Yes, I borrowed this title from the rock group Styx. It is one of my favorite songs from them as it uses many different meters, yet the song is still melodically driven. The song’s metaphor revolves around a false sense of cynicism and anger to hide sensitivity and caring. When it was written in the 1970’s it fits the mold of how unsure everything was during the Carter Administration. Carter is a great man, but his missteps as president set the stage for this awful conservatism we endure today, I digress…

Women’s rights is the topic of this blog, but I’m going to frame it differently. I have zero right to write about women’s rights in first person. I do not have the same perspective. I never have experienced anything close to what women have. I do know the perspective of the white male. The angry young man. So let’s reduce men’s rights in the same manner Project 2025 paints this movement against women. I use this passage by Dr. Kevin Roberts as the jumping point into my fictional narrative:

“The next conservative President must make the institutions of American civil society hard targets for woke culture warriors. This starts with deleting the terms sexual orientation and gender identity (“SOGI”), diversity, equity, and inclusion. 2025 Presidential Transition Project (“DEI”), gender, gender equality, gender equity, gender awareness, gender-sensi- tive, abortion, reproductive health, reproductive rights, and any other term used to deprive Americans of their First Amendment rights out of every federal rule, agency regulation, contract, grant, regulation, and piece of legislation that exists.” (https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24088042-project-2025s-mandate-for-leadership-the-conservative-promise) Pages 4-5

This is fiction:

The year is 2025 and new gender equity laws have been installed by the conservative women’s caucus that overtook the Senate and House of Representatives. These warriors for civil rights and their newly elected president Sera Brownstone-Young have several new gender based laws to beset the lack of progress made in gender equality by the male establishment for the last 250 years. They feel it is time the United States enters a new era where gender equity, awareness, reproduction equality, and women’s rights finally meet the same standards men have had for an eternity.

Mandatory Birth Control Act of 2025: Every male child upon reaching the age of 13 will undergo a vasectomy at the expense of the parents. The vasectomy may be reversed in the event of a marital contract with a partner determining number of children the man can legally support financially. Upon completion of the propagation contract the man will submit himself for another vasectomy to prevent the propagation of more children. If children are propagated outside of the marital contract through casual encounters, crimes, or other affairs the man will lose all rights of future propagation and will have an immediate vasectomy or castration. This man will also be responsible for the complete care of the child outside of wedlock. His partner from this illegal propagation may have co-parenting rights if they choose to do so, but no financial obligations. In the event of an illegal propagation the woman may choose to terminate the pregnancy as it is her right. If a man is found negligent in his duties to care for his children he will lose custody and visitation of the children to the mother and will be responsible for all child care expenses.

Workplace Gender Equality Act of 2025: All female employees will receive the same salary and benefits as their male counterparts. An employer may use productivity, workplace evaluations, and harassment claims as a means to lower anyone’s salary and benefits to maintain a consistent labor cost across the board. For every male promotion a female promotion of equal standing must occur, and vice versa. Gender equality requires strict adherence. Men charged with sexual harassment in the workplace may be terminated without severance pay following an investigation.

Sex Crimes Judgement Act of 2025: Any defendant found guilty of a sex crime by itself or concurrent with additional crimes will have to endure the abuse they committed on their victim. Gender equality must be enforced. Pertinent examples: Genital injury, venereal disease, loss of reproduction abilities, or death. Any and all abuse endured by the victim will be endured by the defendant upon a conviction.

Back to reality: This is what came to mind by the lack of equality suggested by Dr. Roberts in his foreword from Project 2025. I only applied that narrative to men. I’ve left the LGBTQA community out of this narrative as it would complicate the binary equation I chose to address between women and men. I wanted to drive home in my fictional narrative that men are way overprivileged in all things gender related. Project 2025 if applied to men in my perspective would deserve all of this. I feel this is how Project 2025 will be applied symbolically to women. If it doesn’t scare you it should.

Women deserve equality, dignity, and respect in all things. How dare a man suggest or command a woman’s reproductive rights. Oh, by the way how many thousands of children are in the foster system? Where is the outcry for them from Project 2025…? Where is the outcry for medical and mental health care for these children in Project 2025…? There isn’t. This is about removing rights plain and simple. Something tells me that Nick Fuentes, Dr. Roberts, #45/#47, and countless conservatives would be horrified to have to be clipped for birth control purposes. I dissent Roberts’ statement from his foreword with every fiber of my being.

Effective governance starts by trying to empathize with the groups of people you wish to govern. What is fair for these people? How can we make all lives better? How can we address biases head on? We’ve lost that over the last 50 years with this power hungry conservative autocracy that is owned by billionaires. ….so it goes.