No Country for Mothers

I THINK THAT THE MOST DISAPPOINTING ASPECT OF PHYLLIS SCHAFLY'S LIFE IS THAT SHE COULD HAVE USED HER LEADERSHIP SKILLS IN MUCH MORE POSITIVE WAYS. FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WAS A RECENT EXCELLENT REVIVAL OF A BRILLIANT WENDY WASSERSTEIN PLAY CALLED, "AN AMERICAN DAUGHTER" IN WHICH THE MAIN CHARACTER LAMENTS THE LACK OF FUNDING FOR BREAST CANCER, OVARIAN CANCER, & UTERINE CANCER. MRS. SCHAFLY COULD HAVE USED HER INFLUENCE WITH NANCY REAGAN & BARBARA BUSH (& THEIR HUSBANDS) TO GET MORE FUNDING FOR RESEARCH INTO CURES & MORE TREATMENT FOR THE WOMEN WHO SUFFERED FROM THEM. I JUST HOPE THAT THE CINEMA VILLAGE WILL CONTINUE TO SHOW MORE DOCUMENTARIES. ONE GOOD CANDIDATE FOR AN ENGAGEMENT AT THE CINEMA VILLAGE IS THE RECENT DOCUMENATRY ABOUT THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF SALMAN RUSHDIE. I HAVEN'T ALWAYS AGREED WITH MR. RUSHDIE- ESPECIALLY WHEN JHE SAID IN AN INTERVIEW (WHICH WAS INCLUDED IN THIS FILM) THAT "RELIGION IS POISON OF THE BLOOD," & THEN POINTED OUT THE ATROCITIES THAT HAVE BEEN COMMITTED IN THE NAME OF RELIGION. BUT, FOR SOME REASON, MR. RUSHDIE NEVER MENTIONED THE ATROCITIES COMMITTED BY ANTI-RELIGIOUS MURDERERS LIKE MAO, POL POT, STALIN, LENIN, & TROTSKY, OR THE GOOD WORKS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE BY RELIGIOUS PEOPLE LIKE MOTHER TERESA, MOHATMA GANDHI, & DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. HOWEVER, IT WAS DEFINITELY BRAVE OF HIM TO STAND UP TO THE LATE, UNLAMENTED AYATOLLAH KHOMEINI & HIS FANATICAL FOLLOWERS. IN ADDITION TO THAT, HE ALSO HAD TO PUT UP WITH DEROGATORY REMARKS FROM JIMMY CARTER, CAT STEVENS, GERMAINE GREER, & ROALD DAHL. THE NEGATIVE COMMENTS FROM THE LATTER WERE PARTICULARLY IRONIC BECAUSE DAHL HAD A LONG HISTORY OF MAKING ANTI-SEMITIC COMMENTS. AND GERMAINE GREER USED TO SUPPORT FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION. WHAT KIND OF FEMINIST SUPPORTS FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION?

