I am a single parent.
According to the right, I am also a leech on society and pose a danger to my own son.
A new bill proposed by a Republican state legislator in Wisconsin would officially label single parents like me a "contributing factor to child abuse and neglect." When radio host Alan Colmes asked the bill's author, Glenn Grothman, to explain himself, Grossman said that women become single parents in order to live off the government, and then lie about it and say they got pregnant by accident.
As far as I know, Sen. Grothman's the first one to try to write the Single Moms Conspiracy theory into law, but he's far from the first one to think it. Bashing single moms has been a mainstay of right-wing politics for decades. Perhaps this is because it combines two of the right's favorite activities: publicly judging the family lives of others and scapegoating.
One of the most enthusiastic purveyors of the Single Moms Conspiracy theory has been Rick Santorum. Mother Jones today put together a collection of some of his early comments on single parenthood. During his 1994 Senate race, Santorum said, "We are seeing the fabric of this country fall apart, and it's falling apart because of single moms." A month later, he accused single mothers of "simply breeding more criminals."
Santorum hasn't exactly stepped back from his claim that single moms are ruining America. In October, he said that the Democratic Party's support base is single mothers with a "desire for government." At a GOP debate in December, he said that single moms aren't marrying their boyfriends because they want to keep on collecting welfare.
What's remarkable is that the same people pushing the theory that single parents are ruining America are also doing everything in their power to keep women from having access to birth control and to keep gay and lesbian parents from getting married. For them, this isn't about improving women's and children's lives: it's about creating a scapegoat.
Research shows that the key to raising healthy children is stability, not the number or gender of their parents. Kids who have parents that come and go face greater risk than kids who have only one parent throughout their lives that they can rely on to be there. If politicians like Rick Santorum want to promote stable families, they should start by respecting all families.
I can think of a lot of things that are making "the fabric of this country fall apart." Loving single parents are not one of them.
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"Single moms are ruining America" they claim, and so we intelligent, well meaning people suggest, "Free birth control! Safe & private abortions! Marriages for everyone!" and they say, "No! No! No!"
They make it harder for girls to get birth control or abortions, and they work to make certain marriages illegal. We say, I thought you wanted more responsible people in the country? Less single moms? Less unwanted children?
They say, "But then who would we blame? If the kids out there are going to have sex, they need to be punished for their fun. We put forth policies based on how we want our lives to be, not on the realistic situations of real people."
I always thought his eyes were too close.
Men of America; You guys rifle through our intimate garment drawers. No questions asked. Go for it.
Women of America; Ladies, we'll offer prostate exams and also ask intimate questions of the whereabouts of American sperm.
Everybody cool?
Therefore with this bill, to avoid future problems any nonmarital pregnancy could be satisfied by getting married. Later you could divorce and this bill would not apply. It just goes to show how this law is easy to get around and if it is easy to avoid, then the bill is probably illconceived.
On the other hand RS points to single moms. Even if your husband died while a police officer, firefighter or deployed in a war zone for instance, then you are a single mom. According to RS, you are killing the fabric of American society.
I was a single mother after my husband died very young. I NEVER took any help from the government and my girls turned out wonderful. He seems to forget, single women vote
And Puritanical Political Ideologues is proof positive why they shouldn't be.
Well(emphatico?) if you want to take that stance...then really we should blame the absent parent who fails to show up and provide the care, nurturing and stablilty that a child needs....it is not the single "present" parent that leaves the gapping hole in a childs life it is the one that is unavailable physically, emotionally, and financially... so I return your question to you"What exactly is your point?"
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The "absent parent" (which I read as the man) is usually given a restricted access to the kids at the request of.....the other parent (the mother).
You can't have it both ways. You can't blame the man for his absence when you requested a limited access for him in the first place. That's not fair.
And guess who starts all the pandemonium of divorce? Women do, 75% of the time. Women also choose the man they want to father their kids. In other words, women initiate divorces to cover up for their poor judgment/choice in mate. So it's really not the man's fault. But I don't expect you to use logic to reason along with that. After all, we live in a society where women are ALWAYS, even when facts and logic point the other way, the victims.
It sounds to me like you are talking about your own personal life, so go talk to your baby mama instead of spouting offensive half truths on a barely related article.