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As a school girl I knew about voting. All I had to do was grow old enough and get to the poles. I wondered about those men from thirteen colonies. Three-fifths of a person? Or more particularly part of a man?Perhaps such thoughts made me see Frances Perkins as my heroine. The Old Age Benefit law was to protect old folks as long as they worked in younger years. That could be me. If our Secretary of Labor could do all those things, why not me?
As time went on and I learned the rules of society and government, I took my place in the workforce and paid into Social Security. There was a weird thing when credit cards became popular. As a married woman I could sign on my husband's Sears card but I could not have my own, even if holding a job. Single women were allowed to apply for cards.
After the Civil Rights Voting Act was passed there was an uptick in the feminist movement. I decided it was time to take my brown bag and join a NOW group to raise my consciousness. What I needed was insight into what makes a good revolution. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had shown Americans that pious sermons helped, but it took foot soldiers like John Lewis to make freedom a reality.
Sears and Roebuck ticked me off. As I did the usual to clear an estate, I realized I didn't need the Sears card we used for household reasons. Soon after canceling it I was solicited for a new card. Old Sneers and Nobucks had their chance once. They never got it again.
Comes the revolution, we are all equal. Talents to use at the employment office and threats to boycott at the cash register. And there are so many of us! Isn't that what the superaffluent are afraid of? They can fool around with your vote, but they can't buy your soul.
Photo from flickr by AZAdam
