Are single moms to blame for the state of the economy? That seems to be the opinion of some Republican politicians as they debate our country’s economic issues this campaign season. Rick Santorum says our country is “falling apart because of single moms.”
Santorum isn’t alone. Many GOP leaders, including presidential nominee Mitt Romney, have singled out single mothers as the cause of many economic and social problems, including class divides, government debt, the loss of family values and crime.
Single mothers have become a political scapegoat. Instead of focusing on more important issues such as creating more jobs, protecting the environment and raising tax rates for the rich, Romney has chosen to point his finger at single moms, accusing them of choosing poverty and relying on welfare.
As a child, no girl says, “I want to grow up and be a single mom.” Just because a mother is single doesn’t mean she chose to be single or that she is on welfare. For Romney, single mom and “welfare mom” are synonyms, and that’s simply not true.
Santorum believes single mothers need a politician who isn’t afraid of “kicking them in the butt.” While there are many single mothers who didn’t get the chance to go to college and are struggling to make ends meet, I don’t think punishing them or their children with a “kick in the butt” is going to improve their condition.
Santorum also says “What we have is moms raising children in single-parent households simply breeding more criminals.” Are you kidding me? Like many Grady students, I live in a single-parent home, and none of us are on the path to prison merely because we live in a single-parent home. Furthermore, I am offended that Republican politicians have generalized me as a future criminal.
In his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., Romney said, “A nation built on the principles of the Founding Fathers cannot long stand when its children are raised without fathers in the home.”
Although my family consists of a mother and three children, we have many values and are no less American than any other family. We sit around a table and have family dinners just like any other family; we participate in school functions just like any other family and are taught morals and values by our mother, who is very involved in our daily lives.
For Republicans to look down their noses at single moms shows a lack of basic respect for thousands of American families. It is they, not single moms, who are devaluing families.
So let’s get back to discussing the real issues facing America in the presidential debate. The single moms out there deserve respect and admiration not ridicule and admonishment.
