The Conservative Edge

I want to begin with this disclaimer: I know there are many loving wives and mothers who want to establish and protect a traditional two-parent household. I believe that women should be paid fairly for the work they do outside the home, and recognized for their work in the home. The Biblical proverb holds true, that a virtuous woman has a value that far exceeds that of rubies. I certainly agree.

Somewhere along the line, however, our values have changed. Single moms are held in highest esteem, while single dads are ignored. High school girls show off their status by getting pregnant. Court systems overwhelmingly give child custody to women; many fathers have limited visitation rights, with some only being able to visit by webcam. The recent Valentine’s Day was almost entirely devoted to pleasing women. In fact, I couldn’t find one advertisement in my local paper that suggested any kind of gift ideas for men.

Look at television. Daytime talk show programming is dominated by “The View”, “Oprah” and “Ellen.” Prime time shows include “The Closer” and “Saving Grace.” Lots of sitcoms feature an attractive woman who has to continually chastise an inept, bumbling, unattractive husband. White males, especially, are portrayed as smart or stylish only if they are gay as well. Movies are just as offensive.

Just a few days ago, I read a column by Nicholas Kristof, who writes for The New York Times. He proposes that the Wall Street meltdown was caused by too much testosterone. Apparently, some studies have suggested that high levels of testosterone cause men to make risky decisions. As a result, men who made risky trades saw those trades go sour, which caused chain reactions in the marketplace, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars for investors. Kristof says, “Wall Street is one of the most male-dominated bastions in the business world…there’s evidence that the result is second-rate decision making.” I wonder if Mr. Kristof thought there should be fewer men on the trading floor when his 401k was making money. It’s clear that he doesn’t realize how the market works, and equally clear that he is jumping on the feminist bandwagon.

If we want to find an example of risk-taking, we should consider the behavior of Nadya Sulemon, the mother of the octuplets born in California. She is a perfect example of feminism gone crazy. She has obviously absorbed the feminist idea that she can do whatever she wants with her body. The feminists and liberals insist that a woman has the right to choose an abortion, but Sulemon has taken that view to the opposite extreme. She claimed the right to have as many babies as she wanted. Now, there are eight little people in a California hospital fighting for their lives. Doctors fear that some of them may develop permanent disabilities. Their medical costs are expected to reach into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Testosterone wasn’t involved in the risk taken by Nadya Sulemon. I’d love to take Nicholas Kristof, Hillary Clinton, Rosie O’Donnell and a host of other feminists on a tour of the maternity ward where those octuplets are being cared for. I would remind them that it’s one thing to lose a million dollars, but another thing to put a child’s life on the line. This is what feminism and liberalism has done to America’s families and children. You can’t put a price on a child’s life.