Document text
June 21, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels May 7, 2004 The Martha Stewart trial was the trial of the religion of acquisition and its love/hate relationship with women. Sure, Martha cheated, that's the American stock market way. Martha was devout about money, being smart, and keeping the engine of capitalism going. Martha is an uppity woman who made more money than most men combined. Martha was in bed with Wal-Mart, the worst local employer and abuser of third-world slave labor since the Pharaohs built the pyramids. But isn't that the American way of business? Stewart's legal expense, collapsed empire, public humiliation, loss of social standing seems punishment enough. Her real crime was against women - no one cares much about that. Under that scorpion smile Martha played the role acceptable for aging super successful women - bitch from hell. Martha, the high priestess of perfect houses, gardens, animals, and careers, in the business of our busyness. Poor Martha is resented by the poor (that's most of us), who spend all our time struggling for the rent, and paying taxes corporations like hers don't. Never have women been so driven to discount centers to get something they don't need, to buy more than they want, and use up more gas doing it. Isn't Martha paying for our excesses and buying orgy? Shouldn't we just cut her from 12 houses to 1 and court order her to work creating homes for the homeless? Stewart has a chance to be more loving and human now, and create more than the latest gift-wrap or cookie decoration. We all do. Martha no longer epitomizes what privileged white women do in their spare time. Martha's fate proved that life is not the latest recipe. Only in the last half of the last century have a very few women had the freedom to chose their lives. In the 60s freedom made women responsible for sex, feminism made women free to be men. New Ageism made women free to be goddesses. Martha made freedom the hard choice of interior decorating. Stewart cracked the whip on just another version of the unpaid labors of women that keep the world economy going. Martha, the CEO of consumption, now a late 20th-century disease too. She was the mad queen of eternal shopping quest of something for nothing that promised everything. The psychosis of decor kept us to occupied to feel beautiful enough inside to live in any style we damn well pleased. But, Martha didn't fool all the women any of the time. Some of us thrive in imperfect lives, houses, relationships. Some of us found happiness without coordinated sheets and towels. May women realize that true style and beauty is merely being who they are, and it's all free. Leah Ireland Ashland DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams