I was a freshman in college when they explained it all.

It was a required Humanities Course that put history in context.

Eve gave Adam the apple and it stuck in his throat, we lost the Garden, and she’s paying for it ever since.

Pre-history. The earliest man. Before language. The Vast Universe surrounded the divergent ape with powers beyond his comprehension. He bowed before it and whimpered.

The female of the species had powers too, the Power of Creation. She would grow a belly, disappear into the bushes, and come back with a baby. Miracle! She held the Mystery of Creation. Early man built altars to her, molded statues out of clay, big bellied, pendulous breasts. She was Goddess.

Then man began to notice things.

When he was home, the woman’s belly grew, and then a baby.

When the men were gone for a time, off hunting, and they returned, in their absence, no belly, no baby.

When they stayed home, belly, baby.

Aha! The man is part of the creation process!

Woman no god! Backlash! Smash the altars, replace the woman statues with men statues. Men stronger, hunt, bring meat, women kept in their place, the kitchen, to serve. And ever since.

Written history is a record of male dominance.

Religion gets into it. God is white man. Woman is offshoot after thought. Adam’s rib. Athena is brain child of Zeus.

American Constitution. All (rich white) men are created equal.

Women outnumber. Men suppress.

And here we are today.

Are the tables turning with the tide? Is Nature re-establishing balance?

Not yet.

Men scared. If bend, might break. Nature waits, cleans house, balance waits.

Re-write: “All men (and women) are created equal.”

But not yet.

Men and money and power and ignorance and forever never.

Somewhere Nature laughs, rubs her hands, and waits.