Unless
you have been living under a rock, you've probably heard about the
recent crisis Americans faced with a 16-day partial government shutdown
due to internal strife between two opposing political parties. A few
days before the president signed the bill that would avert a
catastrophic treasury default, The New York Times reported that a
bi-partisan group of women was leading the charge in negotiation
between the Republican and Democratic factions to end this crisis.
The Huffington Post reported in an article, titled
"Men Got Us Into the Shutdown, Women Got Us Out", that six out of the
14 senators on the bipartisan committee who laid the framework for the
debt deal were women.
“Before I went to the Senate floor, no one was presenting any way out,” Senator Susan Collins of Maine said. “I think what our group did was pave the way, and I’m really happy about that.”
This
group of women, who are credited with essentially bringing America back
from the brink of destruction (not to be dramatic or anything, but it
would have been BAD), were able to overcome their differences when the
men in their parties couldn't. Even as our society and many parts of the
world continue to scoff at women who make their way in this male
dominated profession, I think this most recent accomplishment proves why
women are necessary in political positions of power if a country- any
country- hopes to be able to effectively resolve internal differences.
Meeting aggression with aggression oftentimes only exacerbates an
already precarious situation, as seen by the attempts during the
shutdown of certain male leaders to bring forth plans that would
unfairly compromise and humiliate the other side. In scenarios as
delicate as this (and it isn't over for us yet!) one cannot stress
enough the importance of having leaders who are capable of both compassion and objective thinking.
“I
don’t think it’s a coincidence that women were so heavily involved in
trying to end this stalemate,” Collins added. “Although we span the
ideological spectrum, we are used to working together in a collaborative
way.”
I
think this example of women banding together to get the work done when
others couldn't because of stubbornness, or sheer incompetency, is
inspiring. Women around the world who hope to be politicians should look
to these six for courage in the face of the doubters who say that women
can't do the same job that a man can in politics.
Actually, I take that back.
You can tell the haters that they are right. Because in this case, and in many other cases, we have actually done it better.
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