Its not often the government admits guilt. Asking the United States government to apologize and recognize guilt is like trying to get Martha Stuart to admit to having inside information on Enron stocks. Its probably never going to happen. So how likely is it really going to be that the government, which is mostly run by men, would feel its necessary to admit to centuries of wrongs done to women? Not likely. Japanese-American citizens were forced in isolated camps beginning in 1942 by the U.S. government and didn't get any recognition of wrong doings until 1988 when Congress granted them monetary compensation for $20,000 dollars to each of the 60,000 internees. Even then, a formal letter of apology of wrong doings was not recognized until May 12, 2002. So the whole issue of women getting the same apology will more likely than not, never happen. .
But is it the government's fault anyways that women have been discriminated against? I propose that even though there are many ways the government has allowed female oppression and discrimination, there are more significant ways women have allowed it to happen to them. Even back in the days of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, women stayed quiet about these issues that they knew made them virtually powerless. Unfortunately, even today when opportunities are at their easiest to access, women act like sheep. Its time for women to stop grazing around waiting for the boy to cry wolf. Men are not the our wolves, we are. And the only ones who are crying wolf are female. Women are all capable (and I emphasize "all"), but generally not willing to step up. Women who sit and complain cower behind the women who are the politicans, recieving professional degrees, or lobby congress. They also cower beneath the homemakers who vote at every ballot opportunity. There is an overarching sense that women's voices are not sufficently heard, that women need to be more active participants in the political process, and that women can shape their quality of lives and those of their families and communities through their involvement.
