Sunday, August 31, 2008

(political) Life is a Riddle and A Mystery

I think that amongst the most interesting things that is happening in our world today is how people are having to stretch themselves in order to stay true to their values. I first noticed this amongst the Episcopalians. Some of the most socially conservative Episcopal churches in this country have disaffiliated themselves from the American Episcopal body because of women priests and gay priests, and put themselves under the discipline of socially conservative African bishops. This shows an open-minded willingness to accept something new that I hope they take some pride in. I'm sorry they are doing it for the reasons they are doing it but I think God works in mysterious ways and up until last week, I thought that this was one of the great Mysteries of our time.

That is until another group of social conservatives welcomed with open arms a woman candidate for Vice President of the US whose major credential is her feisty track record against good old boy corruption. (Also she's against abortion and for guns and has a son in the military. I wonder when is the last time an American president or vice president had a near relative in the military?)

But she is a woman, and not only that, she's the mother of an infant. An infant with special needs, at that. I've got a fair number of feminist credentials and I have to say that it makes me queasy to imagine how much that little boy is going to miss his mommy even if she becomes Vice President, much less, president. These are not exactly 40 hour a week jobs which easily combine with family and child care. Nor is he the only child in the family; there are three others still young enough to need a big slice of parental time and love, and it's not like they have a full-time dad. He's the owner of a small business. And whatever became of "I am my children's mother!"(and therefore only work, at most, part time while they are in school.) ?

No doubt they will work something out, and I think it is wonderfully open-minded of American Conservatives to let them do that in peace. And should Ms. Palin become VP, I look forward to seeing what the old boys make of their feisty leader.

But I am drowning in the Mystery of it all...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

While I agree that a small child needs a full time caretaker who loves the child, I want to repeat it doesn't have to be the mother. If she can give up her mothering to be VP, he should be able to give up running his business to take care of the kids. What have they been doing with the kids while she was Governor? Was that a part-time job?

What's the use of having kids if you have to let someone else raise them? Or are they just having kids as a punishment for having sex?