My son was
born four months ago, just before Christmas.
It was the
most transformative moment of my life.
As I held
him for the first time, I felt so much joy, but also so much fear. Every
decision I would make from there on out had to be at least somewhat based on
how it would affect his life.
I do not
have the ability to put into words how much I love him.
And I don’t
care if you’re married or a single parent, gay or straight, millionaire or
poor, once you’ve felt that love, your life is forever changed. The responsibility
of parenthood is immense.
That’s why
the recent hubbub between some politicos bothers me first.
In case you
weren’t paying attention, here’s the run down:
Ann Romney,
the wife of presumed Republican Party presidential nominee Mitt Romney, defended her husband, saying he wasn't anti-woman.
Democratic strategist
Hilary Rosen responded by saying “Ann Romney never worked a day in her life.”
For what it’s
worth, Romney has multiple sclerosis.
 |
| Hilary Rosen should know better. |
Someone
needs to hand these three people a beautiful baby to help them put things back
in perspective.
First, just
because Ann Romney is a “stay-at-home mom,” doesn’t mean she should be attacked
or considered anti-woman.
My mom was a
stay-at-home mom. So were each of my sisters at times. Molly and I would love
for one of us to be able to stay at home.
But we’re in
the “middle class” and we can’t figure out how to do it. Between college loans,
our mortgage and living away from our parents, we just can’t afford it. But
there’s another reason.
Molly and I
both take a ton of pride in what we do. We see our careers – one as a
journalist, the other as a teacher – as being a service to the community and
jobs we really believe in.
Neither of
us would ever knock a stay-at-home parent. The sacrifices they make are just as
difficult and important as the ones we make. But here’s the important thing
Rosen and Donohue clearly miss.
Whether we
work or stay at home, we love our children just the same.
Second, Ann
Romney is not your garden variety stay-at-home mom. With a multimillionaire
husband, she’s not struggling to afford the food she puts on the table.
Does that
mean, she loves her children any less than the parents who take on an extra job
so they can make a trip to Disney? No.
But let’s
quit pretending she’s checking the circulars to see if she can afford shopping
at Wegman’s instead of Wal-Mart this week.
Third,
Donohue pretends to be spreading the message of Christ through his right-wing
group parading as a Catholic organization. Check out the <a href= "http://www.catholicleague.org”> website</a>,
for yourself.
It’s full of
bluster about the culture wars and defending the Catholic Church against
slanderous attacks. And there are a lot of headlines on its news release page
such as “Obama Enlists ACLU in War on Catholics.”
I spent
quite some time on the website and couldn’t find any references to traditional
Catholic and Christian causes such as helping the poor, working toward peace
and stopping violence.
Maybe
Donohue has never heard of St. Francis, St. Patrick or Mother Theresa. It seems
he’s never even read the words of Christ. Which leads us to our last point.
A mother who
loves her child does so whether or not she bore that child from her womb. If a
child is adopted, you can be sure, Mom’s heart is full of love.
That’s part
of the reason Donohue’s comments are so repulsive. His organization has a lot
of literature about the evils of abortion. And yet he completely rejected one
of the most wonderful institutions in our society. Adoption is also a process that
provides a very honorable alternative to abortion.
There’s only
two ways to describe both Rosen and Donohue’s comments: Disgusting and
anti-family.
So you’ll
have to excuse me as I pick up my son, tell him I love him and say a prayer for
parents and children everywhere.
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