Dan Fink: Stay at Home Mothers Don’t Contribute to Society

In responding to letters to the Editor, I wanted to respond to Rabbi Dan Fink’s letter on the Idaho Family Task Force, because it should be highlighted.

The Rabbi writes:

Apparently, that sensibility — that women should be at home — still lives in our state Legislature. That puts us in the same league as, say, Iran or Saudi Arabia.

So we now have American women fighting for freedom overseas, side by side with their male peers, who would return home to a place as backwards as the one they’ve been sent to “liberate.”

I find this outrageous for many reasons. First, you want to compare Saudi Arabia to the marriage task force. Let’s make a comparison:

Idaho Family Task Force: Wants to require mutual consent for no fault divorce.

Saudi Arabia: Sentenced a victim of gang rape to 200 lashes and 6 months in prison.

Dan Fink: It’s all the same.

Yeah, these absurd comparisons to other parts of the world are made by those who really don’t understand those areas, or are intentionally distorting the situation.

He then goes on to write:

Work is not just about income; it is also about contributing one’s talents to the larger society.

Ah, so what Fink is saying here is that stay-at-home mothers don’t contribute to the larger society, only working mothers. There was a time in our country when we respected motherhood in and of itself as a legitimate vocation. Now, according to Dan Fink you have to work to contribute to the larger society.

Of course, dissing stay-at-home moms is par for the course for opponents of the Family Task Force. They have consistently made implications that fathers are irrelevant to the lives of their children. If women can raise children on their own as well as if they have the help and support of a father, then the father is irrelevant. And if a child can do just as well in daycare as they can staying home with mom or dad, then parents are ultimately unnecessary and irrelevant. Instead of following the spirit of the Fifth Commandment and honoring parents, Dan Fink and the left is basically demeaning their contributions at every turn.

I’m sure that Rep. Thayn loves his job. He should recognize that many women love theirs, too.

I’m not sure how Rep. Thayn loves his job right now, but be that as it may, it should be admitted that there are many women who want to work. We live in a free country where people are able to make decisions about their lives. The Idaho Family Task Force has no proposal to force women who want to work to stay home and I would never support that.

But, unlike Rabbi Fink, I work in the real world. I’ve known multiple women who have left work to be with their children. They don’t want to work. I remember one mother saying all she wanted to do is be home with her child. Unlike Rabbi Fink, she thought that being there for her child as she grew up was a worthwhile use of her time.

There are many women who work because they have to. Single and divorced mothers who lack a strong extended family support network really don’t have the option of staying home. Nor do women whose families are overtaxed and over-regulated have an easy time at it.

While the wishes of those women who want to work should be respected, so should the wishes of those who want to stay home, whether Dan Fink feels they contribute to society or not.