Ralph Nader on feminism
http://www.babble.com/content/articles/columns/5minutetimeout/ralph-nader/index2.aspx
Q You praise your mother for not complaining about the work of
raising kids. First, are you sure she didn’t complain about it? And
would that have been a problem? Are today’s parents too whiny?
A It was a different generation, they didn’t complain. They knew it
was part of the job — just like a doctor doesn’t go to work and
complain that they have to take care of patients. Mothers were active
in the community, they were raising kids. These were fulfilling
tasks. When the latest women’s rights movement came on, [they] made a
lot of homebound moms feel guilty or feel inferior, which I think was
a big mistake by the Gloria Steinem types. They lost a large
constituency that way. What they should have done was enlarge the
function of staying home to include the neighborhood and the
community and civic engagement. Where the people who have to go to
work don’t have time for that . . . What’s the most important work?
It’s civic engagement by far — state, local, national, international
level.