The MSNBC ERA program did a terrible disservice. Aside from only mentioning one of the two strategies, the dozen omissions and ridiculous misappropriations of influence on both sides, it misidentified the opponent.
This is the MOST fundamental problem with the amendment itself. Alice Paul saw it the very day it was voted on in the subcommittee on constitutional amendments. (which the show said was OBSCURE!!).
If you study anything from chess to martial arts, the number one requirement is to know your opponent;
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. Sun Tzu, The Art of War
It is not to scare you. It is not to immobilize you. It is to empower you to build an effective strategy. Not knowing who the actual opponent is, entirely disarms you. Every successful campaign manager, leader, director knows this. From Schlafly to trump. From Pope Francis to Jeff Bezos. From good parents to starred generals.
Phyllis, CPAC, draft, bathrooms, homosexuality, abortion; NONE of these were the opponent then and none of them are the opponent today. Eleanor Smeal stated it clearly in July of 1982, apparently forgot. Alice Paul stated it clearly in 1971 to Bernice Sandler on the very day Bunny testified, as Bunny repeated it to me 2012. The whole of the insurance industry understands it clearly. The lobby against single-payer healthcare understands it.
Take a look at what the 27th Amendment turned out to be, which would have been the ERA. Take a hard look at the guile of an imposed deadline. Look at the fact that the 27th Amendment had NO deadline and it took 202 years, 7 months, and 10 days to pass: 1789 – 1992. This is not a coincidence.
Frankly, as we stand on the precipice of a 38th state ratifying, thanks to the unmentioned(!) strategy to remove the deadline, I ask that you do no dismiss me. Do not toss my advisement. This is your tool. This is our tool. This is the path to women ascending to leadership. And WOMEN WILL SAVE THE WORLD. I know it. YOU KNOW IT.
The opponent is the patriarchal structure that profits from the oppression (ownership) of women. The explicit inclusion of women in the United States Constitution will disassemble this inequity, case by case, over time. It is not a piece of paper. It is not 24 words. It is that the cornerstone of this country will be unable to sustain gender oppression under the law and women will have legal standing to demand rights.
Baubles distract us. Myths divert us. Women supporting the patriarchy obscure the mission.
Give yourself the winning hand, the leg up, the true possibility of victory.
KNOW the opponent, see its size, know its history, focus on its weakness.
TAKE THEM OUT.
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