There is one answer that is sufficient in itself—Because her daily bread depends upon politics!
Is there any particular reason why she should go about her daily work like a mole and pay no attention to the things that make her life hard or make it easy? Doesn’t she suffer from unjust laws and bad conditions and profit by just laws and good conditions as much as her husband does, or her father, son, or brother?
Someone objects that politics is for the man to take care of; housework is woman’s sphere. That isn’t quite a fair statement of the case. The man’s part in the care of the family is his business: the woman’s is her housework. Politics is a third question. Why should the man alone have this to see to? A good many objections will be offered to this, too, but all these objections will boil down to just one thing—because he does! And that isn’t any reason at all. If you were asked why little children should work in factories and kill their health and youth, would you consider “Because they do!” a sufficient or sensible reason?
The men say that when women discuss anything they never get anywhere because they fail to define the terms they use, and may all be talking about different things under the same name. I think men make this mistake about as much as we do, but let’s be on the safe side this time and define just what we mean by “politics.”
Politics in our country have become so disreputable that we are likely to feel that having anything to do with them is bad taste or even degrading. It is natural to feel that way, but is it silly, nevertheless. It is bad taste, or even degrading, to have anything to do with a notorious criminal, but not if you are making him better instead of letting him make you worse! This is particularly true when it is partly your fault that he became a criminal!
Now as to the definition of politics. The Standard Dictionary gives this:
1. The branch of civics that treats of the principles of civil government and the conduct of state affairs; the administration of public affairs in the interest of the peace, prosperity, and safety of the state; statecraft; political science: in a wide sense embracing the science of government and civil polity.
2. Political affairs in a party sense; the administration of public affairs or the conduct of political matters so as to carry elections and secure public offices; party intrigues; political wire-pulling; trickery.
3. A man’s political sentiments, party preference, or connection.
The word, then, has three shades of meaning. The third one we need not bother with, since it merely means any man’s opinion on the things given under Number 1 and Number 2.