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Opinion
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- Written by: Doug Rhoades
The question isn't whether such an amendment was right or wrong, but what took it so long?
The ratifications of the 19th Amendment wasn't a new or radical idea. Many countries had previously granted women the right to vote.
So what was the big issue, and why did we not do it earlier?
The 19th Amendment, as ratified, reads as follows: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." Only 28 short words.
From our vantage point in time, we don't think for a minute that this was unjust or unfair. Of course, it took a while longer to eliminate poll taxes and other limitations for those of color to vote.
So why did we limit the right of half of our population to vote until well into the 20th century? Without going into a long history lesson, the real reason was fear by those in power to give the franchise to those who were out of power.
It was August 18, 1920, when the Tennessee legislature became the swing state to consider, and then approve the amendment. Tennessee, a bastion of the south, a very conservative state, who saw the wisdom in giving the right to vote to those who had fought for, worked for, and yet been denied the right to vote in this county for the previous 130 years.
There are those who will argue that the right for women to vote would never have passed but for political maneuvering in the deep south.
But the Tennessee vote, which passed with a margin of just two votes, became that which gave voice to women throughout the land.
Just as any major change brings with it controversy and adulation, so did this vote. Some said it was the end of the democratic spirit of the nation. Women were chattel, they were less than men, they could never appreciate the right to vote and use it wisely. Time has proven otherwise.
Can you imagine a United States today where only men, and landed men (meaning property owners) had the right to vote? We would be without the wisdom and strength of such great Americans as Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Shirley Chisholm.
Without the right to vote, who would have paid any attention to Geraldine Ferraro, Sarah Palin or Meg Whitman? Whether you agree or disagree with the views of these historic personalities, they have contributed to our national dialogue. We cannot ignore the contributions they have made to our country. And we cannot ignore that those contributions would not have occurred without the ratification of the 19th Amendment to our Constitution.
The passage of that landmark amendment should be celebrated, honored, remembered and cherished as much today as 90 years ago.
Doug Rhoades lives in Kelseyville.
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- Written by: Dave Gebhard
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, that is the crux of the matter. It seems that people keep harping on the state of our economy, that corporations are making money but not hiring Americans. Giving tax breaks to corporations that outsource American jobs is almost treasonous. Are we going to emulate the Roman Empire, giving our citizens welfare and depriving them of honest labor? We all know that it was a significant part of the eventual failure of that once prosperous and powerful empire.
Americans are suffering from nearsightedness, allowing party loyalties to make our political system almost powerless to be able to act positively and proactively. When bills pass Congress they are usually watered down and not nearly as effective as needed.
The answers to our economy have been echoed by our experts for some time, but our politicians refuse to respond. Clean tech, biotech and green tech need to be a national priority. China is passing us in these revolutionary fields, when the world should be flocking to us for these essential new industries; we fight and argue over the very merits of these technologies.
If America wants to provide technology and manufactures to the world, we need to continue to be the innovators and create these new technologies. Watering down our educational system, stopping the brightest minds from third world countries from working here, are the dumbest moves we could have made.
If we continue to create a two-tier educational system, we will pay the piper. Every American should have a good education, thus we can harvest the finest minds to power our corporations, and think tanks, not waste them in barrios, ghettos, in gangs and prisons.
Dave Gebhard lives in Lakeport, Calif.
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- Written by: Lori Peters
Future Pro Tour came to town again for their last fishing tournament of the year and we sent them off with a fantastic barbecue lunch.
Andre from Silks barbecued, Dian Gibson from Sunset Fishing Resort helped to organize, and Clear Lake Cottages & Marina, Clearlake Public Works Department, Dave Hughes Realty, Foods Etc., Curt Giambruno, Lake County Winegrape Commission and Vista del Lago provided the tri-tip and sausage lunch to 240 hungry fishermen and women.
So many people helped with donations and volunteered their time to prepare and serve, special thanks go out to: Edgewater Resort , Girlfriends Salon, Phillip and Michaele Snelling, city of Clearlake Police Department, Chuck and Vicki Leonard, Clearlake Bait & Tackle, Lakeshore Bait & Tackle, Featherbed Railroad, and Hanitzy Party Rentals and Services here in Clearlake.
We heard many thank yous from the fishermen and the staff from Future Pro Tour. We want each and every one of the volunteers and community members who helped out with this event to know they appreciated all your hard work and time. You made the event great!
Lori Peters is executive director of the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce based in Clearlake, Calif.
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- Written by: Ron Green
I just read your Aug. 18 story entitled “Supervisors accept Middletown Area Plan, leave vineyard property out of community boundary,” which discussed Supervisor Jim Comstock's unsuccessful attempt to include within Middletown's new community growth boundary a 105-acre parcel of agricultural land owned by Rudy and Faith Smith.
The Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 against this with Comstock voting yes.
I did a little research, and discovered that not so coincidentally, Rudy and Faith contributed at least $1,000 to Comstock's 2008 campaign for supervisor from District 1. This appears to be a blatant attempt by Comstock to pay back the Smiths for their support.
I can only conclude that Comstock's for sale.
Jim Comstock's a nice enough guy, but clearly the wrong guy for the job, so let's be sure to make him a one-term supervisor. This sort of Blagojevich-type behavior is exactly what we don't need at the Board of Supervisors.
Ron Green is an attorney who lives in Lower Lake, Calif.