We Have Problems in Our Society That Only a Woman Can Solve

If you’ve lost your faith and think that things will never change, remind yourself that there is one option we’ve never tried

Note: This article will be my closing argument on the 2024 election. My publication is proud to endorse Kamala Harris for President of the United States of America!

I’ve learned a lot in 15 years of marriage. I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t respect women enough when I was a younger man. But experience has helped me grow into a better person.

I’ve seen my wife’s courage in moving to another country, finding work, and eventually earning her master’s degree.

I saw her strength in the delivery room when she gave birth to our two beautiful daughters.

I’ve seen her compassion and intelligence on numerous occasions as she anticipated the obstacles our children might face and equipped them to navigate those challenges.

Time and time again, she’s demonstrated a different approach to life than my own. In my arrogance, I used to believe my philosophy was the only thing that had a chance of success. I’ve come to understand the folly of that assumption.

Maturation has helped me understand that not everything that’s “different” is oppositional. There are instances where things are different and complimentary.

The union of woman and man is one example.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve talked to many people who are without hope. They insist that no matter what we try, we will still be plagued by the same problems. “Nothing ever changes,” they say. “No matter what we do, it won’t make a difference.”

They’re missing the obvious. They don’t recognize that we’re on the cusp of trying something that our nation has never done before.

We’ve never elected a woman to lead us. I feel that’s a stubborn oversight that is long overdue for correction.

Women have ways of handling problems that can force us to reassess our perception of what is possible. My wife has shown me that I don’t need to go through every obstacle. Sometimes it’s more efficient to go around. This is something I’ve learned to apply and I’ve become a happier person as a result.

My wife and I generally practice effective communication. But in those instances where I’m being stubborn and my wife feels strongly about her position, she has ways of exerting her influence to ensure the appropriate outcome.

Men might think of themselves as “warriors,” but women are forces of nature. You can rely on men to harvest the crops, but people forget that women plant the seeds.

With the kids at home during the pandemic, my wife suggested that we should get a puppy. This is a big decision and it takes a lot of planning. My wife has always preferred big dogs. I grew up with little dogs that were around twenty-five pounds.

I agreed to the dog, but I thought a big dog would be too much work and expense. “Get something around forty pounds,” I said.

She came back home with a shelter puppy. The puppy’s mom was a lab, but the sire was unknown. From the earliest days, everybody looked at that puppy’s feet and said, “He’s going to be huge!”

They were right. Today he tops the scale at just under one hundred pounds.

“Well, how was I supposed to know how big he would get?” my wife said. “We don’t even know what breed he is.”

She had plausible deniability. I often have to admire how efficiently and gently my wife is able to maneuver me. What she said was completely true, we didn’t know how big that puppy would get. But my wife also wanted a big dog, and that’s what we got.

Of course I’ve come to love the dog just like another member of the family. For a little while I was annoyed that we’d gotten such a big dog. But then I had one of those moments where I was able to perceive the world from outside my normal reality, and I came to understand.

It has become my wife’s custom to wake up early and take the dog for a short walk in the morning. I go straight to my home office and begin to work. When I start writing, I quickly become absorbed and a little out of step with reality.

There’s a window next to my computer. On one foggy morning, my mind already spinning with all my daily tasks, I happened to glance out the window. I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I saw only a figure and a dog without immediately recognizing I was looking at my wife.

In that instant, with the perspective of looking at a stranger, I saw how confidently she walked with that big dog at her side. I know my puppy and how he’s a goofy and friendly animal who always comes trotting up with a big smile on his face. But in that split second of not recognizing him, I realized that he has gigantic teeth and he’s rippling with muscle.

If you don’t know my dog, he looks pretty scary.

That’s when it all became clear.

I go through life looking at the world from the perspective of a solidly built 6 foot tall man. No matter how much I try to be mindful of the perspectives of others, they can escape me. I realized that having a hundred pound dog with sharp, shining teeth allows my wife the peace of mind to take a walk around the block by herself.

Some men get all ruffled up and start to think that it’s their responsibility to be “the protector.” But these men fail to recognize that they can’t be there all the time.

The dog is just as much a protector of my daughters as it is of my wife. It used to make me nervous when I had to leave the kids at home and run to the post office or the bank. Now, with their hundred pound furry protector in the house, I don’t have to rush.

That’s a benefit to our family that’s courtesy of mom. I perceive new value to her decision every day. My girls are in soccer, cross-country and basketball. The dog provides them with the freedom to go out for training runs without having to wait for an opening in my schedule.

The takeaway here for me and for all men is that it’s not our job to be “protectors” of women. It’s our job to help empower women to be protectors of themselves.

A dog is big, a dog is loving, a dog is powerful, a dog is loyal. I think it will be of enormous value to my daughters to go through their lives having raised a dog when they were children. It gives me peace of mind to know that perhaps on some distant day when I’m no longer around they’ve been equipped to find a steadfast and fiercely protective companion.

This emphasis on personal empowerment is exactly what our society needs.

Fifteen years of marriage has helped me to recognize the priceless contributions women have made to my life. I realize now that my mom did a lot more for me and my father than we ever appreciated. Men can be so short-sighted that they might harvest a crop year after year without ever stopping to wonder who planted the seeds.

It might take brute force to bring in the harvest, but it takes gentle nurturing to cultivate the crop. Human history has had too much brutality and too little compassion. We’ve turned always to force as a first solution and our problems have lingered.

Instead, we should try efficient and gentle maneuvering. Sometimes that’s the only way to achieve your ends.

I feel that the human race will benefit from the leadership of a perspective that’s rooted in creation. Too often, men fail at planning because they think their brute strength is sufficient to get them out of any situation. It’s a harsh wake-up call when you realize that’s not the case.

I’ve had that wake-up call. I’ve been truly powerless and needed a woman’s support to save me. I’ve changed my perspective on what I believe to be possible.

In our unity, there is strength. We’ve wasted too much time and effort in senseless opposition. Now, we have an opportunity to embrace the path of complimentary strength. I’m confident that choice will lead us into a new era of prosperity.

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