John Van Nostrand: A man's observations

Jun. 28—It all started with Eve. She was the woman in the Bible who was approached by the Devil, in form of a serpent, who convinced her to take the fruit off the tree God told her and Adam not to.

After she did what she did, she convinced Adam to take a bite. I don't blame Adam as I, and probably others, think there is always a level of trust with the spouse, or should be, even over something as simple as eating the same foods. But this one was different. The action was a sin against God and man, and woman, were forever to live a live with challenges and hardships. Life wasn't impossible, just not the same as it was before that moment. Adam should get some of the attention off Eve since he is guilty.

Things didn't get better for women later on. Jewish law and culture didn't put women in the best of circumstances. When Mary, the mother of Jesus, was expecting after returning from a lengthy stay with Elizabeth, the speculation was Mary was with someone other than her husband Joseph. The idea was to punish Mary by stoning, but Joseph was touched by God and he interrupted and protected Mary from harm.

Look at the principle. Joseph found something inside him to protect his wife as she told him the truth of how and why she was with child. Like Adam believing Eve, Joseph did the same for Mary.

But there was little, if any advancement, for women moving forward. With July 4 approaching, we don't have the phrase "Founding Mothers." Even Betsy Ross' flag story isn't all what it's cracked up to be. There have been some well respected First Ladies, maybe starting with Dolley Madison.

Just a couple of years ago, we were celebrating the 100th anniversary for women's right to vote in this country. The U.S. House of Representatives finally approved the Susan B. Anthony Amendment on May 21, 1919, followed by the Senate on June 4, 1919. The Amendment then went to the states, where it had to be ratified by three-fourths of the states to be added to the Constitution. Tennessee was the last state to ratify the 19th Amendment on Aug. 18, 1920, by a vote of 50-47.

On Aug. 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment was formally adopted into the U.S. Constitution. Remember, the country turns 246 this year.

Forty to 50 years after that, another social movement strived to have women being treated equal as men. Women wanted same pay for men doing the same job. Other issues would be employment discrimination; maternity leave rights; child-care centers to help mothers have a job; tax deductions for child-care expenses and so on. (Those issues still get attention today.)

This was not too far from television depicting mothers who only stayed at home. June Cleaver was an occasional, positive influence for Ward. Laura Petrie did the same for Rob. Those were alternates to how women were becoming objectified starting in the early 1950s. That would only get worse.

My mother was one of those stay-at-home parents and I never thought different of it. I was a kid. I was not paying attention to the social/political issues at the time. I was fortunate to live close to home during the elementary school years so going home for lunch it was anticipated and expected to see her.

At least the past 40 years or so have been a mixed bag for women. Ronald Reagan got Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court. Walter Mondale had a woman VP candidate with Geraldine Ferraro in 1984. John McCain tried the same with Sarah Palin in 2008. Then-presidential candidate Joe Biden named Kamala Harris his running mate in 2020. Women have refereed football games which has historically been a male-dominated sport. A woman was an assistant coach for the men's NBA even though a women's league of professional basketball was always calling. High school girl wrestling in Iowa is growing. Women have lead some larger companies.

But some of that was not with good company

The Me Too movement was the step backward. Women have been victim of unnecessary, unwanted actions by men in lots of places from Hollywood, those companies where women were advancing in administration and sports leagues. Maybe certain women made up the accusations out of regretting allowing what happened, but I can't imagine all of it was that way. Some court proceedings have shown the evidence.

I just imagine what would women be like today if they didn't have so many of those hardships for so long.