House of Eratosthenes

My household is a motherless household. My kid has a Mom and my girlfriend has a Mom, so when you spiral outward to extended families that’s about all the Mom-hood you find. So other than reminding all among you who have Moms to give ‘em a call, I don’t have too much to say here.

Except for a warning. There are many among our future and past-moms who seem to think class and fidelity are mutually-exclusive things; they’re worshiping Mrs. Robinson, Ann Bancroft’s character from The Graduate, as a role model. Yes, they are; it’s true. Perhaps their moms can do something about this before it gets any further out of hand, and so help to preserve the institution.

It’s not indestructible, you know. Motherhood does have weaknesses and as an attribute of culture, it can become shriveled, withered, twisted and mutated from what it once was. Made useless, in other words.

And anyone who doubts that prospect, can feast their eyes on this find from blogger friend Rick: And gosh…I…just…don’t…know…how…to…tease…this…

With Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business, has a message for moms: send us more money. Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, sent out a fund-raising request this week one pro-life advocate says is grotesque.

Richards honored Mother’s Day by sharing part of an editorial her daughter wrote saying she got her pro-abortion views from her mother and grandmother, former Texas Gov. Ann Richards.

“It’s true that I have had lots of rewarding moments in my career. So did my mother,” Cecile wrote in the email LifeNews.com obtained. “But knowing that my daughter is carrying on the legacy of fighting that my mother passed to me trumps ‘em all.”

Celebrating Mother’s Day by raising funds to perform abortions…thereby stopping motherhood in it’s tracks. Celebrating womanhood by honoring a woman with Narcissistic Personality Disorder who betrayed both her daughter and her husband.

Mothers, your daughters are in danger.

When men are being idiots, typically they’re shouting things to each other like “If Iraq is such a good idea, how come you’re not there, you chickenhawk?” Yes, that’s pretty much stuck on stupid right there…it’s a betrayal of what manhood is supposed to be, in which manly men challenge other men to be manly men, rather than belittling third-parties for showing that respect to the manly-men. Manhood is suffering from an ailment in which wimpy men dare to bully real men into becoming wimpy men, rather than the other way around. But there is a common affliction among females, something several orders of magnitude beyond this — although the common thread of betraying the foundation of the gender in question, remains. Our girls, in addition to confusing real-women with phony-women, are also confusing loyalty with treachery, order with chaos, honor with ignominy.

Or at the very least, are tempted to.

Celebrating Mrs. Robinson. My goodness.

Mrs. Robinson has a presence as she enters a room. Her smile radiates the energy that she will share with those who accept it. Most are intrigued as she walks with poise and welcome in her glance. Those lucky enough to join her will be greeted with a gentle yet firm hand, a delicate kiss or a warm embrace. Her words are composed of praise and inspiration. Those who listen will do so intently, and often enjoy great laughter. Her plan to make the environment in which she resides a place of comfort and joy is instantly revealed. Thank you, Mrs. Robinson, for your class within the laws of attraction. I look forward to my continued education in the art of fulfillment. Submitted by Ms. Smith, San Francisco [emphasis mine]

Pure Yang, in other words.

And brazen infidelity…

Mrs. Robinson would buy the shoes, seduce the man, kiss the boy, protect the innocent, forget her pantyhose, wear the lingerie, upset the balance, hear the neighbors, play the game, forget her bank account number, lust after the pool boy, decide to remember, desire the wrong one, mistake her pregnancy test and generally, love her unbelievable life. That’s what Mrs. Robinson would do. Submitted by Ms. L. Miller, San Francisco

Mrs. Robinson, in the movie, left a wake of dysfunction, distrust, misery, anger, intense sadness, suffering, confusion, broken relationships, shattered pieces of where a family once stood, and general chaos. To see her celebrated as a feminist icon, to me, is shocking. Just as much so as seeing a solicitation for abortion funds in “celebration” of Mother’s Day.

Anonymous, as quoted by Cassy Fiano in her follow-up post to the whole “real men” exchange, I think nails shut the difference between womanhood as many seem to see it, and womanhood as it can exist to earn the respect they crave:

…from the male perspective, sex is the greatest compliment that a woman can pay to a man. A woman who sleeps around devalues the compliment.

Just something to think about, ladies. Back in the days when timeless legends were written, did we play to the male fantasy by having the knight in shining armor slay the dragon so he can scale the walls of the impenetrable fortress, and wait for his turn to gang bang the princess? Nope. In the same way the princess paid her compliment to the knight, the knight paid the princess a compliment by deeming her worthy of facing down that dragon and near-certain death. It’s a timeless tale about enduring love and respect, not about a roll in the hay. In fact, the closing scenes of your favorite movie, Mrs. Robinson fans, reprises this timeless tale yet again. And Ann Bancroft ends up being one of the dragons. Weren’t you paying attention?

Maybe, just maybe, some of the gals in the Mrs. Robinson Society will follow a trackback here, and learn what they need to learn. If one mind can be changed, so the cliche goes, then it’s worth it.

Happy Mother’s Day.

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