By Dennis Prager | Townhall.com
Source: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
As I have documented on a number of occasions, the Left ruins everything it
touches. There is no exception. From universities to high schools and now
including even elementary schools, to late-night TV, to sports, to the arts
and, increasingly, science, the Left is a destruction machine.
And nowhere is this damage more evident or tragic than with regard to women.
In fact, nothing demonstrates the power of left-wing ideology as much as what
this ideology has done to women. So powerful is leftist ideology, it is more
powerful than women's nature.
Here are five examples:
No. 1: The Desire to Bond with a Man
For all of recorded history, virtually all women sought a man with whom to
bond. Of course, a progressive would argue that this was true only because all
societies implanted this desire in women or because societal pressure gave
women little choice about the matter. It is not, progressives would argue,
innate to female nature to yearn for a man.
But whatever the reason -- innate nature or societal expectation -- it is a
fact that women desiring a man was virtually universal.
Then along came modern left-wing feminism, which communicated to generations
of young women through almost every influence in their lives -- most especially
teachers and the media -- that a woman doesn't need a man. In the witty words
of one feminist aphorism, "A woman without a man is like a fish without a
bicycle."
Unfortunately, however, the reality is most women need a man just as most men
need a woman. Most men don't fully grow up without a woman, and most women
don't fully grow up without a man (I am, of course, referring to heterosexual
women and men). If you need proof, ask almost any married person, man or woman,
if marriage matured them.
No. 2: The Desire to Marry
Along with wanting a man, the vast majority of women wanted to marry. It was
assumed that wanting that public commitment to and from a man was part of
female nature. Yet, the Left has successfully undone that part of women's
nature, too.
As a result of feminist and other left-wing indoctrination, the belief that
a woman doesn't need a man led to the inevitable upshot: marriage isn't
necessary. And it might even be a tool of oppression. And as a result of
that, a smaller percentage of American women are marrying than ever before.
This has serious social consequences. We have long known that single men
perpetrate most of the violent crime in society. Single men are a societal
problem. What we have not acknowledged -- and perhaps not even known -- are the
deleterious effects of women not marrying.
While single women don't commit nearly as much violent crime as single men do
(though they may be starting to catch up), single women are increasingly a
societal problem. The most obvious problem is that women who have children
without ever marrying their children's father -- or another man -- produce a
highly disproportionate percentage of social misfits. But many women who
never give birth nor marry also constitute a societal problem. They are more
likely to be angry and to express that anger in support of radical causes that
undermine society. As Barron's reported, while overall a mere 14.2% of the
population contributed to "racial justice causes" such as Black Lives
Matter in 2020, "nearly half of single women in the U.S. -- a larger
percentage than single men or married couples -- supported or were actively
involved in racial justice protests."
As reported by one women's activist organization, Women's Voices Women Vote, already
in the 2012 election, "the marriage gap dwarfed the gender gap..."
No. 3: The Desire to Have Children
At least as much as wanting to bond with a man and wanting to get married were
deemed a part of women's nature, the desire to have children was regarded as
even more embedded in female nature. Yet, incredibly, leftist ideology is
even succeeding in eliminating that part of women's makeup. More women than
ever before -- abroad as well as in America -- are choosing not to have
children. See, for example, the article, "More women like me are
choosing to be childfree. Is this the age of opting out?" published,
appropriately, in The Guardian. The author ends her piece this way: "I'll
say it plain: I don't want children, I never have, and it doesn't feel like any
kind of lack. To me, it just feels like being alive." She speaks for an
increasing number of women.
No. 4: The Desire to Have Sex with Commitment
Another part of women's nature that the Left has undermined is the desire of
women to have sexual relations with a man who might commit to her. Or, at the
very least, to have sex only with a man to whom she has some emotional
attachment. Left-wing feminist ideology has even been able to undermine that.
Three generations of American women have been indoctrinated into believing that
their sexual nature is the same as that of a man. Therefore, she can have
"hookups," i.e., non-emotional, non-committal sex, just like men can
with no emotional fallout. And so, many young women do. But a far greater
percentage of them experience regret or even depression than do young men who
engage in "hookup" sex, a form of sex that is indeed part of male
nature.
No. 5: The Desire to Protect Children's Innocence
Perhaps the most amazing thing progressive ideology has done to women is to
subvert the innate female desire to protect children, specifically children's
sexual innocence. The movement to teach very young children about sex, about
"gender fluidity," expose them to "Drag Queen Story Hours,"
etc., is overwhelmingly led by and composed of women.
Leftism would appear to demonstrate that ideology can trump human nature. Such
is the power of social indoctrination. One inevitable result is a generation
of more depressed young women and more regretful middle-aged women than ever
before in American history.
The Left ruins everything it touches. You can add women to the list.
__________________
Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host and columnist.
His latest book, published by Regnery in May 2019, is "The Rational
Bible," a commentary on the book of Genesis. His film, "No Safe
Spaces," was released to home entertainment nationwide on September 15,
2020. He is the founder of Prager University and may be contacted at
dennisprager.com.
