Power of One Voice: Wollstonecraft

¶ … Power of One Voice: Wollstonecraft and King

Leaders are born every day and while we like to attach powerful positions to leaders, some of the most significant leaders are people that rise up within their community and speak up for what they believe to be right. Two such individuals are Mary Wollstonecraft and martin Luther King. Wollstonecraft and King saw incredible injustices in their worlds and attempted to do something about them. Wollstonecraft saw the potential of women squashed by a society filled with obstacles that held women back. King witnessed a society that treated African-Americans unfairly at almost every corner. Wollstonecraft and King followed their compulsions and wrote about the injustices they observed. Wollstonecraft wrote "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" and King wrote his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and while these two documents seem to have little in common, they actually share more than one might guess. Both must appeal to logic to convince the controlling arm of the government. Both authors speak for freedom for a specific class of people and both authors address audiences that seek to control the population for which they are writing. Wollstonecraft and King were forerunners because they stood against the prevailing government and made a plea on behalf of humanity.

Both authors approach the topic of freedom and action in their writings. Wollstonecraft saw women as opposed individuals held back by the men and the social norms in their lives. Women could be more than please men and have babies, Wollstonecraft suggests. Women could actually become productive members of society and be mothers and wives. They are completely capable of acquiring a "rational affection for their country, founded on knowledge, because it is obvious that we are little interested about what we do not understand; private duties are never properly fulfilled unless the understanding enlarges the heart; and that public virtue is only an aggregate of private" (Wollstonecraft). She knew women had it within them to enjoy a full life and she was calling for action from an oppressive government. Wollstonecraft argued that women suffered under oppression to "satisfy this genus of men" (Wollstonecraft). Men make women "systematically voluptuous" (Wollstonecraft) and this "depraves both sexes, because the taste of men is vitiated" (Wollstonecraft). Wollstonecraft is speaking out against a large government machine but her words are heard because there is truth in them.

King was primarily concerned with equality for African-Americans during American in the tumultuous 60s. Civil rights were a hot topic as King and others spoke out for them. King's personal a situation was quite different from Wollstonecraft's in that he wrote his letter from a jail after arrested. The environment was incredibly close to hostile and King possessed a great amount of power among the people even behind bars. This moment was pivotal and King displays incredible grace in dealing with the situation, as he realizes many eyes and ears are glued to him and his reaction. He calls for action but very specific action. King calls for action but a very specific action. He realizes people are angry and want to physically fight but King knows this kind of fighting will get them nowhere. He appeals to men to recognize the authority of the government and the laws it enforces but at the same time, he points out how these two can be in conflict with one another. The law is not always perfect and when we come across such an instance, we should not act harshly. Instead, he encourages non-violent action, noting it "seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored" (King). King responds to the incredible unfairness of the situation carefully and demonstrates that even from in a prison, a person can argue logically.

Both authors appeal to authority. Wollstonecraft lives in a world dominated by man and she must appeal to their logic is she is to make any headway with her arguments. She begins by examining the importance of education -- including the education of women. Educating women is important to Wollstonecraft and she builds her primary argument upon the principle that if women are not educated to "become the companion of man, she will stop the progress of knowledge and virtue; for truth must be common to all" (Wollstonecraft). Women are responsible for educating children and they should not under any circumstances, resort to a "false system of education, gathered from the books written on this subject by men who, consider females rather as women than human creatures" (Wollstonecraft). Here we see Wollstonecraft pointing to what she considers a major problem. Men did not respect women and they did not believe they were equal in such a way that they could be trusted with educating the young. However, they should be educated in the best way simply because they do educate young children.

King, too, must appeal with logic if he is to be successful. King recognizes the authority of the government in his letter and he wants his fellow African-Americans to recognize this authority as well. He wants others to realize laws already in place are flawed and unjust. He writes a law is unfair if it is "inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law" (King). King illustrates those individuals arrested did not even have the right to vote on legislation regarding the issue. This brings him to ask how anyone can claim Alabama's legislature was "democratically elected?" (King) since no clear democracy took place. The law is severely flawed and this is what King wanted those in authority to see. Like Wollstonecraft, King addressed a problem everyone recognized but no one knew exactly how to solve. They were fighting institutions and ideas but they are successful because they present their arguments rationally.