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| | :Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. | | :Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. |
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| − | The House of Representatives had passed this Amendment by a 354-24 margin. The Senate had passed it by a margin of 84-8. Both political parties (Republican and Democratic) favored it; all presidents until Ronald Reagan supported it; and the media strongly backed it. Its ratification by 3/4ths of the states (38 states), as required to amend the Constitution, seemed inevitable. | + | The House of Representatives had passed this Amendment by a 354-24 margin. The Senate had passed it by a margin of 84-8. Both political parties (Republican and Democratic) favored it; all presidents until Ronald Reagan supported it; and the media strongly backed it. Ted Kennedy, a U.S. Senator who has been the most powerful Democrat for over 40 years, pushed for passage of ERA. Its ratification by 3/4ths of the states (38 states), as required to amend the Constitution, seemed inevitable. |
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| | The ERA would have required drafting women just like men; forcing taxpayer-funded abortion just like medical care for men; mandating same-sex marriage (can't discriminate "on account of sex"); ending special Social Security benefits enjoyed by widows; and eventually eliminating male and female restrooms in public facilities. The courts could enforce ERA almost any way it liked due its open-ended and superficially appealing language. ERA would shift the entire field of family law and marriage from state and local levels to the federal government, and to the federal courts where judges are not elected and are appointed for life. ERA would prohibit single-sex programs and classes, particularly in public schools. | | The ERA would have required drafting women just like men; forcing taxpayer-funded abortion just like medical care for men; mandating same-sex marriage (can't discriminate "on account of sex"); ending special Social Security benefits enjoyed by widows; and eventually eliminating male and female restrooms in public facilities. The courts could enforce ERA almost any way it liked due its open-ended and superficially appealing language. ERA would shift the entire field of family law and marriage from state and local levels to the federal government, and to the federal courts where judges are not elected and are appointed for life. ERA would prohibit single-sex programs and classes, particularly in public schools. |
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| | The defeat of ERA helped elect a conservative president, Ronald Reagan. In the one and only debate between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, held less than two weeks before the election, Jimmy Carter raised his support of the ERA at the end of the debate in his final attempt to embarrass Ronald Reagan, who opposed it.<ref>http://www.debates.org/pages/trans80b.html</ref> Reagan then rebutted Carter's arguments and won the election in November 1980. | | The defeat of ERA helped elect a conservative president, Ronald Reagan. In the one and only debate between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, held less than two weeks before the election, Jimmy Carter raised his support of the ERA at the end of the debate in his final attempt to embarrass Ronald Reagan, who opposed it.<ref>http://www.debates.org/pages/trans80b.html</ref> Reagan then rebutted Carter's arguments and won the election in November 1980. |
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| − | == ... And What Else Happened? ==
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| − | Not every historical event fits neatly into a broad category. In the 1960s, these other important events occurred:
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| − | * In 1960, Arab nations formed "OPEC" to control the production and sale of oil to the world. OPEC stands for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. This monopoly has caused shortages and driven up the price of oil, particularly in the early 1970s when OPEC retaliated against the United States.
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| − | * In 1960, liberal students formed the "Students for a Democratic Society" (SDS) in Port Huron, Michigan, saying that they are "looking uncomfortably to the world we inherit." It became the foundation for radical groups later in the 1960s, which became increasingly aggressive and violent in their protest activities. In the spring of 1968, it arranged for 1 million students to skip class. But the public hardly noticed. However, an SDS chapter at Columbia University did succeed with a "sit in" that forced the school to temporarily shut down.
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| − | * In 1961, President Kennedy started two programs to help alleviate poverty in foreign countries. One was the Alliance for Progress, which consisted of foreign aid to Latin America. The other was the Peace Corps, which sent volunteers to foreign countries to teach farming and build schools.
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| − | * In 1962, Michael Harrington wrote a book entitled "The Other America," which exposed poverty by 1 out of every 4, especially in Appalachia, in the South, and in city ghettos.
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| − | * Student movements expanded in 1964 with the "Free Speech Movement," which began at the ultra-liberal University of California at Berkeley and began to protest a number of perceived injustices.
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| − | In 1970, the Nixon Administration founded the Environmental Protection Agency (the "EPA") ostensibly to conserve natural resources and reduce pollution. The EPA quickly banned DDT on unproven environmental grounds (as incited by the since-discredited book the "Silent Spring," by Rachel Carson). This ban on DDT, which continues to this day, has resulted in the avoidable deaths of millions of Africans from malaria; DDT easily eliminates malaria.
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| | == References == | | == References == |