Monday, April 11, 2005

The crime of silence when we should speak out

I saw a brilliant documentary a few nights ago about the vagina monologues. A true inspiration in action. I had in my own little everyday word forgotten how many women suffer because SOME men believe they have ownership over them. Suffer because of the shame of the unspeakable violence brought upon them. It is so easy to forget things in our world if they don’t inflict on our personal life directly. It is so easy to fall into the pit of roughhouses and close the heart and mind to other perspectives. I had become fed up with the feminist movement; our world is a bit out of balance still because the changes different thinking has brought about. I personally don’t think the best or the only solution is to abandon motherhood for carrier oriented thinking. I don’t think that is what all women want, it would also be nice to see a world where there was a choice and respect for those that want to stay at home. That is also work, but not highly appreciated because the lowest wages are for women that work as caregivers for our kids in day cares and elementary schools. So is that a reflection of how we look at homemakers, that looking after your kids is the least interesting work there is, the least valued work. I think so. Women have gotten so caught up in the male oriented thinking that they have forgotten the matriarch, how can we justify dumping our children and parents into institutes instead of making them a real home. I don’t understand it. I mean I want to be successful but isn’t one of the greatest successes to raise healthy children who will have the moral fiber to evolve beyond us?
I don’t understand why I should feel more of a person if I am working as a manger for other people than for example my family. I mean can’t I do both? No not really it is all or nothing at least in Iceland. But are we happy, we claim we are the happiest nation in the world, at the same time no other nation uses as many happy pills, and no other nation gives their kids as much Ritalin as we do. No other nation has as many women that fake satisfaction during sex, I wonder if that is also the case in the real life. What I like about the vagina monologues is that it addresses the silence. It gets people to talk about things that are shameful and often very painful. We need this sort of monologues in so many fields of our lives. We are living in a world out of tune with itself. Our is the path of self-destruction. We have to do something NOW or there will be very little left for the next generations, not only have we destroyed more than we can ever repaired when it comes to our planet but we have are responsible for much more damage. The crime of doing nothing when we know we should. The crime of silence when we should speak out. The crime of indifference to everything except material security, yet nothing is as frail as material security.

2 comments:

Paul McDonald said...

Sometimes I want to move to a town or village (or island) where people actually care for each other and not live to have shallow relationships, be they romantic, friendship, sexual or even parent/child. Of course, I don't think such a place exists so I attempt to go within and create that kind of environment for myself.

I often ask "What's important to me? What's my goal? Where is my heart leading me?"

I wish I could change the world. I try very hard not to judge people but all too often the same tolerance and respect that I try to afford other people is not visited on me. I want to give up trying to live in a meaningful way, but if I do, life will lose its meaning.

Ultimately, I have to stop judging myself. Because when I judge myself, especially as hard as I've discovered I do, I inflict violence on myself.

Birgitta Jónsdóttir said...

I agree, there is no such village, it is all internal stuff, however i believe we all need to do something extra in order to change our world, i have a strong and firm believe we can change the world on an individual level.

I am seeing reports after reports of rising numbers of children that are gone into the world of insanity, of adults choosing to flee into the world of downers, and while being comfortable numb our world is going down under. We who see, must act, at least internally. I think the key might be to let go of self pity, of judging, of bitterness and to move into the all mighty love.... yes LOVE.... that selfless emotion we carry for most things beings except ourselves:)