What Would Phyllis Do?
AmericanMom Team |“She didn’t say things, she believed things.” – Anne Shlafly-Cori
How can we not love Phyllis Schlafly? In the face of political strife, feminist-wrought destruction, and personal attacks, she kept a smile on her face and stood her ground.
To know who Phyllis was is to know what a true pillar of female empowerment and real feminism is. It is to see how a woman, with grace and class, can pursue her passions, raise six children, be a loving wife, political activist, and a successful lawyer.
In an age of modern feminism, CRT, transgenderism indoctrination, political overreach, and so much more, we think it’s about time we asked ourselves: What would Phyllis do?
“Prioritize marriage”
Two simple words. Applied to both men and women, Phyllis probably would have argued that this could save the world. When speaking with her daughter Anne about advice for twenty-something-year-olds, it became clear that marriage and the nuclear family should be made priorities by anyone looking for the cure to today’s untamed (and often encouraged) crazy.
And truly this is the starting point. Within the structure of a loving and respectful marriage there is love, freedom, and support of the kind that helped Phyllis achieve all that she did in her life. She was empowered by being a mother and wife, not discouraged, and certainly not oppressed as modern feminists would have you believe.
“She always fought against the encroachment on personal liberties, and always pushed the importance of the family as the building block of a free society.” – Anne Schlafly-Cori
Truly, there is power in the family unit that works together towards the success of each member. When the family is the focus, children can grow in a space where they are respected, loved, and exposed to the world in a comfortable place with people who care about them to fall back on.
Anne fondly remembered her mother encouraging family debates, opening the floor for Anne and her siblings to make their case and Phyllis and her husband to counter their argument.
“We were always given the opportunity to speak out. She encouraged the dialog, the debate and discussion back and forth, I think that was very important. It wasn’t that you had to agree, she was more interested in could you logically make your argument. Even if it was about curfew. And so, encouraging that kind of, being able to talk and think, is very beneficial.” – Anne Shlafly-Cori
Instill in children the ability to face the world, because the world can be ugly and will treat their learning curve with a lot less love than you will. Prioritize marriage and family, and everything else will fall into place.
But Where Do We Start?
There is a lot of justified fear these days around striking out, making sure your voice is heard, and taking a stand against the mainstream ideology. But cancel culture, though it probably wasn’t called that, is nothing new. Phyllis herself was faced with hard and critical opinions that sometimes made her out to be public enemy number one – but that was a price she was willing to pay for the sake of her family and the generations of women who would come after her.
And her daughter Anne is no different:
“It’s incredibly difficult, I have been through it. All I can say is, at the time, I thought everything was going to be lost, and when it was all over, I realized those are paper tigers and that I’m better off for having been canceled.” – Anne Shlafly-Cori
The hurtle doesn’t get less intimidating, it just becomes more conquerable with our state of mind, our fake-it-till-you-make-it confidence, and the support of those around us. Perhaps the most important thing is not letting yourself be overtaken by fear. Play a little offense, and maybe join a club.
“If you resign yourself to living in that kind of fear, you will never conquer the fear. You will always be playing defense. You will never be playing offense. They will own you. Every choice you make will be clouded with that kind of fear. And to me that is the worst possible life to live.” – Anne Shlafly-Cori
Finding Your Feet
The beauty of clubs and groups is that they often follow a government structure: president, secretary, treasurer, etc. So, by joining a gardening club, PTA, or other social or hobby club, you’ll get a good idea of the structure that is copied and pasted directly from the City Council, School Board, and other local governmental bodies. Take that knowledge and run with it!
“You have to find the right tribe. The culture is very pervasive and if you’re caught in the wrong culture it’s going to seem depressing and like you’re all alone.” – Anne Shlafly-Cori
Know who your people are, find them where they already are, and join the fight in defending what you find most precious. There is no wrong place to start and no one issue that takes precedence. Find what is near and dear to your heart and follow that to a place where you are a stalwart defender of what is right. Phyllis, today, would probably tell you to find the thing that is most affecting your family and find a way to get involved on any level.
If you don’t like what’s going on in schools, find a way to homeschool.
If you are anti-abortion, lend extra support and maybe even volunteer at a women’s care center.
If you want your daughter raised without the burden of pretend oppression, make sure they know who they are and introduce them to inspiring women (including yourself).
If you don’t want CRT in your schools, go to School Board meetings.
Speak loud and clear about what matters. Your voice, no matter how small, will make a difference and you will be answering the call of What Would Phyllis Do