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A Feminist Pauses To Consider The Plight Of The American Male

Nov 25, 2016
by Caroline Miller
America's Missing Male Workers, lack of opportuinity and an exploding jail population, social class as a barrier, unemployed men, young males living at home
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Until the 2016 Presidential election, it was safe to say women were making strides toward equality.  Some hurdles remain Women are  barred from the priesthood in the Catholic Church and still lag behind men in equal pay. (“Noted,” The Week, November 11, 2016,pg. 16,).  Whether or not they can continue to control their bodies is in question. 

I’m happy for the progress women have made,  but I also realize that throughout history, men have faced challenges, too, not because of gender but because of class.  We learned in school how a majority of men in the Middle Ages were  forced to do their master’s bidding or serve as cannon fodder in foreign wars.    

homeless veteran

yahoo.com

To be honest, not much has changed.  The poor still fight our wars.  We wave them off with flags flying, then leave them to shiver on the streets when they return, struggling with war disabilities both mental and physical. As homeless people, they become a public nuisance.  Men, after all, are expected to fend for themselves.  I struggled against this prejudice throughout my political life.  I could raise money for a women and children’s shelter but not a dime to house men.

 Veterans of World War II  were luckier than most.  They returned to a booming economy and the dignity of work.  (“America’s Missing Male Workers”, Ibid pg. 11)   But today, free trade, globalization and technology have altered the landscape.  Unable to find jobs, those without education or skills turn to drugs and crime for solace. The result is an exploding prison population.  Nearly 70% of unemployed young males in our society live with their parents. (Ibid pg. 11)  It’s a dismal life without hope.

Our new president believes rebuilding the infrastructure will create jobs.  President Obama held the same belief 8 years ago.  Congress buried his plan.  Donald Trump says he doesn’t need Congress.  He will shift the jobs to the private sector.  Unfortunately, in the private sector only the most profitable projects will go forward and few jobs will be generated.   

People who are angry with their government forget why it exists.  It’s aim is to redistribute wealth so that no man or women or child is captive to the excesses of the wealthy – so that no one lives as a serf.   Yet the new president and the Congress have plans to do away with wealth redistribution: health care, social  security, Medicare and fair labor laws.  To be sure, the  disenfranchised male spoke loudly in this last election.  I wonder if they knew what they were saying.

 

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Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Portland, Oregon author Caroline Miller had distinguished careers as an educator, union president, elected official and artist/advocate.

Her play, Woman on the Scarlet Beast, was performed at the Post5 Theatre, Portland, OR, January/February 2015

Caroline published a serialized novelette, Marie Eau-Claire, on the website, The Colored Lens.  She also published the story Gustav Pavel,  a parable about ordinary lives, choice and alternate potential, on the website Fixional.co.

Caroline has published four novels

  • Ballet Noir
  • Trompe l’Oeil
  • Gothic Spring
  • Heart Land

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