This, I fear, is who we are and always have been, a marginally civilized confederation of arrogant Puritans, uncouth adventure-seekers, and rejects from polite old-world society, not without charm but assuredly without compunction when it came to subduing native populations and keeping nonwhite and nonmale persons in their place. Balance has never made the short list among our priorities.

So much of what is wrong with American culture could be righted by respect for the feminine--not just in women but in all of us.

Thank you, Yael, for sharing your beautiful photographs. You keep on finding fresh ways to inspire.