--from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1962), by Muriel Spark (1918-2006)

A woman may be elected president this fall. A woman currently serves as Speaker of the House, behind only the president and the vice-president in the chain of command.

Girls growing up now in this country have never had more opportunity. There will always be some limitations because of the physical differences between women and men. We may never see a woman playing middle linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys.

But everywhere else, the artificial boundaries are coming down. Other countries like Israel or Great Britain have had strong women leaders, and this country finally seems close to that possibility.

The time line seems to be accelerating. After women earned the right to vote in 1919, a woman was elected governor of Wyoming in 1925. Frances Perkins became the first female in the president's cabinet, when FDR appointed her Secretary of Labor in 1933.

Not until 1981 did a women find her way onto the Supreme Court, when Sandra Day O'Connor was appointed by Ronald Reagan.

Geraldine Ferraro ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic vice-presidential candidate in 1984. Janet Reno became Attorney General in 1993, and Madeleine Albright became Secretary of State in 1997.

When Nancy Pelosi became the most powerful person in the House of Representatives in 2006, however, that may have been the most significant hurdle yet cleared by a woman in this country.

A popular bumper sticker proclaims a quote from Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, "Well-behaved women rarely make history!"

But the opposite message is still pervasive. The website www.funschool.kaboose.com has the following advice for little girls:

How to be a Princess

Mind your manners. Princesses are always polite and well-behaved.

Be confident and believe in yourself.

Be nice. Princesses are always kind to others.

Stand tall. Having good posture is important to keep your tiara on your head.

Smile. A tiara sparkles the most when accompanied by a smile.

We've seen an encouraging sign right here in Carroll County about the proper use of a tiara. The reigning Miss Carroll County, Erin Robertson, has gone to the schools across the county to meet with fifth-grade girls. She is challenging them to read books outside of school, and her project may help to break down some barriers girls have traditionally imposed on themselves.

Erin explained, "When I wear the crown, young girls come up to me and want to visit -- to talk about being Miss Carroll County -- and even put on my crown," she said. "This gave me an idea, how I could use this crown to make a positive impression on impressionable girls. If I can encourage one girl to learn more through reading -- that it's okay to be smart -- it will be worth it."