Mr. Joyce Takes on the World

Sexism 101 Suffragettes Annie Kennedy and Christabel Pankhurst   Feminism: the concept that women and men are socially, economically, politically, intellectually, and spiritually equal. Economics hasn't quite gotten there yet, but there's still hope. As for the other elements of classical feminism...society has come a long way. It still needs to strive though. So, why does sexism bother me? The answer to that is simple. It devalues women. Well, that's it then. End of essay. Wait, there's more! Not only does it devalue women, but it also causes men to devalue themselves as well. You see, women, contrary to popular belief, do not come from Venus. They are human, just like men. Sure their bodies are different, and they have the tendency to smell better than men, but that's another story. The point is that women and men both come from Earth. We're both from the same species, and we need to treat each other as suc...

Fairness Sometimes I'm not fair. For as selfless and giving as I am, I can also be selfish at times. For example, I know a young woman that I care for deeply. She's currently in a phase in her life where demands on her time are many, and free time is scarce. So scarce in fact, that she's living a semi-cloistered life as she takes up her studies. At first, I felt snubbed. I thought, “What's taking her so long? Why doesn't she have five minutes to write to me? Did I do something wrong? Is it me?” I then realized that I wasn't being fair. I wasn't being sensitive to her needs, or her time frame. I also wasn't being fair to her struggles. Where she is now, I once was. Sometimes, I'm still there. Sometimes I forget what hurdles I've had to overcome just to function in daily life. Maybe that's a defense mechanism. If so, it's one that can distorted reality. I need to replace it with a mechanism of compassion, in...

Just say "Yes."  I'm reminded of something my uncle Tom told me after his brother died. It was the winter of 2002, and on Christmas Eve, he shared with the family the last conversation he had with his brother, James. He said, “As Jim was dying, we started talking about regrets. He told me that the one big regret he had was not marrying this girl he dated back in the 60's. He wanted to marry her, but we were Protestant, and she was Catholic. Our parents wouldn't have stood for that.” He fell silent after that, and didn't say more. I could see by the look on his face that he was disappointed for his brother, but not at him. James died without ever marrying, or having children. He lived alone, and worked as a environmental scientist. He once wrote a scholarly work on the history and uses of the soybean. For vegetarians that might be considered pornography. For the rest of us it's far from Fifty Shades of Tofu. James was...

Nothing But Heart My heart is the strongest organ I have; both literally and physically. Don't get me wrong, I'm a thinker. Come to think of it I think too damn much. I over analyze things sometimes. Or, as I told a friend recently, I will flog a dead horse. I will continue to flog it, even after the horse has been removed, and placed in its grave. I think I do that because when something bothers me, it really bothers me until is resolved. I like a sense of resolution to conflicts and other problems that occur in life. I don't like loose ends or ambiguity. I have to know, and I have to know above all else. But I'm not all brain games. While I enjoy contemplating life, the universe, and everything, I know when to switch from brain to heart mode. As an example I've often said, “Writing is an emotional exercise, not an intellectual one.” The intellect part comes when you're fixing things up to look presentable to readers. If the heart isn't ...