My Mom is Smarter Than Your Republican Senator

Interesting observation from my 86-year-old, generally apolitical mother about the President's speech today. After giving me a brief rundown of what she gained from it--essentially, Obama talking about helping working-class people--she said, "It was a pretty good speech. He talked different than he ever has before, and I hope he can get something done."

This is from a person who usually does not pay attention to this stuff, or like it very much. If the President is getting her attention...he needs to keep it up.

Oh HELL Yeah

This goes right into the Christian Feminist Hall of Fame.

Most Women Are Nothing More Than Wasted Potential

Some relevant quotes:

Not that there is anything wrong with being a Mother, mind you. I just don’t think women should be Mothers and nothing else. Motherhood should enrich your life; it shouldn’t be your life. No one on this planet should dedicate their entire life to another person…even if that other person is their child. After all, how do you share your wisdom and life experiences with your offspring if you’ve never done anything but raise them?

Motherhood is not a great accomplishment and it never has been. Animals have perfected the art of procreation, for God’s sake. Why should we become egotistical about something an insect can do?

But you want to know what is pretty cool? A woman who is a Mother and a seasoned rock climber who has climbed the tallest mountains in the world is cool. A Mother that also runs a corporation is pretty cool. A woman who is a Mother and an artist is pretty cool. A woman who straps her baby to her back and travels the world is pretty fucking cool.

A woman who does nothing but sit around kvetching about episodes of American Idol is not cool. She’s sad and pathetic and a waste of so much potential. The very least she can do is go outside and plant a fucking garden. I mean, you only get one life on this planet. Everyone should at least try to make a mark while they’re here, even if it’s a small one.

She's put her finger on something that has bugged me for a long time. I've never understood this Cult of Motherhood bit, and why everyone (well, not everyone...certainly not me) is so ga-ga about it. With apologies to the truly infertile, most every female person on this planet can get pregnant. A great deal of women's time and effort, in fact, is spent trying to avoid that very thing.

So why are we so...obsessed with it?

After all, it's not like a baby is that much of a miracle, since another little bugger pops into existence 245 times a minute. Most American and European women don't want to have more than two or three, and said kids will probably take up no more than twenty or twenty-five years of their lives. It seems to me since you're going to live without those kids a lot longer than you'll be living with them, you should be structuring your life not to revolve exclusively around them. You'll certainly be healthier, and I think the kids will be too, to know they're not Mommy's No. #1 Obsession. There's so much in this world to see, and do, and be besides a Mother (TM). If non-Mothering ends up helping the planet or other women, so much the better.

(By the way, I think I've about come to the conclusion that I'm really an Old School Feminist. Gloria, hear me roar!)