JENNIFER FLANDERSFamily Matters

Another Women’s March is scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C. this weekend. If the slogans painted on last year’s signs are any indication, I’d say the preponderance of participants at these events do not share my worldview.

Some of the posters were blatantly false — “Women are Perfect” (that’s just wishful thinking) and “Not my President” (if you’re a U.S. citizen, he most certainly is) immediately spring to mind — but others made points that merit further discussion.

In fact, if more people lived by the following five feminist slogans instead of just shouting them in the streets once a year, the world would be a better place for everyone in it.

‘EVERYBODY DESERVES RESPECT’

I agree 100 percent. Every person is of infinite value in the sight of God and should therefore be treated with utmost dignity and respect.

This is true, in fact, even if that person does not see eye-to-eye with you on every (or any) issue. Even if his political views vary widely from your own. Even if her life choices look radically different. Even if he’s not the person you’d hoped would be sitting in the Oval Office at this particular juncture in time. Everybody means everybody.

Although this concept seems completely foreign to many activists these days, treating others with respect does not mean you have to agree with everything they say or endorse everything they do.

‘EQUAL MEANS EQUAL’

Yes, it does. This is a straight-up, mathematical fact. With reference to the present discussion, equal means women have the same intrinsic value as men, should be treated with the same courtesy and respect, and possess the same inalienable rights.

What equal does not and never will mean, however, is identical. Very real differences between genders do exist, and it is both shortsighted and dangerous to ignore that fact.

It is foolish to lobby for equal treatment in the workplace under the assumption that “a woman can do any job a man can do,” then cry discrimination when she’s unable to meet the same fitness requirements as her male counterparts. Lots of men can’t even make the cut for particularly tough jobs like firefighting and special forces, yet women sue to have the standard sufficiently lowered for them to reach it. How does that prove we’re equal?

‘LOVE TRUMPS HATE’

This is so much more than a beautiful sentiment. It is Gospel truth. Love will always triumph over hate. Moreover, as 1 Corinthians 13 tells us, “Love is patient, love is kind and … does not act unbecomingly; it … is not provoked … does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”

Unfortunately, if love is the goal, many marchers are missing the mark. Love trumps hate, but the outrage, vitriol, and name-calling on display at the Women’s Marches of the past seem more akin to the latter than the former. Judging by the nasty slurs and expletives plastered across placards the participants were waving, it would appear that hatred is not only tolerated in these ranks, but welcomed and encouraged. The love is much harder to spot in the crowd.

‘SCIENCE > OPINION’

This has always been the case. It doesn’t matter if the whole world believes the earth is flat, that doesn’t make it so. Ditto for a lot of other popular notions that fly in the face of irrefutable evidence.

Science — real science — is greater than public opinion (and much less volatile). It is intellectually honest, admits its own limitations, does not promote “best guesses” as proven facts, and refuses to cling to debunked theories just because it’s politically correct to do so.

I saw a good corollary to the “Science > Opinion” slogan printed on another placard: “Science is Not a Liberal Conspiracy.” Sadly, the same cannot be said for pseudo-science, pop psychology, and social engineering, all of which are given far more credence in certain circles than rigorously-tested, evidence-based research these days.

‘THE FUTURE IS FEMALE’

Insofar as females are essential for humankind to have any future at all, this slogan is technically accurate. Of course, it would be equally correct to claim the future is male, since without men, the human race would also come to an abrupt end.

That is why it is imperative that modern day men and women learn to get along, to value one another’s contributions, and to work together to build a better world. The opposite sex is not our enemy, and we need to stop acting as if it were.

Jennifer Flanders will miss this year’s Women’s March (again), preferring to spend the time with her family. To read more of her thoughts on this and related topics, please visit https://lovinglifeathome.com.