THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 1, 1996 TAG: 9601010050
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Guy Friddell
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Several readers criticized my remark last week that women, generally, are more intelligent than men.
A young artist said she was sorry I had a problem in my vision.
No problem here, I replied.
Women have been ahead of men since the Garden of Eden. Eat all fruits except those of the Tree of Knowledge, the Lord told Adam and Eve. Adam, doglike, obeyed.
A curious Eve challenged the ban and coaxed Adam to try the apple. Even as a child, I admired her.
Are there statistics to prove an assertion of feminine superiority? the artist asked.
No, but observation convinces me of it. My every misstep stemmed from failure to heed the advice of the Eve in our household.
Having birthed and nursed the race, women cherish it and are wary of disruptive violence that threatens it when a Hitler or a Stalin erupts and men, bemused, follow. When women's numbers equal those of men in legislatures, humankind will be less prone to jump to the gun to settle differences.
In the 1950s when Virginia was next to the bottom in funding schools, mothers in PTAs began battling to improve them.
Also in concern for the past, women banded to save the founders' shrines, starting with Washington's Mount Vernon.
Men, who talk much of the past, became aware of women's vision in saving it only after tourists' dollars began pouring into Virginia.
Often, thanks to men's obtusity, women have had to work backstage. James Barrie's play, ``What Every Woman Knows,'' traces a wife's deft efforts in advancing her chuckleheaded husband without letting anyone, including him, know how he depends on her.
Women, mostly, have taught our children. Successful men usually mention a teacher when asked why they excelled. But only in the 1960s did industry begin to appreciate fully the leadership women exert.
In newspapers, the revolution is nearly complete. Every time I turn, an able young woman is telling me what to do. For the better.
You think not? Look at your business. Could your wife or mother do as well or better in major roles? Does your daughter qualify for an equal advance at work?
A decade ago, I asked former Gov. Colgate Darden when we'd have a woman president.
``Maybe in 25 years,'' he said.
Might not a woman vice president succeed to the presidency?
``That might well happen any time,'' he said.
Countless women would have been better than some presidents, I said.
``An example is one of our most popular presidents. Mrs. Roosevelt would have made a far better president than Franklin Roosevelt when it came down to sheer ability and stability,'' he said. ``But you don't have to go that far afield. Think of secretaries whom you encounter who are sharper and more decisive than the men for whom they work.'' by CNB