Oh, please. This is why people don’t identify with the Republican “you must be a straight person whose sexual activity has been confined to your high school sweetheart- commencing on your wedding night” family values vibe.
Because, you know, we all know how much trouble most kids from stable homes with high moral standards get into. Oh, wait…
My own personal feeling is that, yes, traditional family values will always trump the “do whatever you want” lifestyle. However, overall, I don’t really care what other people do with their lives. It doesn’t bother me that other people have different moral values than I do. What does bother me is when people start putting down traditional values, especially when the reason is transparently to make themselves feel better about their own situation. I don’t shove the results of my choices in your face so I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t shove the results of your choices in mine, then imply that I’m the one in the wrong.
As far as the whole single mother issue, I spent a couple of years growing up under a single mother. My life was infinitely better when she remarried and I had a father again. My relationship with my father (the man who was my stepfather, then adopted me) has shaped my life for the better in ways that I’m sure I take for granted. I would be a very different person if it wasn’t for him and I know that for a fact.
I think it’s irresponsible for women to try to rationalize their singleness if they are also mothers. Oddly enough, the single mothers I know who show they care the most about their kids are the ones who want their kids to have a daddy around. I doubt that’s a coincidence.
