“May you live in interesting times,” is a Chinese curse for these times. Women and their male allies are marching in the streets and running for office. That’s not news in itself, but they seem to be more motivated than ever because women’s tolerance for men’s past disrespect has run its course.
The mystery that is the interaction between men and women goes back to at least the Garden of Eden. I’m long married, but make no claim to expertise. However, the women’s movement and its myriad causes are in every newspaper, on the Internet and in TV discussion shows.
In full agreement that we men could do better, I have a few observations.
Men, repeat after me: “I’m an ordinary man who wants to live his life, free of strife and do exactly what he wants.” With apologies to Professor Henry Higgins in “My Fair Lady,” there’s the crux of Victorian England’s problem and America’s today — men who refuse to evolve.
I, for one, feel embarrassed for my gender and my country. Michael Wolff’s new book, “Fire and Fury,” goes behind the scenes of today’s White House to reveal a staff consensus that our 45th president is “childlike.” Donald Trump is tweeting and watching Fox TV all morning? No problem. They dub it “Executive time.” A Big Mac in bed? Yes sir, we’re on it! No, sir, not that button, you might hurt someone.
In childhood’s backward dinners, kids eat their ice cream first. Guilty guys who abuse power demand dessert first, followed by more dessert.
“Battle of the Sexes” is a new movie that recounts a 1973 challenge match between Billie Jean King and an over-the-hill tennis hustler and gambling addict, Bobby Riggs. It’s full of misogyny against those women tennis players, or “girls” as Jack Kramer, who ran the tournaments, constantly refers to them. Compared to men players, the women were grossly underpaid and demanded change. After being refused, they took a big chance and formed the Women’s Tennis Association in 1973. The film stars Emma Stone as Billie Jean King, and comic actor Steve Carell as Riggs.
Spoiler alert: Billie Jean won!
In celebration, the residents of Smith College’s Franklin King dorm renamed the building with a cardboard sign so that it read Billie Jean King.
Flash forward 45 years and the game is over for far too many sexual abusers. The Harvey Weinstein sex-abuse scandal was followed by big-name firings of TV anchors, reporters, congressmen and corporate CEOs.
The women in black protest at the Golden Globes made the point that forced sexual assault silences are over. A whole lot of dude’s dues are coming due.
The 1960s and ‘70s condescension toward our wives, mothers, sisters and daughters is rightly over.
Meryl Streep stars in “The Post,” a new movie set in that era. What moviegoers quickly notice are clacking typewriters, constant smoking, landline phones and that it’s men who run the world.
Streep plays Katharine Graham, who had recently inherited the Washington Post on the death of her husband. Her board tried to walk all over her when it came to her newspaper’s life-and-death decisions. In the film, at crunch time, Graham’s indecision met up with her inspirational steel spine. Tom Hanks in the role of editor Ben Bradlee worried and worked alongside her, but it was Graham who made the choice to print the stolen Pentagon Papers.
America learned that the White House under multiple presidents had misled the American people about the Vietnam War.
Graham’s actions became a milestone victory for America’s free press, and one more for women in the battle of the sexes. At any rate, some wars seem to never end, and that’s what motivates marches against our misguided and immoral president, Donald John Trump.
May special counsel Robert Mueller serve him just deserts!
Jim Cahillane, of Williamsburg, writes a monthly column. He can be reached at opinion@gazettenet.com.