Well, I have 58 minutes to get in my thoughts for Thankful Thursday, and it's going to be short and sweet.
To begin:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ann-romney-defends-role-as-stay-at-home-mom-after-democratic-pundits-remarks/2012/04/12/gIQACeopDT_story.html
In case you're not aware, today the news is all abuzz with word that Hilary Rosen, a democratic strategist, essentially said that Anne Romney cannot with any veracity comment on the plight of women worrying about the economy because she has never worked a day in her life.
That may be true, as in, Anne Romney has never held a job in her adult life. Mittens, I'm sure, has made it financially feasible for Anne to be a stay-at-home mom, which, let's not joke around here, is incredibly hard work. I once read something a long time ago that said if stay-at-home moms were compensated for their hours, they'd make somewhere in the neighborhood of $250,000 a year. Anne Romney has a gaggle of children, albeit grown. I will never fault any woman for choosing to stay at home if she is financially capable of doing so and chooses to.
First world worries.
While in Africa, millions of girls have to worry about this:
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/2313097.html
The link is an article to female circumcision, aka genital mutilation. You read that right. Most often performed by their mothers with whatever sharp implement happens to be laying around.
If you'd like to move to Iran and decide your marriage is no longer working, you can look forward to this:
http://www.iran-e-azad.org/stoning/women.html
Stoning. In the 21st century.
So, I'm thankful that today, this is what we in America are all worked up about. But let's not take our eye off the ball. There are bigger things to worry about.
2 comments:
I think a wider conversation is worth opening here too. Anne Romney had the incredible luxury of choosing to stay home. This choice is becoming increasingly limited as the wealth in our country continues its upward shift and the middle class shrinks. Yes, yes, people could choose to sacrifice more and do with less, but as a woman who has always held at least a part time job while mothering I can see both sides of this coin very well. Rosen's comments were totally stupid, but is she so far out of bounds to say that Ann Romney's experience is really not the same as it has been and as it is for most American women?
Anne Romney's experience has been that of an incredibly fortunate woman who can afford the luxury of choosing to stay home. I think that Rosen is right, but I think she chose her words very badly. I understand the larger point she was trying to make. And...not to dive into the political deep end, but I believe that income inequality will only increase as long as the insecure megalomaniacs have the reins. Which they do.
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