With so much progress achieved for women over the past century, it is astounding that many players in our current culture are actively working to weaken those hard-fought hallmarks of liberty. Two of the most well-respected women in today’s American landscape sat down a few days ago to discuss the protection of women’s rights amid a secular culture seemingly intent on stripping away such rights in any way possible. Newsmax host Greta Van Susteren welcomed Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) onto her program to talk about the efforts to erode such women’s rights, and what can be done about it.
“You and I have talked before about this. It was the last year before Title IX. And Title IX that came in that gave girls and young women sports opportunities was one of the biggest liberating things for girls and young women,” Van Susteren began, on Friday evening’s The Record with Greta Van Susteren.
“I remember when I was in high school we had nothing to do. Absolutely nothing. After school, we’d all pile in the car and the boys would go off and have sports, which had leadership. And then over the years, I’ve seen people, young girls, women get scholarships. Health, I mean we never got exercise. We never ran. We didn’t do any of that stuff and Title IX was such a liberating moment for girls and young women. And now, at least women my age, many of them were shocked that this is being chipped away with having men compete.”
“I’ve gotta think that you feel like you are in Bizarro World,” Noem answered. “Because it’s the same people – feminists and people that would declare themselves working and hard for women to have opportunity – are the same ones destroying it today. That’s what I think is so strange, is back then so many people fought for women to just have equal opportunity.”
“Yeah, we weren’t asking for a lot more. Nothing more,” Van Susteren added.
“Just equal opportunity. And we got it, and now we’re losing it because other people recognize that, what a powerful tool that was. What a powerful tool that was to help young women succeed,” the Republican Governor said.
“But what a huge difference on so many levels. Whether it was health, for exercise. Leadership, scholarship opportunities. Everything,” Van Susteren pointed out. “It was such a liberating force for women.”
Noem was in Washington, D.C. last week to testify at a Natural Resources Committee hearing in the House. She was offering her thoughts about the dangers of the current Democratic presidential administration’s efforts to buy and control large swathes of land across western American states.
In her opinion, the goal underlying the government’s efforts is to crack down on Americans’ freedom to use the federal land – by farmers, ranchers, hikers, nature lovers, and others – in the name of “global warming” and conservation.
Regarding the efforts to degrade our country’s hard-fought hallmarks of equality for women, specifically by insisting that men be allowed to compete in women’s sports, Noem shares the concern that future female generations may not have the same opportunities as today’s Americans.
“I can’t imagine what would have happened if Title IX hadn’t been there,” Governor Noem added, saying she competed in basketball, volleyball and track and field as a shot put thrower. “I mean, what my life would have been like. I competed in every sport in high school.”
Noem joked that she and a teammate agreed when running track that they would stick closely together so as not to leave each other behind.
“In your state, generally, what are the women and how, sort of if there’s a way to poll or take the pulse, what do women think of Title IX and what’s happening in this country about it?” Van Susteren asked.
“I think overwhelmingly in South Dakota, because we’ve done so much work really educating people on why Title IX needs to be protected, there all in. They’re all in. They don’t understand. Our state is very populist; operates a lot on common sense. And because we communicate and talk about the why behind a policy, they all want their girls sports to be protected,” Noem said.
Witnessing the infiltration of liberal policies, even in the most liberty-loving areas of the country, Van Susteren asked if the Governor feels any opposition from the Left against her efforts to preserve these crucial women’s rights.
“You do, absolutely,” Noem answered. “Yes, you find resistance. And people try to turn it into something that’s about hate or division. And it’s not that at all. So that’s why we have to work harder to make sure they don’t twist it into something ugly.”
In the year 2023 – where it often feels like up is down and down is up – it is easy, and common, to feel as though we are living in Bizarro World.
Rick Schultz is a former Sports Director for WFUV Radio at Fordham University. He has coached and mentored hundreds of Sports Broadcasting students at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, Marist College and privately. His media career experiences include working for the Hudson Valley Renegades, Army Sports at West Point, The Norwich Navigators, 1340/1390 ESPN Radio in Poughkeepsie, NY, Time Warner Cable TV, Scorephone NY, Metro Networks, NBC Sports, ABC Sports, Cumulus Media, Pamal Broadcasting and WATR. He has also authored a number of books including “A Renegade Championship Summer” and “Untold Tales From The Bush Leagues”. To get in touch, find him on Twitter @RickSchultzNY.
