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Betty Ford
Jul. 11th, 2011 09:50 pmLike most born after 1976, I only knew Betty Ford as the wife of a president and the woman the rehab was named after...and since she wasn't a doctor, I could connect the dots on that one.
However, seeing all the news stories this weekend has made me realize how special she really was.
Remember, this was 1973...
but she's not letting that or her husband's position stop her from speaking her mind on...
Abortion:
... the best thing in the world was when the Supreme Court voted to legalize abortion, and in my words, bring it out of the back woods and put it in the hospitals, where it belonged. I thought it was a great, great decision.”
The Equal Rights Amendment:
“I see the ERA as legislation that’s as important to the housewife as to the career woman. ... The ERA does not ask us to change our priorities. It gives us the freedom to choose them”
On how often she and the President had sex:
"As often as possible."
Not getting her husband to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court:
“I probably didn’t do enough research and I lost that battle.”
However, she did get 1975 to get declared International Women's Year and far more importantly, she spoke about breast cancer including mastectomy when it was still taboo to even think about women having breasts or people having cancer. She was a pioneer in getting women to have mammograms and self-screenings.
And her husband was a REPUBLICAN! Can you imagine if this happened now? The closest comparison would be Cindy and Meghan McCain and how they believe in gay rights. If you haven't noticed, many fellow Republicans ostracize them for not being "conservative" enough. Can you imagine if Michelle came out in favor of gun rights or cutting social programs? She would also be ostracized. It's sad. We all have some views that fit both Republican and Democrat. We should have the freedom to be that way without "shaming" the rest of the party.
I tried to end on a light note by having a clip of Betty Ford dancing with Martha Graham's dance troupe when she was a young woman, but I haven't been able to find one even though she even performed at Carnegie Hall.
However, seeing all the news stories this weekend has made me realize how special she really was.
Remember, this was 1973...
but she's not letting that or her husband's position stop her from speaking her mind on...
Abortion:
... the best thing in the world was when the Supreme Court voted to legalize abortion, and in my words, bring it out of the back woods and put it in the hospitals, where it belonged. I thought it was a great, great decision.”
The Equal Rights Amendment:
“I see the ERA as legislation that’s as important to the housewife as to the career woman. ... The ERA does not ask us to change our priorities. It gives us the freedom to choose them”
On how often she and the President had sex:
"As often as possible."
Not getting her husband to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court:
“I probably didn’t do enough research and I lost that battle.”
However, she did get 1975 to get declared International Women's Year and far more importantly, she spoke about breast cancer including mastectomy when it was still taboo to even think about women having breasts or people having cancer. She was a pioneer in getting women to have mammograms and self-screenings.
And her husband was a REPUBLICAN! Can you imagine if this happened now? The closest comparison would be Cindy and Meghan McCain and how they believe in gay rights. If you haven't noticed, many fellow Republicans ostracize them for not being "conservative" enough. Can you imagine if Michelle came out in favor of gun rights or cutting social programs? She would also be ostracized. It's sad. We all have some views that fit both Republican and Democrat. We should have the freedom to be that way without "shaming" the rest of the party.
I tried to end on a light note by having a clip of Betty Ford dancing with Martha Graham's dance troupe when she was a young woman, but I haven't been able to find one even though she even performed at Carnegie Hall.
