A Time Yet To Be

      There are times I mourn for the part of my childhood stolen from me.  There is no honor
in being parents if your mindset is abusive, corrupt or cruel.  The questions left unanswered
throughout my childhood still frustrate me.
      My father died at the age of fifty-seven.  I am grateful other children were saved from
his torment.  I will never know how many lives were touched by his abusive behavior.
      He was revered by his corporate peers as an intelligent, cordial man willing to solve the
problems he confronted in the business world.  He hid his dark side very well.  He faced no
earthly punishment for his evil deeds.  I have no doubt his wicked soul is receiving the retribution
he deserves in the underworld.
      My mother used her parental authority in passive-aggressive ways.  Always trying to shape our psyches to benefit her life style.  Her blatant disapproval of our values and our struggle against her authority proved to tasking for my sister.
     Why have I written about my family's background?  It serves a purpose.  My sisters and I were  powerless.  Our destinies were predetermined by a patriarchal society which perceives womankind in a subordinate role.  The times are changing.
      In future generations, women will have the power to decide their destiny.  But the sway to a harmonious society has to begin with the women and men of today.   We have to understand the divine wisdom of the feminine traits of the God we revere, the Mother God.
     I cringe when I read stories about the societal belief that women have come a long way in
equalizing their status with men.  Tell that to a wife who is hospitalized after a brutal attack by her husband.  Tell that to the children of Aasiya Hassan (1) beheaded by her husband, Muzzammil Hassan, in the TV station they owned in Orchard Park, New York.  Then answer, what gives anyone the right to threaten, terrorize or kill a woman or child?
     When good women (and men) no longer tolerate the violence against womankind, we will be strong enough spiritually to defend against the brutality heaped upon us.  Tears of sorrow overcome me when I read news stories of women and children starved or beaten to death.  The rape and death of a young Indian woman (2) riding in a bus in New Delhi should outrage all of
us.  Too often, these horrific crimes become faded memories too terrible to remember.  Maybe we need a yearly accounting of the horrific deeds to jump-start our emotional psyche.
     I believe we are looking in the wrong direction for the empowerment women need.  Whatever your religious beliefs are, you must ask yourself do my beliefs answer the questions about the 
changing destiny of womankind?
     Do not misunderstand me.  There are many courageous women and many thoughtful men who believe a transformation to conscious equality is necessary if humankind is to continue to grow.
The violence against women is real.  It can no longer be ignored!  

_____________
(1) www.foxnews.com/story/0.2933,494785.00.html
(2) http://dw.de/p/17D5i