MOMMY

Idle Men?  Who's Doing"the Work"??

In one session with Peter Drucker (mid-80's) we covered the topic of women in the "work force".  He told us of two times in the history of this country when we had women in the "work force" and they were driven out.

The first was around the turn of the last century (1900's), during the early period of industrialization. Women were employed in large numbers doing "piece work" in factories.  As a result, those women with children faced problems of who would tend them.  The problem was not solved, children ran loose in the streets and ultimately wound up doing "child labor" in the factories.  Public outrage, particularly after the shirt factory fire, put an end to this and ushered in the public schools and early child labor laws.

The second instance was during World War II, when every able-bodied male was drafted into service to support the war.  We're all aware of the stories of "Rosie the Riveter".  When the men returned from war they needed jobs and, once again, women were driven out.

Peter concluded his tales by stating we were in uncharted territory with the current (then leading edge) advance of women into the "work place" in large numbers.  He asked if we could imagine a world in which men ran the households and held  morning coffee klatches.  He intimated that a world with large percentages of idle men would be a dangerous place.  He also said that women have by nature an advantage over men in that they can "nest", while men can't.

Seems like the Repoobs have waded into this issue looking for a way to beat President Obama.  They are coming to an end of their primary elections where they could easily romp among those voters most likely to "profile" the President.  Now they have to face better educated and more serious voters.  They think they can pass off "Miss Hilly" as "Rosie the Riveter".  Lots'a luck at that!

This is a troubling and very serious set of issues for this country going forward.  For each daughter, wife, mother, and grand-mother, these are gut-aching issues.  I believe the Repoobs are wrong to play politics with them.

As for men, ditto, although society and cultural habits give them a different and more dangerous slant on these issues.  For example, as Drucker pointed out, a man is a weaver, while a woman is a spinster, yet they both do the same task (at very uneven pay, historically).

Multiply this around the globe with all workers under the age of thirty facing very large unemployment rates; the propensity to hire more women because they are cheaper workers ... and you get the drift.

Watch out Repoobs!   You might be "too slick with this trick"!

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