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The Parental is Political

Facing new political responsibilities as a parent.

By Julie Marsh

I really enjoy your blog and am looking forward to reading this column.

I am curious about the subtitle of your column referring to both politics and religion. While I know that religion strongly influence politics in our country (depending on who you are it is too much or too little), I wonder why religion itself is included under the title Parenting is Political. I may be misunderstanding the title or just thinking too much.

Posted by: Angela | Feb 06, 2007 13:28

Since I'm the one that added the tag line to Julie's column index page, I thought I would respond...

Angela, I think you answered your own question. Many people's views on religion and social issues strongly influences their vote -- an ultra-conservative and religious former co-worker of mine told me he would vote for a Democrat if they promised to abolish Roe v. Wade -- so I think those subjects clearly fall under the theme of this column.

Posted by: prescott | Feb 06, 2007 15:22

What a wonderful concept for a column - and awesomely done, right out of the gate. But I wouldn't expect anything else from you, Julie.

Posted by: Her Bad Mother | Feb 06, 2007 19:04

This will be a great column! I am right on that page, too!

Posted by: PunditMom | Feb 06, 2007 22:28

Funny enough, when I think of Americans who vote on impulse and personality, the first person who pops to mind isn't a mom or a woman at all - it's the Nascar guy from the last election who essentially said, "well I don't know much about no politics, but that George Bush sure seems like a guy I could have a beer with."

Looking forward to future columns, Julie!

Posted by: mom101 | Feb 06, 2007 23:44

I'm happy to see this article and will follow it closely. Although I find it hard to keep up with current events and often fall behind, I actually feel more of a responsibility to participate in the political process now that I'm a mother than I ever did before. My husband and I have taken our kids to a number of political rallies, and we schlepped our oldest son with us in his stroller to canvass for Kerry in 2004. My husband and I agree on a lot of political issues, but certainly not all, and we enjoy discussing politics.

Linda Hirshman makes my blood boil, not because I think her conclusions are 100% wrong (I don't), but because she's so smug in HER belief that they're 100% right and can be applied uniformly to every woman (at least the mostly white, highly educated, upper-middle class women with whom she's primarily concerned). Her article in the Post stirred up some discussion on the D.C. Urban Moms listserv, and one person noted that what Hirshman said about SAHMs is true of Americans across the board. Many of our fellow citizens are woefully underinformed, we have a short attention span for complex issues, we substitute others' judgment for our own, and we vote on impulse. Not a ground-breaking discovery. I would guess that highly educated women may be less prone to these tendencies than the average American. But what do I know, I wipe behinds all day.

Posted by: Kathleen Hudson | Feb 09, 2007 23:55

Thanks for letting me know about your column, Julie. I am really looking forward to learning from you -- I still consider myself a "newbie" in the politics arena, but I'm enjoying the process of getting educated.

Posted by: Nancy | Feb 16, 2007 20:15

Hear, hear, Julie. Voting on impulse? I'm sure it happens, but not in my universe. I worry about what Linda Hirshman's antics will do to those of us who take our politics seriously.

Posted by: PunditMom | Feb 17, 2007 14:21

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