Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Parenting & politics

Rebecca Traister -- author of several books I have read, enjoyed and reviewed on this blog -- wrote a brilliant article for The Cut this week about "how parenthood gets presented and received on a presidential trail when it’s not just fathers (and not-fathers) who are out there:" "Mom vs. Dad on the Road to 2020." (Childlessness is also mentioned as part of the article.)

An interesting conversation unfolded after Traister tweeted the article link on Twitter -- particularly after one commenter tweeted this:
Rebecca, Parents are given a moral compass when they have children. Because evolution. Sorry if this is an inconvenient truth. You have no argument until you can admit that the parent-child relationship is how the world turns. It is the one thing that matters above all else. 
Traister (who, for the record, is a mother) responded, "I do not believe that parents have any greater claim on morality than those who are not parents. I do not believe it at all. I cannot say strongly enough how much I don’t believe it."  (Yay!  Thank you, Rebecca Traister!! :)  )

Someone else quipped, "Is that the same moral compass that guided all the parents in the college admissions scandal?" Said another, "Ooh do they give you the compass at the hospital or is there a registry?"

Others wrote comments along the lines of "Donald Trump has five children. I rest my case."  ;)

Thoughts?

5 comments:

  1. I am going to go but a Rebecca Traister book RIGHT NOW! Love that. How on Earth would is simply being a parent give you a moral compass? What about parents who abuse their children? What about the fact that you don't need to have children to care about the future? That often people who use their parental status as a means to show that they have more stake in the future usually mean THEIR children's future, not the future generation as a whole?

    I could go on. And on. But I live her comeback, and the registry and Trump comments... Ha.

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  2. I'm so thankful for those responses too. This "parents have the moral high ground" is so annoying, so blatantly false, but still sadly so pervasive.

    Now off to read the article, in case it negates what I've just said! lol

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  3. haha, that Donald Trump comment is the best! It always bugs me when people say things like "as a parent, this topic is important to me" or along those lines. I still care equally as much about things like climate change, gun control etc etc as I did before becoming a parent.

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  4. Moral compass, HA! Where do you suppose children learn things like racism and misogyny? Often...it's from their parents! And evolution and morals are frequently at odds - it's not called survival of the nicest. What an idiot commenter!

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  5. I haven't heard a non equitur like that in a looooong time. Only people who have children evolve in their lifetime? Being a parent makes you a more moral person? It's like people who believe that people who don't practice a religion don't have a reason to be moral. Because, you know, the only reason to be kind to others is to avoid eternal damnation.

    Love those clever responses. I clicked over and was amused for awhile!

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