Contradiction of Law

Tressa Alderson

Mrs. Schertel

Advance Composition

6 December 2011

Contradiction of the Law

Included in the unmatched Declaration of Independence, it is written "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" (Declaration of Independence). When the forefathers of America wrote this phrase, it was not their desire for the word men to refer to a gender, but rather represent all mankind: children, men, and women. Since written in 1776, the wishes declared in this document have been stretched to breaking points; all men are created equal, by their Creator, and pursuit of Happiness can all be taken in different ways, and when spoken literally, have several flaws. It was not the wish of these great men to have their words overanalyzed; they merely sought for their words to prepare a society to make decisions based on what was right as opposed to what was easy. Instead of attempting to make everything literal, America should focus on applying the modern-day values and ideas that are embedded beneath the surface. In 1776, women did not work among men, but much has changed since that time. In 2011, women are proficient in day to day activities previously carried out by men, but more importantly women are embracing important responsibilities in society such as becoming doctors and lawyers. While words can be flawed, the idea that all men, women, and children are endowed certain rights should not be written off in vain. Women have the right to perform any occupation they are capable of contributing to. They have the right to fight for the freedom of the country they love the same as men. Yet in an area where men are able to stand for liberty and justice, women are held back. The United States of America needs to not only accept, but embrace women in combat roles in the military; women have been essential to the military in the past, there is nothing physically or psychologically different about women to say with absolute certainty that they cannot perform duties to the ability of men, and modern warfare already places women in positions that face combat.

When most think of the Revolutionary War, they think of men with their rifles in a line shoulder to shoulder aiming across a field at the enemy. One of the last pictures to cross one's mind, if at all, is of women carrying the water, preparing the food, cleaning the camps, and nursing the wounded. The way an uneducated person approaches the Revolutionary War can be compared to the way an uneducated audience approaches a play. When the curtain closes, the main characters are first thought of because they were seen the most often. Next to cross the audience's mind may be the director because that is where the ideas came to life. Last to be thought of are the backstage hands. The ones who are responsible for the costumes, hair, make-up, props, and all the other contributing factors that make the play a successful production. The offensive linemen in football are typically overlooked but crucial in the success of the team. Supporting roles are rarely thought of due to a lack of focused attention. Many are uninformed on the role of women in the military during the past because these roles were not the heroic stories listened to, just as supporting hands are not the ones to speak the lines, and linemen do not score the touchdowns in a game. Instead, the importance of women during this time simply slips through the cracks. Despite what the majority of the public thinks, women have been vital to the U.S. military throughout many centuries, within several wars, and during countless milestones.

Ever since the very beginning of the United States of America, women have been essential in the U.S. Military. During the Revolutionary War (1775-1785), women performed jobs such as nurses and cooks (Highlights in the History of Military Women). With that type of war, they could not simply pack their bags into a Humvee. Everything had to be packed and put onto the horses, the wagons, or their backs. The men actually fighting in the war could not take the time and unpack camp after they move which is why women were essential. During the Civil War (1861-1865), Dr. Mary Walker received a medal of honor (Highlights in the History of Military Women). Walker is the only women in American history to receive this honor and only eight metals of this kind have been rewarded. The medal of honor can only be earned through heroic actions in the line of duty which shows that even as far back as the Civil War, women were saving the lives of their fellow soldiers; they were facing the enemy and standing up for what they believed in. In 1990, the first year of the Persian Gulf War, over 40,000 women were deployed (Highlights in the History of Military Women). This number alone shows that they were not all cooks. In the Persian Gulf War, approximately 2,000 women were fighter pilots (Highlights in the History of Military Women). At this time, if a person wished to be a fighter pilot, they had to be an officer in one of the branches of the military. From the eighteenth century until the twentieth, women have been a part of the history of the U.S. Not just as wives who stayed at home, women have supported the desire for freedom whether that is as a cook, medic, or pilot.

In a basic history class, time is most often spent covering the World Wars and the Korean War; this is because they are the three most devastating, life-changing wars the U.S. has face. In each of these wars, women played a part in them. In the World War One (1917-1918), over 23,261 women served, and 400 gave their lives (Highlights in the History of Military Women). This shows that women were not only the ones told to provide for their men at home, but they were actually fighting alongside of them. 16 Navy Nurses were captured during the Second World War (Highlights in the History of Military Women). If a soldier is not directly facing the enemy, they have no chance of being captured. The fact that these nurses were captured shows that they were present on the combat field whether they were supposed to be or not, simply because they were needed. This is similar to the Korean War (1950-1953), where more than 500 army nurses served combat zones (Highlights in the History of Military Women). This was not legal, but it was necessary. War does not have unbreakable rules.

Even though they had fought in several wars, women did not technically have a place in the military. It was not until 1901 that the Army Nurse Corps was established, followed by the Navy Nurse Corps in 1908. The Army-Navy Nurse Act of 1947 made