Crap, I have to agree with Phyllis Schlafly, sort of

Phyllis Schlafly drives me crazy. I still read her column. Because I'm always looking for that elusive discussion. I am forced to read nationally syndicated columnists whether I agree with them on not then form my own version of a debate in my head. I don't watch the TV or radio analysts because they wind up yelling at people and cutting them off midstream because they have to get their commercials aired. Most of the time they are going for sensationalism.

But I digress...

Don't get me wrong, I don't totally agree with her column today. It was about why public school education is such a failure in this country. I liked the last sentence of the last paragraph. "They could do this inexpensively with my "First Reader" and if the schools refuse, this book is the perfect tool for parents to teach their own children." Just a thought here. Don't we pay a ridiculous amount of school taxes to get our kids educated so now I have to buy a book and do it myself. What's wrong with that? Oh yeah, silly me, I homeschool, I pay all these taxes and then turn around buy my own curriculum and teach them myself anyway.

I don't even totally agree with the last sentence. No one "tool" works for every kid. That's one of many reasons why I think our public school system is such a mess.

Anyway I'm digressing again...

If you're not familiar with Mrs. Schlafly let me fill you in. She is a conservative anti feminist. All women should be home raising their children while their husbands work to care for them. Which I find strange since she wouldn't even have a job if the feminists wouldn't have made openings in journalism for her, but whatever. She blames many of today's ills on the welfare system. Which I will agree is a wreck. She blames the failure of our public school systems on the lack of fathers in the home. She blames the lack of fathers in the home on the welfare system. She blames the welfare system on politicians who created it to garner votes from the poor. I'm not that naive that I don't believe that politicians would sell their own mothers if they felt it would win an election for them or get them what they want so I'm going to agree with her on that one.


I do agree with her that not having a father in the home or in the kids life makes it that much more difficult for that kid to succeed. I also agree that welfare made it profitable to have kids without the father being responsible.

Really though, who is the one laying down and spreading their legs with these dead beat men? Who has deluded themselves into believing that they will win their prince charming by trapping them with a pregnancy? How many young girls are looking for "love" and have a baby to fill that need? Who is ultimately responsible for all these fatherless children. Mostly I think it's the mothers fault. With the birth control available today there is very little excuse for an unwanted pregnancy (not that it doesn't happen but it should be the exception not the rule). Then once that baby is conceived it's both parents responsibility. Hey, nobody stuck a gun to the head of that boy and told him to fuck her (and there is birth control for men too).

Blaming the government for fatherless children is like blaming the gun for shooting someone. Ultimately it's the responsibility of the people involved. Taking responsibility for ones own actions seems to have gotten lost some where along the lines. Welfare was designed to help people get by until they could get back on their feet. Not as a permanent way to live your life. Welfare reform in the 1990's tried to fix that but the politicians watered that down enough that it wasn't as effective as it could have been.

You might call me a feminist. If believing that as a woman I have just as much right to make decisions about my life as the next guy, then I'm a feminist. If I believe I should get paid the same to do the same job, hey stamp me feminist. It gets a little fuzzy though because I do believe strongly that if you have children (whether you a man or a woman) that they are an extension of yourself and you must care for them and raise them until they are old enough to care for themselves. It's amazing how many people give lip service to that statement. I don't think when you have children that you should work 12-14 hour days and leave your kids in the care of someone not related to you. I'm not saying you should quit your job and stay home and be a Mommy and have no other identity. I'm saying you and the father should work together to create a schedule that you are raising your children not someone else. I don't think that leaving your kid with a sitter a couple days a week is letting someone else raise them. But the people who drop their kids off at 7AM and pick them up at 6PM five days a week are really missing out. If you don't want to do that, that's okay, don't have kids. Kids require a huge adjustment in your life, if you're not willing to make that adjustment don't have them. Yeah, sure your Mom and Dad will lay it on thick about how they would love to have grandchildren, blah, blah, blah but part of growing up and making mature decisions is knowing your limits. So we are right back to the people who have children without giving it a moments thought to what it will mean to their life.

So Phyllis, let's get to the root of the problem here. Welfare didn't cause people to have kids and not care what happens to them. People had kids and didn't care what happened to them. People let greed lead (hey, I'm a poet and didn't know it HA HA). Politicians used their power to sway people into voting for them, but they didn't go into the booth and pull the lever, punch the chad, or touch the screen for them. It's hard because today it boils down to the almighty dollar and you don't know who to believe. News outlets spout their own agenda. Very few agencies report the news, they talk about what will increase ratings. Middle East issues are boring (until someone tries to crash one of our planes) and get by passed for the latest media made scandal yet what is going on over there right now will have repercussions for years to come. Europe is becoming an expanded sector of the Middle East and they are letting it happen. Don't want to hurt their feelings now, do we?

Wow, I'm way off topic. I'll save that for another day.

It should be noted that I really don't have a good understanding of politics, I'm trying to learn but it's seems very convoluted. I'm more into common sense and saying what you mean and meaning what you say. I would make a terrible politician.