Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/63116
THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET by MARGARET DICKSON Dear Mrs. Romney, THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET An Open Letter to Ann Romney I have thought long and before wading into the churning and dangerous waters of American cultural debate by writing you this letter, but my life- long interest in all sorts of issues of concerning women has got the best of me. So here goes. I, and many other American women, are delighted for you that you married a nice fellow, Mitt Romney, who went on to become one of the wealthiest people in our nation, with a net worth somewhere in the $250 million range. And your man did not win the lottery. He did it he hard way. He earned it and more than enough of it to supply you with not one, but two, luxury vehicles. I and many other American women are also delighted that you and your husband of more than four decades have raised five healthy and seemingly happy sons and that you made the choice to be a stay-at-home mom and take care of your Precious Jewels. I read somewhere that one boy or another was always having to be carted off to the local ER for treatment of rambunctious childhood accidents or sports injuries, and I can certainly sympathize with that. My husband and I have spent a fair amount of time in ERs and other medical facilities with our three Precious Jewels, even though we often had to zoom away from our employments to do so. In other words, I get that mothering is the most important, most challenging, most enduring and longest running job any woman will ever have. That is why blogger and political consultant Hilary Rosen struck such a national nerve when she asserted that you, Ann Romney, could not be a credible economic advisor to said husband and Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney because she "has actually never worked a day in her life." Rosen's was an astoundingly poor choice of words that set off a cultural and political firestorm that is still smoldering in social-media circles. Had Rosen taken a deep breath and counted to three before she spoke, she might have said that Ann Romney "has never actually been employed a day in her life" and therefore had to balance the obligations and responsibilities of work and family, the firestorm would have been a little sputter, at best, because "work" and "employment" are not the same thing at all. In America, all mothers work, and most of them are employed on top of that work. Mitt Romney and his wife Ann wave as they leave at an election night rally. But wait! Hilary Rosen did say that! After her unfortunate use of the word "work," she expanded her thought with this, which has gone largely unreported. "She's (Ann Romney) never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of women in this country are facing, in terms of 'How do we feed our kids? How do we send them to school? And why we worry about their future.'" Here is the reality for women and families in today's America. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us that about 66 percent of American women are employed outside the home, three-fourths of them full time. The Census Bureau tells us that median family income in 2010 was just over $44,000, a mix that leaves millions of American families stressed, frustrated and frightened about what lies ahead. Mrs. Romney, you fit into neither of those groups. With great respect for what you and your family have accomplished and for the health conditions you continue to endure, you have been blessed to live a life of extraordinary privilege which has cocooned you from the economic pressures that most of the rest of us contend with daily. I applaud and celebrate your decision to stay home and raise your fine five sons. I know women who would kill —well, maybe not actually kill —I am reminded of Hilary Rosen here — to have had that option. The reality for most American women, though, is that we must have paid employment to keep our families fed and our households running. Choosing to be a stay- at-home mom is simply a luxury most of us cannot afford. My mother's instinct tells me that you are a terrific mother and now grandmother, and that is a proud legacy. But you are not a serious economic advisor to a man who would be the Leader of the Free World. I suspect, though, that many of the women reading this column in a precious spare moment sandwiched between work and home could tell Mitt a thing or two about our nation's economy. I wish you safe travel along the remainder of the 2012 campaign trail. Cordially, Margaret Dickson Margaret Dickson, Columnist, Up & Coming Weekly. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. Focus on the Family 20 Countdown Magazine Adventures in Odyssey Contest & Request Line: 910-764-1073 Keeping the Main Thing ... the Main Thing. visit us online www.christian107.com WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM APRIL 25 - MAY 1, 2012 UCW 5