In Breaking The Cycle Did We Really BREAK The Cycle?

Everything has a cycle. Its the ultimate measuring tool. Day to Night. January to December. Before the Common Era (BCE formerly known as BC) and After the Common Era (ACE formerly known as AD). Birth to Death. Wealth and poverty. War and Peace. Discovery and annihilation. The human experiment is ever changing, constantly evolving. Some changes take millions of years (ie homo erectus to homo sapien). While others can manifest themselves within a generation.

Natural Selection ensures survival of a species. Humans have survived on this planet because we have been designed to consistently adapt to our environment. Dinosaurs were fossilized because they could not. It is the reason we have maintained our position atop the food chain. As I reflect on the history of humanity I wonder if some of the changes we have made placed us on a path to extinction.

Since the dawn of time life had an order, and gender came with assigned roles. We cry. We eat. We talk. We grow. Boys pee standing. Girls pee sitting. Boy learns trade. Girl learns to nurture. Boy leaves home. Girl cleans home. Boy meets Girl. Girl falls in love. Boy buys ring. Girl says "yes". They say "I do". Husband provides. Wife enriches. Couple buys a house. Spouses become parents. Son emulates father. Daughter emulates mother. The cycle begins anew.

When Earth was gripped in its first global war, victory was achieved because America sent her sons to war and taught her daughters a trade. The unexpected bi-product of this shift in gender roles was a boost in Capitalism. New wage earners created new taxpayers and consumers. The cycle of poverty was broken and the Middle Class was born.

In breaking the cycle did we BREAK the cycle?

Empowered females no longer saw the value in traditional gender roles. Men were only needed for sex. Marriage was no longer needed for security.

Prophylactics ushered in the era of planned parenting. An entire generation of children grew up watching Mommy provide in Daddy's absence.

In the matter of less than four generations there has been a dramatic shift in gender roles. Post WWI Americans demanded more rights. Boys have the right to pee sitting down. Girls have the right to learn a trade. Boy meets Girl but has the right to meet more Girls (or Boys). Girl has the right to never fall in love. Boy has the right to buy watch instead of ring. Girl has the right to become a mother before she becomes a wife. Boy has the right to become a father and never become a man.

Why does that Boy pee sitting down? He learned to pee by watching his mother.

Why does that Girl learn a trade? She was taught by her mother to never depend on a man.

Why does that Boy never commit? He is perpetually in search for the mate that makes him feel needed.

Why does that Girl never fall in love? She sees men as equals instead of embracing their differences and only has a desire to enrich her own life.

Why does that Boy buy a watch instead of a ring? The appearance of wealth attracts more mates than responsibility does.

Why does that Girl become a Mother before she becomes a wife? The various cures for pregnancy have removed the fear of the consequences having sex can bring. Love is no longer a prerequisite for sex.

How can that Boy be a father and never be a Man? He had no male to emulate. He grew up believing that women were supposed to be strong and independent like his mother.

Can the cycle be repaired? Can humanity be saved? Or will we learn to embrace our gender roles with pride knowing that offspring learn behaviors through emulation.

Letter to the President

Dear Mr President,

I want to begin by saying how proud I am of the way you have run this country. America seems to be slowly getting back to her feet. I see fewer new foreclosure signs, the DOW over 10 thousand, troops returning home, terror plots averted, and even some people returning to work. I know it took a lot of work to achieve those victories and I really aplaude your efforts and successes in those areas.

But Sir, you are the President, the leader of the greatest democracy in the history of man. "The Buck Stops Here!" is on your desk; excuses disguised as credible reasons don't go over well with me. I am the rarest of the rare, a young Disabled Black Lesbian Republican...who voted for you in 08. I voted for you because I believed in the change you were describing. When I hear you say things like, "Yes We Can...But..." its disheartening...more black tie excuses. I would much rather hear, "Yes we are working on on...and are facing these challenges."

Deliver that transparency in government that you promised. Not only as it applies to evidence of weapons of mass destruction but also as it applies to those areas of your policy that cause political rifts and those legislators guilty of blocking it from being voted into law. I think you will find that if you let the press along with the American people know what is going on they together they will start to question any representative guilty of holding up progress.

Americans have been reminded legislators, Congresspersons and Representatives are OUR voice in government. They have been elected to be the voice of the majority in their area of the country and each area has different values and beliefs. With each area comes a different group of minorities with a different Civil Rights Issue. I happen to be a member of four separate minority groups...blacks, women, gays, and handicapped. I was born a member of all of these groups. I experience more prejudice because I am a Lesbian or due to my disability than I do because of my race and gender and I am tremendously saddened by this.

The Civil Rights of the Disabled are being violated everyday. We have no "real" choice in our treatments. Pharmaceutical monopolies cause us to have to choose between medicine and bills because the extremely tight fixed budget force us to be forever dependent. As a disabled person I have the right to hold my head up in pride because I am self-sufficient. I should have access to that same American dream that each citizen has. The right provide for my family and to be treated with dignity and respect, not pity, everywhere I go.

Why does "marriage" need to be defined?

As American I was promised the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I have found life and freedom in the arms of a beautiful, intelligent, strong woman but we can not openly pursue total happiness til death. There aren't any laws on the books that allow my life partner to make medical decisions on my behalf, inherit the wealth we build together, adopt my children and raise a family with me, and worship whatever God we choose. I merely want the right to provide for my family in the same manor I would be allowed to do if I had chosen to spend the rest of my life with a man.

Mr. President I believe that you will be the greatest President of my generation. You have the opportunity and the ability to usher in historical change. Your knowledge of Law and compassion for all Americans is unmatched and unparalleled. Your biracial heritage affords you the opportunity through your relatives to see a wider spectrum of human issues and America will be greater for it.

Thank you Sir in advance for all that you will do for this blessed democracy,
UrbanJournalist