J,
I don't see that Alexa's going to law school contradicts her personal beliefs. Personally, I don't want to be placed back in the kitchen barefoot, pregnant and uneducated. And had I chosen not to marry and raise a family, I would certainly want the opportunity for a career. But I side with Alexa, not just philosophically but from practical observation, that once a woman chooses to have children, she should, if at all possible, be the primary caretaker. Your points about women working in the past are good ones, but they also don't take into account the changes in society today--the loss of extended family and the sense of community and its commitment to its members. Mothers today must fill in a lot of gaps that have been left by these changes. And the substitution of impersonal childcare by transient workers is unacceptable. How can we entrust our own children to such a potentially damaging or even an inadequate environment? My children are what I leave this world and I wouldn't want to turn over that responsibility to anyone else.
I realize that this doesn't address the problems that force women into working and lousy childcare--I'm just speaking from the "in a perfect world" scenario. And I certainly don't believe women have any biological imperative to have babies, marry, or anything else. Just that once the choice is made, carry out the task.
As for "love, honor and obey", Dan says our minister screwed up and read it backwards and he's the one who ended up obeying. Haha. |
