A Soft Quiet Deadly Secret

What Does Women's Suffrage Have to do with Modern Liberal Feminism?

In contrast to the modern definition of Liberal Feminism, it is understandably difficult to associate it with the traditionally held understanding of women’s suffrage movement of the early Twentieth century. The goals that were introduced at that time were arguably less prodigious than those of modern day feminists. However, those goals were the beginning of a concept of equality under the law that persists as the basis for the modern day Liberal Feminist Movement. Many feminists at that time were hoping merely to add their voice to the democratic process without the need to be married and vote vicariously through their husbands. Yet, as that voice gained courage and momentum feminists sought, not only influence the government, but to be considered equals under its jurisdiction.


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Toddlers: Not For the Faint of Heart

Stop me if you've heard this one before. The Triumvirate had just finished up their breakfast and I was lulled into a false sense of security because Dora, The Explorer (The "Explora") was on. The problem here was that things were quiet. I mistakenly attributed this lull in the action to the fact that Dora had been mistaken for the Snow Princess and was asked to help find the real Snow Princess so she could smile into the Crystal before the witch's spell turned the Magic Snowy forest back into a desert. It clearly had me pretty enraptured.

That was until I heard a crash. Not just any crash, but one that sounded like a magic crystal breaking, but, you know, in real life. I didn't think I was going to smile into this one. Then I heard one of my twin son's say, and I'm fairly certain that evolution has evolved two year old's voices to evoke a visceral response in the mother when they hear this particular set of syllables come out of their toddler's mouths, "Uh oh".

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Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

What No One Tells You About First Time Parenting

It is well known that children are expensive. Unfortunately, the information you receive on being a parent will usually end there. How much aren't people telling you? Here is the honest truth about parenting.

Your children will attempt to destroy every "nice" thing you ever thought you were keeping for posterity. Your friends without children will absolutely treat you differently. The world will treat you differently and have completely unrealistic expectations that you will never be able to live up to. You will have completely unrealistic expectations that you will never be able to live up to...


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How to Approach Your Spouse About Marital Counselling... Without Starting a Fight.

Don't worry, it won't be like going on the Dr. Phil Show. No one will cheer or jeer you based on right or wrong answers. In this case, it’s like going to class, Relationships 101, entitled: “How Not to Get Divorced”. There’s a problem in your marriage. You know it and your spouse knows it. Whether you, or they, believe yourselves to be the cause or the victim; neither of you knows how best to fix it. Once you’ve realized that you can't solve this problem on your own, that's when you start considering marital counselling. But will your spouse feel the same? Will they think this is just another way of saying it's all their fault. They are probably just as concerned as you are. The key is to stay focused. There are no simple solutions. Now is the time to lay all your cards out on the table. If you can’t be honest, then you might as well be single. Now is the time to start down either path.


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What's So "New" About the New Atheist Movement?

It Began with a Telephone Call

In 2003 a study was conducted by the American Mosaic Project, which was to be the first in a series of national studies of race, religion and diversity. In a random telephone sampling of 2,081 households nationwide, 90% of those polled thought that those of Caucasian descent and those of African descent could share their vision of society. Approximately 80% responded with the inclusion of Hispanics, Jews and conservative Christians. Over 70% felt the same way about immigrants in general. 64% even believed the same of Muslims, in spite of the study taking place in the wake of the attacks on 9/11/01.

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Book reviews: The New Atheism: Ten Arguments That Don't Hold Water, by Michael Poole

In this on-going debate regarding the existence of an all-powerful consciousness, Michael Poole takes on what he believes is the crux of the Atheist argument. He chooses ten statements believed to be the main argument in favor of Atheism and then attempts to refute each of them. He admits early on that this refutation is based on the Judeo-Christian concept of a monotheistic deity.

This particular point seems to leave the author open to more criticism than if there were more of a general refutation. On the surface this would seem to provide a good dialogue for both sides to consider the arguments of each. Unfortunately, because of the specificity of his critiques, he seems to fall into the same traps as those he claims the “New Atheists” do when making their arguments.

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Women's Empowerment in the Workplace: Why Equality Doesn't Cut It

When Peggy McIntosh wrote her ground-breaking treatise on white privilege her beginning statements outlined that the impetus for her ability to notice these privileges was born out of her research on male privilege in general. It was this inception which allowed her to extend her understanding of a hierarchical society to include white privilege as a whole. Meaning that, while men in general have intrinsic privileges that women do not, white women are also intrinsically over-privileged, with relation to black women and men because of their color.

Her premise in “Unpacking the Invisible Backpack” mentions a school-mate and colleague, who puts it quite succinctly,

“Whites are taught to think of their lives as a morally neutral, normative, and average, also ideal, so that when we work to benefit others, this is seen as work which will allow “them” to be more like ‘us’.”

While she was referring to the on-going problem of racial privilege, it also quite aptly describes the innate problem with the emergence of women’s rights with in a man’s world.

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Is the Existence of Suffering a Good Reason to be an Atheist?

Murder; war; disease; poverty; hunger; from the beginnings of human civilization these things have plagued humanity. Throughout time humans have beseeched a multitude of sources for explanation and assistance against these trials, to no avail. There has been no single solution to any of these problems; and no certain answer has come from any ethereal or physical realm beyond our planet.

People and communities all over the globe each have their own explanations. It is difficult that both wonder and horror could come from the same source; so, as a compromise for this counter-intuitive state of things, many presuppose that an Omni-benevolent being created the wonder and that an Omni-malevolent being must be the catalyst for the horror. In order to sleep at night, the Omni-benevolent creator is always more powerful.

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