Women of Power

               What is wrong with the idea of women having power? Why do people always judge women who have seats of authority? Are they not good enough? The answer: our society has, unfortunately, always worked this way. This way of thinking goes back all the way to before Jesus – Noah, a man, is in charge; Moses, a man, gives the people the Ten Commandments. Today, many people still have the same ideas, especially with Hillary Clinton. She is judged on what she wears, how she acts and what she ate for breakfast, but people shouldn’t look at those things. They should look at her work, her ideas and her love for this country. Just like everyone other person in this world, Clinton is human too - she has feelings, thoughts, ideas, cares, likes and dislikes. In the New York Times article, “Can Hillary Cry Her Way Back to the White House?”, the author, Maureen Dowd, writes about walking into her office to hear Hillary Clinton being criticized for crying. She recalls one man saying, “Crying doesn’t usually work in campaigns. Only in relationships.” To become a woman of power, does Clinton need to become emotion-less? Is that what people are asking for? People are too busy judging Clinton on other things that they don’t see what she has to say – her plans for this country.

                In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is the one who plans the death of King Duncan. She is the one who stays strong, while Macbeth’s guilt slowly becomes all he can think about and is almost into insanity. Women are strong. They fight and fight, just like men. When people criticized Clinton, she didn’t drop out or give up, she stayed. Even though Lady Macbeth commits acts of terror, she still stays strong and keeps up her end of the plan. I feel that just because someone, like Hillary Clinton, is a woman of power, doesn’t mean she should be looked at differently for not acting or being a man. In the beginning of the Constitution it has the words, “We the People of the United States…”. It doesn’t say “We the Men”, but “We the People”. Today, many women have incredible amounts of power, including Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga, Jan Fields (President of McDonalds USA), Effa Manley (woman of baseball), and so many others have succeeded in what they do best, even if it’s a man’s position. We are all people of equality, so why not treat and respect people, either man or woman, how we would like to be treated?

“Can You Learn Anything From a Void?”

            In the article, “Can You Learn Anything From a Void?”, the author writes how people like Victor Capesius, turned on their own people during the Holocaust with no compassion. There were also the people like Konrad Jarausch, who will never be able to take back what they saw. These are the two different types of people who can either make or break the world. Capesius was a person who walked among and was friends with the people whom he led to their deaths. Malicious acts, just like these, are one example of many. Another example of the evil which haunts humanity today is the characters of the three murderers in the play, Macbeth. The three murderers who killed Banquo did not care, or have compassion for what they were doing. The murderers were just following the orders of the sadistic, Macbeth, who we imagine as the “Hitler” of Shakespeare. Evil people, like Capesius, are just as guilty as the person who gives them the orders to carry out. Then there are compassionate people including Jarausch, who wrote of the things he saw and did, and composed them into Reluctant Accomplice: A Wehrmacht Soldier’s Letters From the Eastern Front. Even though he was a part of Hitler’s army, he shames everything he did to comply with the evil and not face it. Jarausch grew up a Christian, which put him already in a bad position with the Nazis, but just like Capesius he did not stand up for his Christian morals.

                To combat the evil of the world is something which many people have too much fear to do. They’re scared that if they fight the wicked side, they could be killed themselves. Staying strong and keeping your ground is the way you keep your moral beliefs. The compassion for humanity is what keeps us human. When all love and empathy is gone, you don’t have the feelings to be a human, but a monster. Macbeth is the one who becomes the monster in the play. He has his little minions, the three murderers, who carry out his bloody work for him, also making him look like a coward who can’t do it himself. Greed is the subject which creates people to do dreadful things. Greed is what Macbeth had on his mind the entire time – becoming the king. Having the feeling of care is what makes humans different from the other creatures of the world and this is how the universe should stay – loving, kind and affectionate.

The Globe Theatre

Striding down the road, I ponder what seeing my first play will be like. Will the play be comedic? Will it be horrific? No, Shakespeare wrote it so it must be brilliant. As I’m slowly walking into the Globe Theatre, I see it. I see the stage, the open sky, and the actors getting ready for the big show. I’m beginning to feel anxious about seeing the play when I decide to pay the large sum of coins to sit on the stage. The light from the sky will start to fade soon, so they must get the show underway. Just as the doors are closing to the theatre, the action begins. There’s a woman sitting next to me who insists on exuberantly speaking while I watch the fascinating Hamlet. I can smell the foul nuts on her breath while she is explaining all the wonderful times she had when her son would take her to the plays, but now since he is one of the actors she gets front seat on the stage for no additional cost. I now wish I wouldn’t have paid the little coins I had left over to have this woman in my ear all night. However, as her son saunters on stage I realize how much she adores him and all of his success – something I wish my own mother would have felt.

All of my Noble class neighbors are sitting around me laughing and having a grand time, while I of the poor clergy attempt to listen to the one play I’ve had the money to see. I hear the old man behind me screaming at the actor who plays Claudius, to be a man and show genuine human feelings. Surprisingly, the woman next to me has quieted down, something which hasn’t happened the whole night. This gives me a chance to watch the play and get my coin’s worth. As the play continues on, I begin to feel sadness for the characters – Hamlet in disgust of his mother for her sexuality, Ophelia’s madness and Gertrude’s love for attention. I don’t understand why these characters are so selfish. Hamlet has all the riches in the world from being the Prince of Denmark; he has his love for Ophelia. What more would he need?  The play is ending when the same woman who has been sitting next to me all afternoon, arises from her seat to clap ecstatically for her son. While observing the play, I took note of the many obvious mistakes he made, but to her that doesn’t matter. I watch as they take their time walking out of the theatre while she tells him her favorite scenes.

Stepping out of the exquisite theatre and onto the street makes me forget where I am. Hamlet was beautiful, well the part I did get to see. I understand why everyone takes pleasure in the many plays of Shakespeare. My favorite character from Hamlet was Laertes because of his passion. His foil to the cynical Hamlet, who is too full of hatred to actually think about what he is doing, is a captivating part. I finally remember where I am supposed to be going when I look back on the woman who sat next to me. I wish I would have treated her with more respect, learned more about her, and maybe even have befriended her. I have a plan. I’ll save up my coins for the next time a Shakespeare play is on stage and I’ll meet new people. I’ll learn to become a better person, a better daughter. I’ll see so many amazing works of Shakespeare. Now though, I just plan on getting back home.