Post 3: Response to "Women of power in Nebraska"

Women and power, the struggle is ages old. It is often said that we live in a nation where, although women claim equal rights, they have to fight harder to get to power. Here in Nebraska we like to think that our state leads “the good life” and that children are raised in tolerant environments. Growing up, in a small town, I was taught that I could do whatever I wanted to do; and I was never exposed to the actuality of how hard attaining those goals might be. “Women of power in Nebraska” written by Joanne Young, a woman, deals with the lack of women in power in our state today. Prior to reading this article I had never really thought too much about the role that women played in our state’s power positions. During my junior year I met Laurie Smith Camp, a Nebraska Federal District Judge, at the state Mock Trial Competition. I walked out of the room that day not fully appreciating the fact of what she had achieved, and how few women held similar offices of power in my own state. In fact as I read through the article the numbers that flew at me astounded, shocked, and frustrated me. I, who consider myself a fairly knowledgeable person in politics, had never even thought of the gross disproportion of political positions held by women.
As I continued to read the essay many thoughts raced through my head as to what lead to this lack of women in power. My first instinct was that our previously chauvinistic state was slow on the upswing at allowing access to powerful positions to the women of our state. But he more and more I thought about the problem, the more I realized that the blame must also fall on the women of Nebraska. Women can’t be expected to stumble into positions of power, because, well that’s not exactly how men get into those positions either. So what does that say about the women in Nebraska? Are we in fact disinclined to reach for the brass ring of political, and influential power? History shows that Nebraska holds breakthroughs for women into power positions, such as the 1986 governor’s race, where two women ran against each other in the gubernatorial race.
The lack of women in power positions in Nebraska is not limited to the political field. When I read on in this article I found that this shortage or women stretched to the business world too. Also I was inclined to laugh at the surveys claiming that a vast majority of women are concerned about the domination of the cooperate world in Nebraska by males. Indeed this vast majority must not be working very hard to correct the tipped scales, or things would be different, or at least abandoning harsh standstill for some progressive movement.
As my reading of the article came to a close I was forced to conclude that the lack of women in power in Nebraska is not through social fault, but through the fault of the women of this state themselves. I believe that if women want power, they should reach for it, and I also firmly believe that if you work for something it will eventually come to you in some shape or form. I wish that things were different, I really do; but it is hard for me to sympathies with a plea that I feel does no good, if no one is willing to step up and change it.

Post 2: Response to Telephone Museum visit

Strolling through the Frank H. Woods Telephone Pioneer Museum is literally like taking a walk through time. The museum tells the story of the evolution of the telephone, and more specifically the evolution of the Lincoln Telephone and Telegraph Company. For the average history nut, gadget fiend, or even curious explorer, wandering through and gazing at generations of telephones is a thrill. However, the true enjoyment, which I enjoyed, came from the stories others told while we were in the museum. As we wandered through the room of the museum portraying an old fashioned switchboard operating system I fell into conversation with a middle to elderly aged man, my guess is mid 60’s, touring the museum with his wife. It was neat to see his eyes rived to the systems as he told stories of how as a youth, he was told that the old community lines were a source of sharp gossip, and enriched entertainment. He described the thrill that one felt from eavesdropping on another party’s conversation. “The Trick” he said, “was not to let the other parties hear the click as you picked up or replaced the receiver. He explained how the tell tale click was the sign that someone was listening in on your conversation and how more than once he was told off by an angry neighbor as he was discovered listening in on a conversation.
I went to this museum with my roommate and my boyfriend and each of us enjoyed telling the tales of each phone we remembered. My boyfriend recalled how his relatives in cattle country still rely on the 80’s bag phones for communication out in the fields, and how these now out of date communication devices still provide the clearest signal. My roommate fell into a long conversation with the museum curator about the glass insulators that were used on the original phone lines. The curator explained to her how they worked, and she talked about how her grandparents had a couple of these artifacts sitting in their living room, and of how she had always wondered what function they had. As for myself, I fell mesmerized with the simple old version of the rotary dial telephone. It reminded me of the telephone my grandmother used to have in her house. I remembered playing with the circular dial style for hours, and at the marvel of how much different Grandma’s telephone was from our more modern one. All three of us exclaimed at the Mickey Mouse and light up telephones and were captivated for hours by the old dial boards used by operators.
After we departed the museum all three of us jabbered about how cool the museum and about how much that we had learned. However, later I realized that it was as much the stories, and the displays that had intrigued us. I think it is safe to say that none of us actually read all the boards and complex descriptions. We learned through the stories shared to us through each other, and the random strangers we encountered that day. I will admit that when I left for the museum I was dreading having to wander through it. Also I think it would be foolish of me to pretend that I didn’t drag both my comrades with me on this outing, although I believe that both of them enjoyed themselves. It is amazing how much is out there that we never experience. Never in a million years would I have gone to the telephone museum, or perhaps even known of its existence. But now I do know that the Frank H. Woods Telephone Museum exists; and I think that it is safe to say that it has impacted my life with a great memory.