I know that today was International Women’s Day because it was all over my Instagram feed. (By the way, Instagram is the only social medium that I like, because it is almost completely nonpolitical. I use it only for personal stuff, but if you like, you can follow me at johnhinderaker.) However, the “Day Without Women” campaign that was promoted by left-wingers in the U.S. was a complete bust, as far as I could tell. If anyone took the day off, I didn’t notice. The women I work with certainly didn’t.

There are women who struggle against oppression. They don’t live in the U.S., they are mostly in the Muslim Middle East and other relatively benighted precincts. Those women–not public school teachers who took the day off, with pay–deserve our admiration. Women are fighting on the front lines against ISIS, an entity that truly does repress them:

If you are looking for female heroes, they aren’t hard to find. More broadly, is there anyone who doesn’t know many women who are worthy of respect, and get it? Not in this country. The best commentary I have seen on the “day without women” came from my American Experiment colleague Kim Crockett, who exemplifies the power and influence that American women enjoy.

One of the basic conflicts in our culture is that conservatives try to unite Americans–freedom is good for everyone, especially those who are not already wealthy–while liberals try to divide us, to preserve their own political power. The hoopla over a day without women is a good example. Conservative men and women are united in their effort to make the United States a better, freer, more prosperous place.