CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR. LYSISTRATA: HOW WOMEN WILL GIVE BIRTH TO A NEW WORLD

 


 Written by: Rick Staggenborg, MD on Nov 27, 2009 6:54 AM PST

This essay is dedicated to Jeanne D’Arc, whose courage and faith enabled France to fight back against and ultimately expel the British invader during its first attempt to spread slavery to every corner of the Earth.

Women will lead the march toward victory in the war to Take Back America for the People and to end war between nations forever. There are a number of reasons why this is so. First, there are more women than men due to the increased mortality in utero of men. It is not known why this is so. Perhaps it is the testosterone poisoning that afflicts men and leads them to make war against their brothers.

Women now outnumber men in college and an educated citizenry is necessary for any democracy. Women are disproportionately affected by the lack of access to quality health care, and the effects of discriminatory policies of medical insurers. The battle to establish a single payer system will be the first test in the war against the machine that runs America and dictates terms to the world.

Women are more willing to work cooperatively toward this goal, one that will require putting boots on the ground in the streets of America. They are socialized to communicate more effectively, and are by nature more attuned to feel the pain of those suffering under the yoke of oppression, due to their role as life givers, chief protectors and nurturers of the next generation. Nothing can replace the love of a woman in the early life of a child. Even women who cannot or choose not to bear children are more inclined to feel the pain of others than most men.

Most importantly, women hold the key to the kingdom of Heaven on Earth for men. They bring us the children that give us hope for the future and thus meaning to our lives. Their very bodies are designed by the Creator to attract men and inspire them to great deeds. They are the source of all that makes life worth living for all of us. For the angry and isolated man, they are a source of connectedness, solace and unburdening.

The story of Lysistrata is one in which one woman realizes that women’s power over men can be used to bring an end to the Peloponnesian war. This comedic fantasy by Aristophenes of ancient Greece can serve as a model of how we can together bring an end to all war. It tells the tale of how Lysistrata awakens to her power and inspires other women to the cause of peace by withholding their gift of physical pleasure from men until those who would make war realize the folly of their ways. The ensuing battle of the sexes ends in inevitable victory for those who hold that which all men desire.

Joan of Arc was but a child when God spoke to her in the field and told her that it was her duty to lead France to victory by her inspirational example. In the end, she suffered the fate of all martyrs and was burned at the stake for her heresy in claiming to know the will of God, but like Christ her sacrifice gave France the determination to fight together against their enslavement. We are now in the midst of the final battle in the war between the demons among and within us and the better angels of our nature. It is the compassion that will save us, not brute force and hatred.

In the words of Helen Reddy:

I am woman, hear me roar

in numbers too big to ignore

and I know too much to go back an' pretend,

'cause I've heard it all before

and I've been down there on the floor,

no one's ever gonna keep me down again.

Oh, yes I am wise,

but it's wisdom born of pain.

Yes, I've paid the price,

but look how much I gained.

If I have to, I can do anything.

I am strong,

I am invincible.

I am woman.

You can bend but never break me,

'cause it only serves to make me

more determined to achieve my final goal.

And I come back even stronger,

not a novice any longer,

'cause you've deepened the conviction in my soul.

I am woman, watch me grow.

See me standing toe to toe,

as I spread my lovin' arms across the land.

But I'm still an embryo

with a long long way to go

until I make my brother understand.

Oh, yes I am wise,

but it's wisdom born of pain.

Yes, I've paid the price,

but look how much I gained.

If I have to, I can face anything

I am strong,

I am invincible.

I am woman,

Oh, I am woman.

I am invincible,

I am strong.

I am woman,

I am invincible.

I am strong.

I am woman.

Rick Staggenborg, MD

Portland, Oregon