Dawn of a New America
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle…
Writing in 1865, William Ross Wallace’s poem, “What Rules the World” offers us an insightful look at Vice President Kamala Harris’ rise to Presidential candidacy. Ordinarily, we would not think of the Office of President as a motherly position, but in the context of our contemporary political climate, leadership on the world stage is shifting.
According to Clancy and Austin, writing for The Pew Research Center, the number of women who serve as national leaders has increased significantly since 1990. They point out that of the 13 United Nation member states having women as heads of state, nine are newly elected. In this essay, I would like to share some thoughts on why this political hierarchy seems to be Divinely inspired.
In Wallace’s poem, he points out that motherhood is the leading force for change. He pens it this way, “For the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world.” In his poem he says, “Mother’s first to guide the streamlets, from them souls unresting grow.”
This thought-provoking passage suggests that the first person to guide the life of a child is its mother. She directs the youngster’s growth and ensures that it has full unfettered access to possibilities and opportunities. It is rare indeed, to hear a mother reprimand a child in demeaning terms. She loves her child and will do anything to protect him/her. The growing number of single parent moms working multiple jobs to provide for their offspring attests to the truth of this assertion.
We find in Scripture evidence that the protective role of a mother is Divinely inspired. “It is He Who brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers when you knew nothing; and He gave you hearing and sight and intelligence and affections: that you may give thanks (Qur’an 65:78).
In another verse we find, “In pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth. The carrying of the (child) to his weaning is (a period of) thirty months.” (Qur’an 46:15). Also, “My son, hear the instructions of thy father and forsake not the law of thy mother. For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head and chains about thy neck. (Proverbs 1:8–9). These scriptural verses, attest to Divine laws in which mothers are given responsibility for the care of a child. So by extension we can conclude that The Almighty has given women an innate nurturing instinct.
Another interesting observation is that the Almighty will not permit evil, unjust people to remain in positions of influence and power. In Psalms 37:9 we find, “or those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.” A similar idea is found in Qur’an 58:5, “Indeed, those who defy God and His Messenger will be abandoned, just like those before them.”
With the influence of women, global leadership is moving toward justice and equity; male domination on the world stage is changing and this fact is evidenced here in America. The Center for American Women and Politics reports that there were 65 women in Congress in 2000; today there are 150.
The pendulum of power is swinging toward equity and justice for all. This change is influenced by the nurturing characteristics of motherhood. Women are ill-content to sit quietly by as autocrats and authoritarian leaders attempt to undermine the Divine mandate of the Almighty. This redistribution of power is affecting our global community and marks the Dawn of a new America.
