The Threat Of President Meghan Markle Demands We Revisit Goodwin's Anti-Suffrage Arguments
I awoke Tuesday morning to a horrifying, ghastly sight. One that depressed my soul more than I had thought possible. The cliche "it shook me to my core" cast off its crusty shell and the words became vividly alive.
It was this tweet:
Luckily, God gave us Irish coffee, and I was able to weather the mental storm. But it was a close one.
I, probably like you, too, then remembered the predictions made in the book Anti-Suffrage: Ten Good Reasons by Grace Duffield Goodwin. This book, as you recall, was the result of Goodwin expanding a column on the same subject in the New York Tribune in 1914. I thought it would be fun to go through her arguments and see how they have fared.
1. "Because the basis of government is force, its stability rests upon its physical power to enforce its laws; therefore it is inexpedient to give the vote to woman. Immunity from service in executing the law would make most women irresponsible voters."
Nailed it. Women still ask men, usually armed men, armed agents of the government, to protect them, and to compel these men to do their (the women's) will. Women can, as Goodwin predicted, vote to send men to war, while largely remaining safe from combat.
You will have noted the "largely" qualification. The force of Goodwin's objection was at the time patently obvious: the theory of Equality only then gaining ascendancy; it was not then fully accepted. Equality was the bones of the suffrage movement: women should be allowed to vote because they are the Equal of men. Goodwin knew this was false, and reminded her readers of women's natural weakness.
In the year of Our Lord 2022, we are not allowed to say women are weaker. We must proclaim they really are physically Equal to men. So strong is the equalitarian demon, that anybody who wants to declare themselves a woman, is a woman. And why not? We deduce from Equality that there is no real difference between the sexes.
2. "Because the suffrage is not a question of right or of justice, but of policy and expediency; and if there is no question of right or of justice, there is no case of woman suffrage."
There's two implicit premise here that are no longer known to us: that not all people should have the right to vote, and that not all should vote. Once again, the theory of Equality has done its work, leveling all peaks to the height of the floor. Voting "rights" have consistently expanded since 1914, and we have seen, many times, calls to expand them even farther. Some Experts now want children to vote.
3. "Because it is the demand of a minority of women, and the majority of women protest against it."
This was true. And if only women voted on the question, the suffragettes would have lost. Alas, men weakened by repeated poundings of Equality, their spirits enervated by constant propaganda, voted for suffrage. The responsibility for what has happened since falls on them, and them alone. Not the ladies.
4. "Because it means simply doubling the vote, and especially the undesirable and corrupt vote, of our large cities."
Democracy leads to inflation. Not only did it double the vote, and the subsequent expansions more than double it, it led to the identity and racial politics under which we all now suffer. These aren't going away, and can't go away. It has to get worse, and far worse, before it ever gets better.
The analogy to this argument is also economic. When women "came into the workforce", men's salaries declined in a relative sense, and women were eventually forced to work, just to keep up. This also gave the appearance Equality was true and a necessity.
5. "Because the great advance of women in the last century — moral, intellectual and economic — has been made without the vote; which goes to prove that is it not needed for their further advancement along the same lines."
Well, what can you say but that this is true? This argument, however, sadly proves Goodwin herself was no stranger to Equality.
6. "Because women now stand outside politics, and therefore are free to appeal to any party in matters of education, charity and reform."
Another bingo. Now, instead of working through, and strengthening and guarding their families, women work through politics.
7. "Because the ballot has not proved a cure-all for existing evils with men, and we find no reason to assume that it would be more effectual with women."
This is an excellent argument against voting in general. Voting has its place, but it should not be used with rash impetuosity and for all things, like we have arranged matters. Voting causes dissension and turmoil. Therefore, the higher the matter on which a vote is taken, and the more who are allowed the vote, the greater the turmoil.
I go through this argument in depth in Everything You Believe Is Wrong, in the Voting Fallacy chapter.
8. "Because the women’s suffrage movement is a backward step in the progress of civilization, in that it seeks to efface natural differentiation of function, and to produce identity, not division, of labor."
If you can't see this, your eyes are filled with Equality.
9. "Because in Colorado after a test of seventeen years the results show no gain in public or political morals over male suffrage states, and the necessary increase in the cost of election, which is already a huge burden upon the taxpayer is unjustified."
Colorado was always on the left; it had beat other states awarding suffrage. Nothing was learned from their mistake. It's interesting how little empirical observation matters in the face of overwhelming theory. We now see this everywhere. And likely always have, but it's only more obvious now because out culture is steeped in scientism.
10. "Because our present duties fill up the whole measure of our time and ability and are such as none but ourselves can perform. Our appreciation of their importance requires us to protest against all efforts to infringe upon our rights by imposing upon us those obligations which cannot be separated from suffrage, but which, as we think, cannot be performed by us without the sacrifices of the highest interests of our family and our society.”
Women can drop their kids off to preschool now, and feed them formula---when it's available---and generally leave the raising of their kids to the State. And they can leave their husbands when they "feel" it's right.
How are families doing these days? Answer: Progress.
11. "Because it is our fathers, brothers, husbands and sons who represent us at the ballot box. Our fathers and our brothers love us; our husbands are our choice, and one with us; our sons are what WE MAKE THEM. We are content that they represent us, in the cornfield, on the battlefield and at the ballot box, and we THEM in the schoolroom, at the fireside, and at the cradle, believing our representation even at the ballot box to be thus more full and impartial than it would be were the views of the few who wish suffrage adopted, contrary to the judgement of the many."
And there you are. Women now have to fight to regain these immense powers. Sad.
12. "We believe that political equality will deprive us of special privileges hitherto accorded by law."
Which it did. And continues to do. Until somebody stops it. Don't get me wrong: I really do mean women should not be voting in federal and similar elections. But I also believe not too many men should, either.
Meanwhile, we all have President Meghan Markle to look forward to.
Buy my new book and learn to argue against the regime: Everything You Believe Is Wrong.
Visit wmbriggs.com.
The 19th Amendment is proving to be one of the greatest disasters in the history of the world. Its repeal will be absolutely necessary for our survival, but of course totally insufficient, as those like the great counter-revolutionary Juan Donoso Cortes would understand. See the bio of him entitled, Donoso Cortes: Cassandra of the Age. The Preface alone is worth the price of the book.
Geez, maybe Joe's sister is suffering from the same infliction as him?