Sarah Palin on Neanderthals who dare question feminist dogma

This seems to be an odd position for someone who touts herself as a social conservative and defender of traditional values. From WorldNetDaily comes this telling snippet from an interview with Sarah Palin on Fox news….

"It kind of seems, Geraldine, that some things haven't changed," Palin said. "There are still the Neanderthals out there who pick on the petty, little, superficial, meaningless things – like looks, like whether you can or can't work outside of the home if you have small children – all those type of things where I would so hope that at some point those Neanderthals will evolve into something a bit more with it, a bit more modern, and a bit more understanding that, yeah, women can accomplish much."

Petty? You can make arguments on either end of the political spectrum or even try to use some Biblical support for it but the topic of whether or not women should work outside of the home when they have small children is anything but “petty”. I would go so far as to make the link between absentee parenting and much of the social ills we experience in America. I think having a parent at home is far more important than whether we allow/mandate prayer in schools or have textbooks that talk about the religious beliefs of the Founders or whether we allow Ten Commandments monuments on public ground.

I think women or at least one parent should stay home with their children. I don't apologize for that view and neither should anyone else. I believe it is unhealthy for kids to be raised by strangers or even worse to be hanging around at home alone. It may be unkind to bring this up but I wonder if Ms. Palin would be a grandmother already if she were at home instead of chasing fame and personal glory?

Furthermore, the prevalence of two-income families where the second income is superfluous has been, in my humble opinion, disastrous for our economic well-being and our families. In the not too distant past, most families survived quite nicely on a single income where the father worked and the mother stayed home to care for the home and the children. As we have increased the number of women working outside of the home in an misguided attempt to ”empower” women, we have seen a change in our economy. Today many, if not most, families are two wager-earner families. More people are putting off marriage and consequently putting off children while men and women alike establish their careers. By the time they get married and eventually start having kids, they are used to the things in life that two people working full-time can afford to buy. It is perceived to be much harder to make ends meet on one salary today but we used to do so quite commonly. What happened?

If you needed further proof that Sarah Palin is more useful as a spokesperson and someone to rally the troops than as a serious leader, this is it. There are a lot of people who think that women ought to have home and children as their first priority. Many of them are exactly the kind of people who Palin would depend on to win the GOP nomination. Referring to us as “Neanderthals” is probably not going to win her many votes. There is a new strain of “conservative” women who seem to think that “traditional” values boil down to opposing gay marriage and abortion while embracing a neo-feminist view of the family.

Ms. Palin, I am not really interested in “evolving” into something “more modern” if that means that we consign an ever larger number of our children to the tender mercies of day care workers and public school officials or worse yet left to fend for themselves day after day after school. I am quite convinced that “women can accomplish much” but I also think that they can do so with the children God has placed under their care instead of seeking personal glory in the workplace. What is the greater testimony of a strong woman, children who are raised well by their mother or a list of accolades from work and a high balance in your 401(k)? If a woman chooses to work outside of the home, that is between her and her husband but please let’s not resort to petty and ignorant name-calling of those who think that decision is not in the best interest of children. That is the sort of behavior I expect from political liberals who can’t argue their positions on merit, not from someone who many people think is a champion of conservative values.

Can women work outside of the home? Sure. Are there circumstances where this is actually necessary as opposed to a matter of preference? Absolutely. Is it generally better wherever possible for women to stay at home and care for their children? You betcha!