ANONYMOUS IS A WOMAN

This entry is a simple reminder of how far we have come and how this reflects the events of the moment in 2009. As late as the nineteenth century it was a common practice to bury female members of a family with the inscription on the tombstone reading "ANONYMOUS". It is hard for us today to understand the mind that could simply erase the identity of a female member of ones family. But this was not uncommon. Of course, in Islamic culture all are buried in unmarked graves symbolizing the final passage from this world and the wait for the judgement day. Also, in that culture, except in the very privileged classes we have no record of the passing of female contributors to society. Where and who are they? In a short time after death we are all forgotten, and all that remains are the results of our work while here, and the contribution of our collective impact on planet Earth as "she" has become known. The disturbing thing is that there are still those who would return us to another century where women were seen as useful processions without legal rights over their bodies, where the color of your skin could provide a life of continuous pain and fear, where only the privileged class of males could receive an education and vote for the leaders, where sexual expression had to conform to a specific proscribed cultural model, where movement was restricted by passage permits, child labor, etc. Remember, this was just, in some of these cases, only 50 years ago and in others less than 100 years. Our culture has opened the way for us and others to explore in a legal and safe way broader expressions of our humanity. The system we call democracy also known as the system of "Advise and Consent"was created by a class of privileged, highly educated, and for the times, enlightened souls. They did not establish a static idea of rulership, but rather, an organic and inspired system of governing that would protect the expression of thought and original ideas. They pondered the misdeeds of centuries, in fact, millennia, of despotic rulerships both secular and religious, and consciously discarded those models. Taking the best they could find from those ideas and forming a dynamic expression based on classical Greek and Roman structure, but offering the opportunity to all citizens. Of course, it took more than a century to bring women, people of color, and others into the system, but that has been achieved. This is how it works. The idea of "Original Intent" by the framers is a moot issue. The actual result has been a growing organism and it would be impossible to turn back the clock without destroying all that has been gained. Essentially, destroying the America we live in. We can only go forward. The past was not very nice. The good should be honored and spoken of nicely and buried with a beautiful marker citing the achievements of the outstanding members of our collective family. Anonymity is not an option any longer. There is the INTERNET and He/SHE is watching us all.................