ABOUT WOMEN ....

My rototiller failed me at the most inopportune time -- just when I had rows upon rows of seedlings to plant and a garden that needed to be prepared for them. I took the balky, aged tiller to the local repair shop in the hope it can be coaxed into working again so I can plant my garden. As I waited for a service technician, two older men, working men more accustomed to outdoor labor than indoor education, began to speak about the spring's damp and often disastrous weather. Normally I would dismiss this as so much small talk, but one of them spoke with a depth of knowledge and understanding that belied his outward appearance. Clearly, he grasped much of what was causing the odd and inclement weather far better than many meteorologists. I was impressed and I learned much from him while waiting my turn in line.
Among the things that bother me are people who speak or write about what they do not know. They preach about politics, or sports, or education, or any topic without so much as a fundamental understanding of it. Unless you have inside knowledge or a sources you trust inside the government, then don't speak about what's going on there as if you have wisdom others should bow to. Unless you are inside the lockerroom and know what is happening with the players on a team, then don't write about what is wrong with the chemistry of a team. If you have no children in school, do not teach, are not connected with a school system or the challenges of education today, then don't pretend to understand what, if anything, is wrong with our educational system today and what needs to be done to fix it.
In simple terms, don't pretend to be an expert in something if, clearly, you are not.
So what gives me the right, I ask myself, to speak about women?
Nothing.
Nothing but a sincere belief that, in a male-dominated society women so often get the short end, so often are dismissed as frivolous or simple, or are ignored, or are not given the respect and admiration they are due. We men often say women are our "better half" but we seldom act that way. We call them "the little woman" in a nice but derogatory way. We tend to see women in parts -- body parts more often than not -- rather than see and accept each woman as a full and complete person, with personalities, ideas, thoughts, dreams, desires, wants, needs, facets, levels and depth we men too often ignore. And we often fail to see that women truly are the better half of us, of society, that women are amazing creatures who make this life and this world better simply by being in it.
Women are not perfect, but they are far closer to perfection than we men will ever be. Instead of recognizing and admiring that, we tend to be jealous of it or refuse to recognize it at all. And that is a shame. The reality of it often makes me ashamed to be a male.
I will never know what it is like to be a woman in this world. I will never be able to speak with authority about womanhood. But I can speak from a man's point of view about what women mean to me and what I think is wrong with how we men speak of and treat the women in our lives and in this world. And if that gets me thrown out of the macho-only club, then so be it. I never really wanted to be a member anyway.
Give me the company of a woman any day. I will be a better man for it.