Night before last I watched this movie with Amanda and it was so very, very good. The movie is about the Alice Paul and the women who fought with her for women to have the right to vote during the late part of the suffrage movement.
"You ask me to explain myself. I'm just wondering, what needs to be explained? It should be very clear. Look into your own heart—I swear to you, mine is no different. You want a place in trade and profession where you can earn your bread; so do I. You want the means of self-expression; so do I. You want to satisfy your own personal ambitions; so do I. You want a voice in the government in which you live; so do I. So what is there to explain?"(Alice Paul from IJA)
I spent almost the whole movie either covered in chill bumps or crying. It is really that good. Amanda was thoroughly blown away. She asked me "Why don't they just vote for it?" and I asked her how and she thought for a minute about it and then she got so mad.
"I was put in a straight jacket and taken to the psychopathic ward. I could not see my family or friends, counsel was denied me. I saw no other prisoners and heard nothing of them. I could see no papers. Today I was force fed for the third time, I refused to open my mouth. My left nostril, throat, and muscles of my neck are very sore. I vomit continuously during the process." (Alice Paul, from IJA)
It made me wonder if, in that time, I could have been that brave. The women who fought for all of us to have the same rights as men were so very brave and endured so much, I don't know if I could have that kind of strength. Especially for the women who had children and stood to lose not only the livlihood that they depended on from their husbands but also their children.
Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation, and publicly and privately, in season and out, avow their sympathy with despised and persecuted ideas and their advocates, and bear the consequences... (Susan B. Anthony)
We're legitimate citizens. We're taxed without representation. We're not allowed to serve on juries so we're not tried by our peers. It's unconscionable, not to mention unconstitutional. We don't make the laws but we have to obey them like children.
(Alice Paul)
I think sometimes we forget. We forget about the women who came before us who didn't have the rights and opportunities that we have, that we take for granted every day. We forget about the things they went through, the abuse that they suffered. I know I needed to be reminded. And one of the things I will be thankful for tomorrow is all of those women. The women who were brave enough to allow me to be the woman I am today.
Labels: Being a Chic, Being Mommy
