, and who can be presidents. But how many families are broken? How many people need help because they lacked the love they needed when they were young? A woman can be all those things, but so can man. However, there is one thing a man cannot be. A man cannot be a mother. Maybe we would not have so many abortions and broken families if we gave mothers the honor and respect they deserve. In fact, I am definitely sure that we would not have this abortion-holocaust if we acknowledged the virtues of motherhood. This is because motherhood entails the choice of life; women are essentially pro-life. The only way this world will get better is if we have a pro-life mentality, which we learned from mothers. This Brave New World is not forever new. It will come to pass. It will come to pass because of the feminine genius. This is the same genius which taught a Wise Man to say, "Behold, your mother."
It is not difficult to see that there are many problems today. But the greatest problem we have is how much the families have crumbled. As my friend Selwyn Duke once said, "You know the world is in bad shape when the only thing that isn't becoming more nuclear is the family." I think that one of the causes is feminism, which is a product of secularism, its cause. Back then, before secularism poisoned society, people believed in virtues such as temperance, justice, fortitude, and prudence. Ancient philosophers such as Socrates and Aristotle believed that in order to achieve the summum bonum or the greatest good, one must be virtuous. But when secularism started to become popular, it made man believe that the greatest good is material. As Alice Von Hildebrand said, "The poison of secularism has penetrated deeply into our society. It did so by stages. Men were its first victims: They became more and more convinced that in order to be someone they had to succeed in the world. Success means money, power, fame, recognition, creativity, inventiveness, etc. Many of them sacrificed their family life in order to achieve this goal: They came home just to relax or have fun. Work was the serious part of their life. Innumerable marriages have been ruined by this attitude. Wives rightly felt that they were mere appendixes -- a necessary relaxation. Husbands had little time for loving exchanges, as they were too busy. The children saw very little of their fathers." This was the beginning of the destruction of families. Men did not appreciate women because they did not recognize the acts of virtues women did. How can they? Virtue is not a material thing; it cannot be seen. Since man became materialistic, they did not give the proper respect and honor to their wives and other women. Women were to them "inferior" because they were materialistic. This then caused the battles of the sexes. Women rose up and told men that they too can be materialistic; they too can be "successful". It was adopting this secularist mentality which made it seem like the traditional view of women was that they were "inferior". The acts of virtues women did at home and at the workplace were not materialistic. And by having this materialistic mentality, it became "inferior". The feminist did nothing but accept the errors of men. They equated "equality" with doing a man's work. Feminism is nothing but women masculinized. The result of this is that men treated women like they would treat a man. Fulton J. Sheen said it best, "Once woman became man's mathematical equal, he no longer gave her a seat in a bus and no longer took off his hat in an elevator." Even worse, women began to look down on virtues of tenderness, gentleness, kindness, patience, selflessness and self-giving. In other words, they lost recognition of their "genius", the genius of woman or the feminine genius.
Back then when there were more communists in Russia than American professors, Fulton J. Sheen said, "The level of civilization is the level of its womanhood." I have hope in this fallen world because I believe that woman has a genius all her own and she can change the world by manifesting it. Women have the power because they can change men; they have the control to make men noble. Sheen said, "When man loves woman, it follows that the nobler the woman, the nobler the love; the higher demands made by the woman, the more worthy a man must be." Just think about it. If women did not dress so promiscuously, men would not treat her as an instrument for pleasure. For a woman, dressing up showing their belly buttons and cleavage might simply mean that they want to be recognized, but for a man, that means a lot more than that. It saddens me how many times I have heard girls tell me that they have been hurt by their boyfriends whom they call "jerks" because they did not give them the proper respect that they needed. It saddens me how many times girls were hurt because they had sex with whom they think was their "beloved", but the relationship did not go as well as they hoped for and now they feel used. Mostly, it saddens me when there is such a thing as "unwanted pregnancy" and then to leave the child inside a trashcan in an abortion clinic. One of the cruelest things in the world is to label a person, no matter how small, "unwanted" or "unfit". What saddens me more is that these labels came from women. Growing up with what my mother taught me, I would not expect women justifying murdering a person in the name of "choice"
My hope rests on women. If they start to manifest their genius, then this world will become a world which respects human life. This is because one aspect of the feminine genius is to recognize persons as persons. Women have the genius to recognize the dignity and sanctity of human life. They have a capacity to accept the person, not just as individuals, but persons. The difference between individuals and persons is that individuals are replaceable and persons are not. For example, if I was at the store and was to buy apples, I can say, "No, this one is bad. Give me another." But you cannot say this about persons. Every person is unique and has dignity all his own. A woman can recognize persons as persons because they can see through things. They can see past the bodies. They can "see" dignity in each person; they have in-sight. If you notice, this aspect and other aspects of the feminine genius make up what it takes to be a mother. Every woman ought to be a mother either physically or spiritually. She has the capacity to give herself for the other, to nurture, and to suffer with others. Men have trouble holding a baby, but women do not. Their gentle arms shows that they were made to hold a child. When a mother just finished giving birth and holds the baby in her hands, she sees that the baby is naked; the baby does not have jewelry, money, clothes, or any material thing, but she still sees the beauty in him. A mother sacrifices her time and her bodily strengths when the child wakes up late at night and she has to take care of him. A mother teaches her child to walk without her hands and to pick him up when he falls. A mother is usually the person the child goes to when he is afraid; her arms is his "place of safety", believing that his mother will never abandon him and will protect him. Motherhood requires a sincere giving of self, to sacrifice our wants for the good of the other. It puts primacy on love of the other. Motherhood is the reason why houses are called homes and it is also the reason why love starts at home.
No, I am not saying that women should not work. What I am saying is that wherever women go, they should manifest their feminine genius. What I am also saying is that a woman is first and foremost a mother. Yes, feminism might have brought women who can go to the moon, who can become owners and CEOs, who can be as good as Michael Jordan, and who can be presidents. But how many families are broken? How many people need help because they lacked the love they needed when they were young? A woman can be all those things, but so can man. However, there is one thing a man cannot be. A man cannot be a mother. Maybe we would not have so many abortions and broken families if we gave mothers the honor and respect they deserve. In fact, I am definitely sure that we would not have this abortion-holocaust if we acknowledged the virtues of motherhood. This is because motherhood entails the choice of life; women are essentially pro-life. The only way this world will get better is if we have a pro-life mentality, which we learned from mothers. This Brave New World is not forever new. It will come to pass. It will come to pass because of the feminine genius. This is the same genius which taught a Wise Man to say, "Behold, your mother."
