I've been giving a lot of thought to the divisions we see in the nation today, especially when it comes to attempting to understand exactly the point of view of the rabidly conservative citizen.

To listen to their rhetoric, you would think their fears are they'll lose their gun rights and we'll be invaded by Islamic extremists coming across the Mexican border. Not that those fears aren't real to them, but, in all honesty, I think their fears are, at their deepest core, not those things at all.

What scares them so much? The truth? It's white women who are out of their control. The feminist movement took women out of the kitchen and put them into positions of power in some, and many who are not to the right of Mussolini would say far too few, cases. Even having women who are allowed to work outside the home gives them a small measure of independence, which to old white men, is unacceptable. When you combine that loss of control over women with the diminishing ratio of old white men versus any of the other male demographic segments of our population and throw in that white women are not always choosing white men for their mates, or even dates, the older white male conservative sees himself increasingly becoming irrelevant and impotent. How this translates into actions and speech is usually angry outbursts directed at non-white males. Sometimes it's directed at muslims, but mostly it's aimed at those of African heritage. And, in the case of men like Donald J., those comments consistently denigrate women as well as minorities. If his comments, especially tweets, are any indication, the fears of old white men are growing astronomically since the election of President Obama. Thus, the rhetoric becomes increasingly hate-filled and their sentiments regarding what have been very likely unwarranted and most certainly avoidable extra-judicial killings of black men are growing in their acerbity. If you ask any staunchly conservative white male to admit to any of this, they will deny it, to be sure. One's denial of truth, however, does not change the truth.

Slowly, but relentlessly, old white men are making strides to get white women back under their control, steadily chipping away at the foundation of what gives women much of their independence -- abortion rights. If Republicans are allowed to take the White House and retain a majority in the Senate, we are guaranteed the eventual demise of Roe due to the appointment of anti-choice Supreme Court justices. Consistently, such restrictive measures are being enacted in the southern states, which is hardly a surprise since that is also the staunchest bastion of racism.

What is surprising about conservatives actions against women is their belief in limited government, yet they are perfectly happy to allow government to take total control over a woman's body, which should be the most strongly protected area in law. Surely if we can't trust government to set rates for and distribute taxes fairly and effectively, we can't trust them to take control over how many children we feel as can afford to support and properly educate. How would these same conservatives feel if the government decided there was a shortage of livers or kidneys in the nation and they were going to be forced to grow body parts for transplant? Think their heads wouldn't explode?? So, why do they think it's fine to give the government control over a woman's body, effectively forcing her to give birth, with no exceptions to the law, to a child she doesn't want and can't afford, especially when they're not going to allow her any help in accomplishing the task of raising it?

If you have any appreciation for what women are becoming, allowing ANY Republican to be elected to office puts that progress for our women in dire jeopardy. The "southern" attitude will persist for many generations yet to come, a fact made more solid by country music reinforcing those attitudes, longing for a bygone day that actually never did exist outside the rural areas of the nation and hopefully will never overtake the rest of the nation. Therefore, our opposition to them has to remain steadfast or we will end up capitulating to the conservatives and allowing them to regress our nation more than a hundred years.

Allowing the government to become controlled entirely by a group of old white men, unapologetic conservatives in their views, will be one of the saddest times in our country's history. It will be a horrific time to be a woman. And, it won't be any less sad if you are a man who admires a woman who can be strong.