With Fathers’ Day on the horizon, and as we seek to honor the men who honor their children, it seems a bit ironic that it’s been women who have been all over the news lately, and who deserve a little shine of their own.
Take for example the debt limit crisis that the U.S. Congress and President Biden just recently avoided. Every year as the U.S. exceeds its borrowing authority, Congress must authorize an increase just so the country can pay its bills. This year, House Speaker Keven McCarthy and President Joe Biden were locked in a testosterone-laden game of chicken with a national credit default looming on the horizon.
Enter one Shalanda Young. You might not know her name now, but you should remember it. She’s a working mother who also is the first Black female director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, which is responsible for balancing the national checkbook. If you’ve not seen the video of her using her Black Girl magic to “woman-handle” the national press corps, you’re in for a treat. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsYkUV7Cc1c)
It was Shalanda who was at the center of the debt limit negotiations and who won the trust of Democrats and Republicans alike to forge a deal that both parties could sign on to. The result: national debt crisis averted thanks in large part to one Black woman surrounded by a cadre of pigheaded white men.
Phenomenal female feats ought not be surprising to us. Throughout history, “sisters have been doing it for themselves,” to borrow a lyric from an old pop song. Or, to pilfer a phrase from an old cigarette ad: “You’ve come a long way, baby, to get where you’ve got to today.”
I know, calling a woman “baby” might not be politically correct today, but neither are cigarette ads. My point is, somehow while we men weren’t looking, women have been eating our lunches. Our current vice president, Kamala Harris is a woman; the head of the federal reserve, Janet Yellen is a woman. My wife is a woman! (I say that because you can’t be too sure about marriages these days).
Deborah, one of the judges who saved Israel was a woman. Queen Esther who also helped avert an ancient holocaust was a woman. Ruth the Moabite was a woman whose faithfulness to her mother-in-law, Naomi, led to the birth of King David and ultimately, the reign of King Jesus.
Yet, despite their history, inequities against women still linger.
Women make up a disproportionate percentage of people in poverty; women are more often victims of domestic violence, and recently, even the Church has struck a death blow toward women by not allowing them a place in church leadership.
This week the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) expelled two of their churches for sanctioning women pastors.
Rick Warren, founding pastor of Saddleback Church of Southern California, and author of the book, The Purpose Driven Life, along with two other churches were found to be out of compliance with the SBC’s statement of faith, which says in part that “the office of pastor is limited to men. Saddleback boasts membership of 57,000 people and 15 campuses throughout the United States.
These slights against women are just the latest salvoes in what some have begun calling toxic masculinity. This sociological syndrome describes a patriarchal culture in which men seek to achieve dominance at any cost, including the oppression of women. Some, like those in the Southern Baptist Convention teach this misogyny as Biblical doctrine citing the fact that Adam was granted dominion over the earth, and Eve was “made” from Adam’s rib, according to the Book of Genesis.
While both those things are true, it is also true that the Apostle Paul in a section of 1 Corinthians 11 where he asserts that “the woman was created for the man,” also posits this phrase: “… so also the man is born of the woman; and all things originate from God.”
So this Fathers’ Day, let us men make a sacrifice and bring a little inclusion into our celebration. With all due respect for the role “good” fathers play, it’s high time we gave up our own plaudits and tipped our hats to the women in our lives, who have been beating the odds stacked against them since the beginning. Like Paul says, ‘Where would we be without them?”
One response to “Celebrating Women on Fathers’ Day”
Very good & informative for those who had no clue. Women are awesome & many take on the role as mother & father and do it well. Just a little note, my girls have always included me on Father’s day.