Are We Ready Yet?

I was thinking about Lillian D. Rock today. In fact, over the past few weeks, I've thought about her a lot. You probably don't know her, so let me introduce her to you, and you'll understand why I've been thinking about her, even though I never met her.

This is one of the few surviving images of her; online, it gives a date of 1935, but that's unlikely. It's probably a photo from when she graduated from law school in 1924. Few law firms would hire a "woman lawyer" back then, so she worked with her brother, who was also a lawyer. And she joined the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), where she eventually became a member of its executive board.

Then, in 1934, Lillian got into the news for her advocacy on behalf of women in politics. American women had only gotten the right to vote in 1920, but Lillian believed there were already numerous qualified women who could take on important political roles-- such as becoming federal judges, as Genevieve Cline and Florence Allen had done. Speaking at conference, Lillian asserted that within her lifetime, she fully expected a woman to ascend all the way to the presidency.

Hoping to make it happen sooner rather than later, she founded the League for a Woman President and Vice President in 1935. Of course, not everyone was as enthusiastic about the idea as Lillian and her colleagues were. Some men were dismissive of it, while others opposed it-- they said only men should lead a country. But the most surprising opponent of Lillian's idea was the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt.

Eleanor had a radio show, and on it, she usually talked about non-controversial and non-political topics. But she addressed Lillian's committee directly, saying that while women had made important gains, they hadn’t been in politics long enough to have earned the public’s trust; she believed it would take a while until that happened, but she could not support what Lillian was proposing. Despite her disagreement with the First Lady, Lillian continued to advocate for women in politics; but she died in 1974, without ever seeing a woman attain the nomination for vice president or president of either of the two major parties.   

The other day, I was reading an interview with a male voter who stated that women weren't tough enough to be president. I also note that whenever there has been a female candidate in the past few years, her male opponent has mocked how she laughed, made fun of how she looked, hinted that she wasn't moral, or claimed that she wasn't intelligent; and of course, she was accused of not being able to handle the difficult work of running a country. 

Listening to the rhetoric in the current presidential race, I often feel like I've just taken a trip back to 1935, when all of those things were being said about women politicians (of both parties) on a regular basis. And I wonder what Lillian would make of the fact that in 2024, women are still enduring the same slurs and insults and accusations as they did nearly 90 years ago. Agreed, the language has gotten more coarse and vulgar, but the basic belief of a lot of people that women who run for president are inferior really irritates me. I hope when people vote, they will look at each candidate's qualifications and consider the vision they have for the country. And I hope that millions of women will finally get to see a woman become president. I'd like to believe that if Lillian were still here, she would be delighted by that. I know I certainly will be.        

 

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Last night, I was looking through some of my Rush-related memorabilia, and I found a few items from October 2012. That may not seem like such a long time ago, but that month turned out to be a very momentous time for Rush and for their many fans; and it was nice to reminisce about it all. 

One reason October 2012 was worth remembering was the Clockwork Angels tour was heading for Boston at the end of the month, and I could hardly wait.

And another reason I was looking forward to it, in addition to seeing the band, of course, was that my friend Pegi was going to be there. If you ever met her, you know what a dynamo she was-- an essential member of Rush's management, I had known her almost as long as I'd known the band. She had been battling cancer, but she told me the treatments had been successful, and she would be able to come to Boston for the concert. That was wonderful news; we had shared a lot since the mid-1970s, and I was eager to give her a big hug. She told me there would be two tickets waiting for me, and that also meant I'd be able to take a dear friend of mine along-- Meg, who was a local journalist and a devoted Rush fan. 

Before the show, I joined a get-together of Rush fans at a nearby Dunkin' Donuts-- they included some folks I'd known for a long while; for the past several years, some of us had been gathering for an annual event we jokingly called Ratcon (we were the "Rush Rats"). But now, they were here in Boston, and it was sort of like a mini-reunion, complete with Steampunk attire.

Before the show, my friend Meg and I went to the meet-and-greet, where we saw Geddy and Alex; Neil seldom if ever showed up for these things, nor did we expect him to. There were some fans who had won backstage passes in a radio contest, as well as some friends of the band who were there to say hello just like Meg and I were. But even though it was brief, it was still wonderful to spend a few moments with Geddy and Alex and catch up on how they were doing.

And then, we went to our seats (I generally watch the show from the mixing booth, where the view is better, and I can enjoy not just the music but the amazing lights-and-special effects from Howard Ungerleider). I won't bore you with the set-list (easy to find it online), but suffice it to say that "The Garden" has always been one of my favorites, and it got an excellent response, as did "Spirit of Radio," "Subdivisions," "Bravado," and so many others. This tour also featured a string ensemble (I had the opportunity to chat with one of the members, a talented violinist named Gerry Hilera; later, we kept in touch for a while). It was an incredible night of great music, and the fans seemed especially enthusiastic. 

Meanwhile, what many of the fans didn't know was that in early October, I had gotten the word that FINALLY, after years of calling, and writing, and petitioning, and doing everything else I could think of, it looked like Rush would be nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That, however, is a story for another day. The story for this one was about seeing my friends, seeing Pegi, seeing Alex and Geddy and other members of the crew, and feeling grateful to be part of the extended family of Rush fans, able to share another outstanding concert tour. Of course, none of us had any idea that several years ahead, many things would change-- for me, for Pegi, for Rush, and for the fans. But on this night, it was a celebration, and I looked forward to the next one.