Working Women

OK, so I’m an old lady, but I am still a lady. And, I lean left of center. Guess you know that. So the hurrah today about women and working and the response leaves me a little confused. A Democratic strategist said Ann Romney has not worked a day in her life and everybody blew up.  Of course in my day, a working gal carried a totally different connotation.  But perhaps you can help me with the confusion I am experiencing today.

True, being a mom and a homemaker is a challenge; it is hard work, etc., etc. But it is not “working” in that you do not report somewhere to some boss to do things you are told to do and get paid for it. Much of my time as a mom was out of my control too, dirty diapers, hungry kids, dirty clothes, etc., but no one was standing there telling me what to do. If you work in the daycare industry, you know what work is and you know what being a mom is. So, to tell Ms. Romney she has not worked a day in her life is not quite accurate. She may never have been on a payroll a day in her life. That is different. But come on ladies; let’s not get huffy about that. Being a mom is hard work. Being a working mom is even harder work. Never having been on a payroll before means you have never worked for a living before. Period.

There is a term for people who are not employed and yet have the money to eat, pay rent, or whatever. It is called welfare recipients. Welfare means you are living off the earnings of someone else. I do not have a problem with welfare. I would rather people receive some of my tax dollars than starve. But, I also think of Ms. Romney as a welfare mom. She did not earn the money she spends. So that is my first area of real confusion: why does she oppose welfare when she receives it?

My second concern is the obvious one everyone is talking about: why would you take advice on our economy and unemployment from someone who has neither studied nor experienced it? Spooky. That would be like NASA asking me for advice just because I take up space.

My real source of confusion is the conservative stand on women. Perhaps better said, why would you be a conservative and a woman? If you are a conservative woman you can still decide not to have an abortion, you can still decide to marry a rich man and become a welfare mom; you can still decide to be employed for less money than a male counterpart. No one is interfering with your right to make stupid decisions. On the other hand, if you are working hard to be sure that no woman gets to make her own decisions in the area of birth control, unwanted pregnancies, fair employment opportunities, and fair leadership opportunities, why aren’t you embarrassed to not allow your sisters the same rights of choice that you have? I don’t get it, unless you are independently wealthy and you do not want to pay any taxes.

I also do not get this “I am a conservative and I do not want government telling me what do, unless it is the government telling women what to do or not do.” Really? Please explain that to me!

Is it that as a conservative woman you do not think for yourself and some man told you to think this way? Is it that you are a Romney welfare mom and the price of living off someone else is to think like they tell you? If so, sister, call me quick! I get that some men do not want women to have equal rights, but that is their shortcoming and their insecurity and it should not be contagious and it should not be legislated.

Women have some different biology than men, we have some different organs than men. We are more alike than we are different, even though I celebrate the differences! The brain, however, is a common organ in both genders. I pray that women learn to use theirs.

OK, I pray men learn to use their brains too.  I probably pray for that more often.