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Our Carpet
By Mona Lease

Hi, all!! I was speaking with a girlfriend the other day. I got on one of my "soap-box" talks. She said I needed to write it as a column. So - for your consideration - I submit the following.

We, here in the US, have got ourselves a huge hump in the middle of our carpet - figuratively speaking. We all know it's there. We can no longer ignore it. It has gotten so tall that we can no longer set a table on the top of it (again figuratively speaking) and say it's the latest in interior design. How did the hump get there??

It probably started in the late '60s...maybe 1969 or so. Virginia Slim cigarettes put out a "little black book" - free with every carton of cigarettes you purchased. I was given one - black with gold lettering that said "Virginia Slim"...their slogan was "You've come a long way, baby." I was twelve. So women bought into the theory and "under the carpet" it went - so to speak because few bought into a woman with a little black book filled with men's names and the "star-rating" that was applied. How dare she!!

When women started frequenting the bars and clubs openly - with their own money - the hump under the carpet grew a tad. But we could still ignore it - along with the fact that a female version of what once was "man's domain" existed for women. Women would be rating a man's prowess.,,,based on what?? With a certain amount of male pride - under the carpet this went. It was still mostly unacceptable behavior. Still - woman was granted her rights.

Then came women having children without being married - by choice. Gasp, sputter - what?!! But women had the little black book, could make and spend their money in a bar or club. They got that right, too. "I exercise my right" to a child without marriage or a father present in the home. Others do it through a tragedy and it worked - so why can't I?? Under the carpet it went - and the hump grew.

Then came the right to buy a house on a woman's income alone. "It's my right to have a child - buy a home for me and my child." (She still required the father to provide monetary support, the Judge said ok and rapped his gavel.) With a bit of a gag - under the carpet it went to help the hump grow.

The next logical step was adoption on a woman's merits alone (no bringing up the bar/club attendance....she has a right to a social life.) And now it's under the carpet. Therefore - a woman now controlled her money - her home - bank accounts - child care - child education. Personal "needs" were to her discretion. And the hump under the carpet grew.

Pre-school....home-school....half-school....no school...we all learn under different circumstances. "It's my child's right" to be comfortable while learning. OK - they get their rights.

Gays - alternative medicine - who is allowed to marry who - what restrooms can a kiddie use at school ?- who can father a child - which drugs should be legal - for what procedures should an insurance company pay? - are "escort services" a moral job? - is fidelity a "school subject" - do we really need cursive writing? - will the 10 Commandments in public buildings really help? - is prayer in the school a help...is it being "shoved" down unwilling throats?? - etc, etc, etc, You know where all of this went. "They deserve their rights" seems to be a mantra in the USA. But we've shoved so much "under the carpet" in an effort to please all...make everyone happy.

The hump has grown so high we can no longer ignore it. Nor can we set anything on it and call it "art" - I'm not even sure we can reach the top of it. We're running out of carpet. No one seems willing to work together to fix it. No one seems willing to be a bad guy. No one wants to be "uncomfortable" and draw attention to this hump. But taking away our constitutional rights will not fix this - that I see. Letting people come into the US or making them leave the US is not going to fix this. This one's gonna take some action - by everyone - at the same time.

Remember the kiddies and our service people. Take good care of the furry and feathered ones out there. Be safe and healthy. See ya next time. Ever Toodles!!  MONA


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