Meaning:
A proverb that emphasizes the profound influence mothers have on their
children, and consequently, on the future of society. It suggests that the
values, beliefs, and behaviors instilled in children during their formative
years have a lasting impact on the world as they grow into adults and shape
future generations.
Background:
This saying is often attributed to the poem "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle"
by William Ross Wallace, published in 1865.
- www.phrases.org.uk, Google [edited]
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This reminded me of a story from the booklet The Wicked Wit of Winston
Churchill: When, in 1960, a reporter from the London Evening Standard asked
Churchill what he thought about the recent prediction that by the year 2000
women would be ruling the world, he muttered gloomily in reply, 'They still
will, will they?'
Obviously, dads have been jealous till this day, some to the point of
hallucination.
My training mate Eric, a 6-ft 40-something rangy white guy with a tawny mullet
and a week's worth of stubble on his face, was a brawny brown belt and usually
dominated the noon free sparring scene. He was a great guy, easy-going and
unassuming but he could act like a tweaker, sometimes. The other day, after
hearty rolls for half an hour, he announced deadpan that he had had it enough
with the tough athletic white belts and going to join the women's group as a
female ninja: "This is California, the land of the free. I can be whatever I
want to be. It's not important who I really am, but who I identify with. And
don't you dare to say otherwise." That cracked us up.
