RUTHFULLY YOURS

Kimberly Fletcher is the president and founder of Homemakers for America, former Vice President of the Dayton Tea Party and Executive Director of the Abigail Adams Project. She also has another day job-mother of eight children, spouse of an officer in the United States Air-Force and a grassroots activist and public speaker as well as a published columnist.

For those of us who lived during the reign of those faux feminists who burned bras and issued edicts on homemaking as bondage, this book is a welcome tonic. Move over Gloria Steinem who said “In my heart, a woman has two choices: either she’s a feminist or a masochist.” Women with that mindset had the microphones and succeeded in politicizing religion, family, marriage and law, but there are pushbacks now that conservative women have entered politics in congress and as governors.

The author agrees that women have options between careers and financial responsibilities and homemaking, but avers that all can, did and will contribute to the national dialogue and to securing our basic freedoms.

She gives inspiring examples of the wives of America’s founders- those pioneers, home- schoolers, helpmeets and counselors to the great men who won our wars and wrote our laws and implemented our freedoms. Abigail Adams and Martha Washington are well known, but Fletcher writes about Laura Collins Walcott, wife of Oliver Walcott a signer of the Declaration of Independence; Eliza Adams, the second wife of Samuel Adams who was instrumental with her husband in urging emancipation of slaves; Sarah Clarke the wife of Abraham Clarke, a farmer who became a lawyer and Congressman who signed the Declaration with the New Jersey delegation; Lydia Darrah, a housewife who heard of a planned ambush of General Washington and saved the day by walking twenty five miles to save the army;  and Sybil Ludington of Danbury Connecticut who was known as the female Paul Revere who rode under cover of night to alert the colonists of an impending British strike. These are only a handful of those heroines of the Revolution who moved a nation.

Kimberley Fletcher does not stop with the past. We meet Violet Acanfara, a Christian born in Iraq who toils endlessly in exposing the dangers of Islamic terrorism. In her words:

Fletcher also writes of a Japanese friend Yuko who studied and was appalled by the lack of proper education of America’s history. Both Yuko and Violet have spoken at women’s forums.

I have always been fascinated by history of women with incredible accomplishments. One of the less told stories about modern Israel is how the volunteer women of Hadassah went to Palestine in the early 1900s  to farm, to teach, to start universities and hospitals and nursing schools. These were the women who laid the cornerstones of the state. Their history was the inspiration of my youth.

I also loved the women who worked in factories during WW2 building ships, munitions and supplies while the men were at war. They were known collectively as “Rosie the Riveter” and their motto was “We Can Do It.” When the war was over most went back to cooking and folding and the diurnal tasks of the housewives of that era.

Fletcher’s book is a determination that we can do it and a welcome journey of activism, covering every aspect of our lives as Americans- religion, patriotism, history, excessive government intrusion, the national debt, and the unending saga of seemingly ordinary women accomplishing extraordinary things.

One of her inspirations is Abigail Adams who wrote in a letter to her husband John Adams in 1776:

John Adams heard his wife and her message has inspired the real pioneers of women’s liberation in America. I am happy that it inspired Kimberley Fletcher who wrote this paean to American homemakers.

I am delighted by the opportunity to interview Kimberly Fletcher who has graciously agreed to answer a few questions.

RK : First tell us about your family and your life as mother of eight and wife of a soldier.

Well, I can definitely say, with eight children there is rarely a dull moment.  We are a very close family and spend a lot of time together.  Being in the military we move a lot and my husband Derek is often away so we have had a lot of challenges but I think it has made us closer and appreciate each other a lot more.  Even as the older children have moved away to attend college or start their families, we still stay close.  Modern technology and communications make it so easy to stay connected.  We are also a very patriotic lot.  I am sure having Derek serve in the military has helped strengthen our children’s love and respect for America. All in all, I feel we are very blessed to have each other.  Family is definitely the root of all I do, and where I find my greatest joy.

No woman should be treated abusively or held subservient simply because she is a woman.  And I do not believe that abusive, tyrannical behavior should hide behind religion.  It is simply cowardly and unacceptable.  I am so grateful we live in a country where women are free and treated with respect.  Every woman deserves freedom and respect.  They should feel safe in their own homes and communities.

This is one thing that has absolutely stumped me about the feminists.  Why do they not speak out more against the atrocities against women in other countries?    Why did they not celebrate when Iraqi women voted in their own elections?  Instead they condemn the war on terror, attack those who fight to keep us free, and complain about how much it costs.  If they are truly an organization for women then why are they not doing more to stand with those women and work on real solutions to help them?

RK: How can one counsel and help so many young women today who are trapped in a cycle of poverty and single parenthood in America today?

This is what you would call one of those million dollar questions.  It is such a big issue and I don’t want to diminish the magnitude of the problem but I do believe there are some very simple answers to all our complex problems including this one.  The most important thing we need to know, understand, and embrace as Americans is that everything is, and should be, local.  Politics are local.  Education is local.  Community is local.  Families are local. And our help and support should be local.  Our government has been set up to be close to the people so that We the People can be heard and be stewards over our own government.  The best way to help women out of poverty and single parenthood is through the local community coming together to support them.

Let the local community lift them up through churches, community groups, and individuals and get the government out of the way.  The government has only added to the problem with their handouts and myriad of impersonal programs that create dependency, foster resentment, and lead to slavery.  Family is the place to save society and the community should support the family.  That is how we will help these women—through family and community and by we as women standing together.   The government should only be used on rare occasions, on a temporary basis, and only at the local level.  Our goal should be to lift these women up, not hold them down.  The best way to help them is to teach them how to help themselves and encourage and support them every step of the way.

I don’t have a problem with women in the military but I don’t think they should serve in combat positions.   I know it is unpopular with many women but I just don’t think that is the place for women when there are plenty of men to serve in those roles.  That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t pick up a gun to protect my family when necessary—I would do it in a heartbeat; but to leave my family to serve in a combat position, that’s just something I don’t think women should do.

I also don’t espouse  the military exceptions for women in combat.  If a man is expected to run 3 miles and lift 200 pounds to serve in combat then a woman who wants to serve in combat should meet the same standards.  There is a reason combat personnel are trained the way they are. If you can’t meet the rigid standards, you should not be put in combat.

RK: Will you continue to work with the Tea Party?

I will continue to support the Liberty Movement by supporting all those organizations involved in it such 912 groups, Tea Parties, As A Mom and others.  It is important that we support each other and work together to preserve our liberties and keep America free.

RK: Would you comment on Sarah Palin?

Sarah Palin is the perfect example of a real American women!  She is an inspiration to every wife, mother, and homemaker in America and proof that a woman’s influence is immeasurable.

If any one person can take credit for the women in America rising up and engaging, it is Sarah.  After forty years of feminists running for office, we finally had someone we could relate to.  She inspired so many women to get involved.  She is one courageous lady.

Thank you Kimberley Fletcher from everybody at Family Security Matters for your inspiring book and for taking the time to answer our questions.

FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Ruth S. King is a freelance writer who writes a monthly column in OUTPOST, the publication of Americans for a Safe Israel.