Concepts of Motherhood

For decades, women have fought for equal rights. But now women in the military want to go back to being treated differently than men... does this make sense? In "When Women Go to War," Anne Applebaum argues that single mothers should not be deployed overseas, thus leaving their child(ren) behind without a parent. She says women in the military should be able to take a few years off and then reenlist "with no stigma attached." What Applebaum doesn't mention, though, is the single fathers. She wants women to have the right to take several years off but then doesn't seem willing to extend that same right to men. I would argue, instead, that women who are considering enlisting in the miltary should realize beforehand that this situation will make it difficult to have a child. They should be willing to wait until they are discharged before getting pregnant, rather than asking the military to treat them differently than their male counterparts. If they aren't willing to wait, then perhaps they should find a different job.

In "She's Vain, Clueless, and In the Tabloid Press," D. Parvaz argues that Nadya Suleman's decision to have octuplets -- given her financial situation and the fact that she already had six kids -- was irresponsible. I completely agree. Suleman is under the impression that the most important part of being a parent is loving your child; that, as long as you have love in your heart, everything else will take care of itself. What she didn't consider was the money that is required to raise 14 kids on your own. Being a parent is about more than just love. It's about making the decision to have only as many children as you can take care 0f, both in terms of time and money. Clearly, when you're a single mother trying to raise 14 children, no single kid is going to get the attention he or she deserves, let alone the financial resources. Which means the people of California are stuck paying for Suleman to raise the 14 kids she so irresponsibly gave birth to.