Are Women More Bound to be Good?

Today Jeff considers comments from “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski which imply that women have an extra responsibility to resist Donald Trump. He also quotes former first lady Michelle Obama saying that if a woman voted for Trump it is because “[you] don’t like your [own] voice. You like the thing you’re told to like.” This is a projection of progressive (green altitude) values on all women, and is rightly seen as disrespectful by women who don’t share those values. But as a feature of culture it is nothing new. It turns out that women have long been held to higher ideals of moral development, a history that Jeff sketches starting with the famous frontier story of Cynthia Ann Parker, who was kidnapped by the Comanche Indians for 24 years — and refused to be rescued.