Blog 34

Blog 34

Joan Williams in her articles and blog and Holly English in Gender on Trial both deal with something at length. That is latch key kids. The story of the 31 year old man from the Midwest is excellent in how he tells his employer that he will be gone from the office if things don’t change around there. He is telling his employer that he either is able to work a normal week and spend time with his family, or he will no longer be working there. This is a great picture of a man getting his priorities straight and realizing that his family comes first. If more men, and women for that matter, started all standing up to their employers in this way, I feel we would see a great deal of change in working conditions.
Something else very interesting out of the Williams material was the new idea that mothers are now coming to the conclusion that they should work harder when the children are younger and be home with them more as they get older. Childcare today is no longer just a babysitting service—the children are really being taught things from infancy on up. By the mothers working during this time and being home when the children get older, the children can learn a great deal in daycare including their social skills.
One thing that stuck out to me in Gender on Trial is how employment practices are really designed around the idea that a man will work forty or more hours per week and not worry about his family. This ideal has already done a great deal to destroy the family unit and, if not stopped, will totally destroy the family. What is even worse is how many women are now included in these employment practices.
I firmly believe that we, as a nation, are about to change our culture as it regards employment. We are going to see men not having to work as many hours. We are going to see men be able to drop everything to be able to go take care of a sick child. We are going to see a resurgence of the family as it was forty or more years ago.
Proof that this can happen lies in the major accomplishments we as a country have experienced over the last twelve months. We seriously considered having a female as our president. We also seriously considered having a female as vice president. Major changes are just around the corner. We did elect an African-American male to be our President.
We saw a resurgence in the number of people going to church eight years ago after the 9-11 catastrophes in New York and Pennsylvania. Our people know change is needed on many fronts and, I believe, those changes are just around the corner. (Word Count – 472)