DIRECTOR RAESHAM NIJHON HAS MADE SOME VERY VALABLE POINTS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF MOTHERS IN THEIR CHILDREN'S LIVES- ESPECIALLY WHEN ONE OF THE WOMAN WHO WAS INTERVIEWED IN THE FILM POINTS OUT THAT THE U.S. IS THE ONLY INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD THAT DOESN'T HAVE UNIVERSAL CHILD CARE, & WHEN WE LEARN THAT A BIPARTISAN BILL THAT WAS GOING TO PROVIDE SUCH CHILD CARE WAS VETOED BY PRESIDENT NIXON. I ALSO LIKED SEEING THE FOOTAGE OF THREE PROBLEMATIC INDIVIDUALS: PHYLLIS SCHAFLY, HILLARY CLINTON, & DONALD TRUMP. MRS. SCHAFLY WAS PROBABLY THE MOST PROBLEMATIC OF THE THREE BECAUSE OF HER TENDENCY TO DISASSOCIATE HERSELF FROM OTHER WOMEN. IN ADDITION TO HER OPPOSITION TO THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT, SHE ONCE TESTIFIED AT A CONGRESSIONAL HEARING ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT THAT, "VIRTUOUS WOMEN ARE NOT TROUBLED BY SEXUAL HARASMENT." I ALSO REMEMBER SEEING HER ON AN EPISODE OF "FIRING LINE." WHEN A PRO-ERA WOMAN (WHOSE NAME I HAVE FORGOTTEN) TOLD A STORY ABOUT A MARRIED WOMAN WHO DIDN'T GET AS MUCH COLLEGE FINANCIAL AID AS SINGLE WOMEN OR AS MEN (WHOSE RECIEVING OF FINANCIAL AID WAS NEVER DEPENDANT ON THEIR MARITAL STATUS) & WHO THEN HAD TO MAKE NUMEROUS PHONE CALLS TO INCREASE HER FINANCIAL AID, MRS. SCHAFLY REPLIED BY SAYING, "OH, ALL SHE HAD TO DO WAS MAKE A FEW PHONE CALLS." I KNOW THAT MRS. SCHAFLY SAID SEVERAL TIMES THAT ONE OF HER REASONS FOR OPPOSING THE ERA WAS THAT SHE WAS WORRIED THAT IT WOULD PREVENT PASSAGE OF THE HUMAN LIFE AMENDMENT. HOWEVER, SEVERAL WOMEN- SUCH AS ELLA GRASSO, MARY ROSE OAKER, MARTHA LAYNE COLLINS, MARJORIE DANNELFESSER, & SARAH PALIN HAVE ALL SUPPORTED BOTH THE ERA & THE HLA. I ALSO KIND OF WISH THAT DIRECTOR NISHON HAD INTERVIEWED MRS. PALIN, & QUESTIONED HER ABOUT THE DIFFICULTIES OF RASING A MENTALLY CHALLENGED SON- & ALSO ASKED HER ABOUT THE PERSONAL ATTACKS THAT HER SON & SHE HAVE ENDURED. FOR EXAMPLE, WHITNEY CUMMINGS CALLED MRS. PALIN'S SON "THAT RETARDED THING THAT CAME OUT OF SARAH PALIN'S VAGINA" & BILL MAHER CALLED HER SON A "RETARD." IN ADDITION TO THAT, MAHER ALSO CALLED MRS. PALIN THE C-WORD & SANDRA BERNHARD ONCE SAID THAT SHE HOPED MRS. PALIN WOULD "GET GANG-RAPED BY MY BIG BLACK BROTHERS." AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, THOSE STATEMENTS MAKE CUMMINGS, MAHER, & BERNHARD JUST AS HATEFUL AS DAVID DUKE, LOUIS FARRAKHAN, & THE LATE, UNLAMENTED FRED PHELPS. AND, ALTHOUGH HILLARY CLINTON DID HER BEST TO GET NATIONAL HEALTH CARE FOR THE COUNTRY, HER REPUTATION WAS TAINTED BY THE REVELATION THAT SHE HAD ONCE GOTTEN A REDUCED SENTENCE FOR A RAPIST, & WAS CAUGHT ON AUDIO TAPE JOKING ABOUT HOW HER CLIENT'S PASSING OF A LIE DETECTOR TEST MADE HER QUESTION THE VALIDITY OF THOSE TESTS. AND, OF COURSE WE ALL KNOW ABOUT DONALD TRUMP BRAGGING ON THE "ACCESS HOLLYWOOD" TAPE ABOUT SEXUALLY ASSAULTING WOMEN, & HIS EVENTUAL CONVICTION FOR ASSAULTING E. JEAN CARROLL. THEREFORE, WE SHOULDN'T BE TOO SURPRISED ABOUT HIS INSENSITIVE REMARKS ABOUT THE NEED FOR NATIONWIDE CHILD CARE. I KNOW THAT MRS. PALIN ISN'T PERFECT, BUT I DON'T THINK SHE HAS EVER SAID OR DONE ANTHING AS INSENSITIVE AS THE THINGS THAT SCHAFLY, CLINTON, & TRUMP HAVE SAID & DONE!