The three topics in the title above have a consistent theme. Fear of Change. Let’s look at the first two as a possible guide to the eventual outcome of the third. Some time ago I ordered a full-size printed copy of the front page of the New York Times on the day that women were given the right to vote – August 26th 1920. The title of the article in the Times was: Court Refuses to Delay Suffrage. Sound familiar to a recent 8-1 Supreme Court vote?
The article details the incredible last-minute efforts made from every possible legal angle by the foes of women’s suffrage. Tennessee was the last state to ratify the 19th amendment, and the subtitle of the article was: Opponents Will Rush Appeal to Upset Tennessee’s Ratification.
Why were the foes of women’s suffrage so fervent in their efforts to stop the approval of the 19th amendment? Although it seems so foolish today, there was actually an organization formed solely to fight the amendment, not surprisingly called, The National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage.
In 2015 historian Allison Lange PhD observed:
Anti-suffragists argued that most women did not want the vote. Because they took care of the home and children, they said women did not have time to vote or stay updated on politics. Some argued women lacked the expertise or mental capacity to offer a useful opinion about political issues. Others asserted that women’s votes would simply double the electorate; voting would cost more without adding any new value.
And there was also the claim that giving women the right to vote would destroy the American family.
Wow! It all so sounds so quaint and ridiculous, and each reason truly was. I believe the obvious truth is that people were simply afraid of change. It turns out that women were capable of running the household and simultaneously having informed political opinions. The world did not come to an end when they received the vote. Anyone today, no matter how conservative, would not even think of suggesting that we should take the right to vote away from women.
It was just fear of change. An unnecessary, unfounded fear.
There were almost identical arguments made about same-sex marriage. Today when one reads about the interminable and vicious battle against the right of two people who love each other, regardless of sex, to have the right to marry, it also seems so foolish and such a waste of time. The advent of same-sex marriage has not destroyed the American family, no more than women’s suffrage did. However, it has allowed so many people to join in holy matrimony with the one person they wish to love and cherish for their entire life. It breaks my heart to think of all those couples in the past who had to hide their love and play some public game for so long.
What was behind it all for such a long, painful time? It was just a fear of change. An unnecessary, unfounded fear.
That brings us to the emerging acknowledgement that the entire “Stop the Steal” effort was in fact driven by – that’s right, a deep fear of change. Many Trump supporters never cared about his character, or his lying, or his failure to protect their economic interests. They just do not like what they believe – out of fear — is happening to their country, and they think he can save them.
They are afraid that their world is going to come to an end because of the country’s changing demographics. That is, they are afraid of the increasing number of people who do not look like them. They assume that those people will have different dreams and aspirations.
People come to America because they want to work incredibly hard, and despite what the fear mongers say, the economy of the United States does not have a limited number of jobs! In the last 80 years the number of non-farm jobs in America has grown from 26MM to 130MM. Turns out that more people generate more jobs. We have a very long history of absorbing waves of immigrants, and all it has ever done is made this country stronger. In 2022 we view the battle over women’s suffrage as ridiculous, and it is my belief, as a new generation of Americans comes of age in a time of great diversity, they will view this desperate allegiance to Trump as equally ridiculous.
