Perhaps you missed what I had to say over the course of this thread, or perhaps you just clicked on my message to make a general reply. It's true that the main point of the thread was hijacked away from the issue of single parenting and on to moral issues. I made no assumptions about the women in the article -- their age, their marital status when they became pregnant or their education. I never accused anyone of whining or man-bashing, nor did I assume that the children were receiving state aid. My issue was with people who seem very willing in general to call a woman foul names but totally ignore the men. I think some other posters did a good job addressing the idea that we don't know the history of these women. I do know of at least one single father on this board, a very fine man whom I respect, who lost his wife to cancer. Certainly any of us could find ourselves in a similar situation.
I have a big issue with the hypocrisy and double-standards I see daily on this board when it comes to issues of morality. This is what I was addressing in my comments, not the women in the article. I made no judgments on you or any of the women in your group.
As far as stigmatism, I rarely make assumptions when it comes to single parents. Who knows how they became single parents? I figure if they want to share, they'll share. To me, the important thing for any parent, for any person, is to live life to the best of one's ability with honor, strength, and good character. I'm sorry that the women in your group feel stigmatized. I'm glad that you were able to create a network of support for each other.
The only issue I had in the article at all is the idea that our culture elevates marriage too highly. I don't believe that our culture values marriage highly enough.
It was a general post. I did not read all posts, but read enough to recognize that I was attacked, and there were huge generalizations in many comments. This was not a reflection to your comments at all.
I would agree. Having morals and values is one thing. Passing judgment and throwing stones is quite another. If one claims to use a Christian platform to judge others, I would have to argue there "Christianity".
I have taken a lot of hits for this, but I can not begin to tell you the positive effect this will have on a huge number of children being raised in single parent households. (I have also added a single2father group). I know children should be raised in a village. Unfortunately, divorce, death, and out of wedlock children are not going away anytime soon. What are we going to do today to have a positive impact on tomorrow? We are all together in this society, why don't we act like it?
Best,
Randi Anderson, Single 2 Mother