It is often in a New York public high school that you’re confronted with Leftist dogma, LBGT militancy, biased curriculum, or, most often, nonsensical bumper sticker slogans. My first encounter with the phrase “Well behaved women seldom make history” was on my first day of freshman year, walking into my history classroom. Catching my eye almost instantly, I didn’t know what to think of it. Judging solely on the feeling of false empowerment the 90-point font wall decal attempted to evoke, I knew it had to be a platitude adored by feminists across the nation. In my contrarian nature, I instantly began to harbor disgust for the statement. Luckily, it never stirred any discussions, as I was significantly worse at debating then, and would have probably been the only one to voice any reservations.
This year, on the first day of school, I learned that my new history teacher also enjoys the slogan, having provocatively placarded it on her classroom wall too. This time, however, I hope my teacher brings it up, because even at the risk of sounding too akin to Andrew Klavan (to whom I dedicate my argument against this to), well-behaved women always make history. In fact, it would be physically impossible for them not to.
Contrary to the popular narrative of the close-minded Conservative versus the free-thinking Liberal, it’s the feminists who are restricting the boundaries of language. How intolerant must one be to deny the right of the word “make” to have definition fluidity? How intolerable! In fact, according to its simplest definition, “make” means to create, not to directly achieve a spot.
Now, “well behaved women seldom achieve a spot in history” sounds a lot different than if one was to say “well behaved women seldom create history”, both of which would still be wrong.
Granted, I may be taking the meaning of the word “made” out of context here. “Making” history isn’t the same as “making” a baby, right? The former is commonly understood as achieving a notable spot in the history book, however when society’s stereotypical “Fox News Conservative” is constantly shunned for his crippling narrow mindedness, it’s rather ironic that the Left seems to be the side so intent on accepting only one definition of the word.
Just as there are multiple implications of the word “make”, there are countless different ways one can make history. The fact that no one knows George Washington’s or Christopher Columbus’ mother’s names, doesn't mean they weren't important.
Without them, the West would cease to exist.
Overall, Conservatism seeks to uplift the role of mothers, or of “well-behaved” women. As the only political philosophy that truly understands their importance, Conservatism lifts women up.
Many factors have contributed to what makes the West great, but mothers are the bedrock of our civilization, and for that, we owe them a great debt of gratitude.
P.S. For the curious,
Washington’s mother: Mary Ball Washington
Columbus’ mother: Susanna Fontanarossa
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