High-Risk Behavior?

So the Today show is back with some more "news". They interviewed the author of a new book called The Feminine Mistake. Here is an excerpt. There's actually a pretty funny typo in the introductory paragraph:

There's been a lot of talk about career women who give it all up to raise their children. Some say it's a throwback to another generation. But for those who can afford to be stay at home Moms, it's a difficult, and very personal, decision. A controversial new book, “The Feminine Mistake”, by Vanity Fair writer, Leslie Bennetts looks at the risks women take when they put their careers on hold, even for a short time. Leslie Bennetts was invited to appear on TODAY to discuss his book.

The author is a woman. She is apparently an angry woman. She's angry that women would have the audacity to stay home and raise their children. Here's an interview with the author. And here's a video of her interview on the Today show.

This is just another case of people using exceptions to develop a rule. Even if those exceptions are prevalent, they are still abnormalities. I don't need to preach to the choir about the beauty of sacrifice within marriage and the joy of service to your spouse and children. This author prefers to invest in work rather than family:

But the truth is that meaningful work is the source of great rewards in many women's lives, and a lot of the ones I interviewed found it unexpectedly refreshing to be given permission to talk openly about how satisfying it is to have your own work, your own identity, your own money, your own recognition, and your own agenda, particularly as your children get older and don't want you hovering over them all the time.

Sounds like a big, fat "Me" Monster. But apparently the author is just trying to get women to look out for themselves, because marriage is a high-risk behavior:

Our culture is not informing women adequately about the dangers of depending on a man to support them, and I think the media have misled women into thinking that the stay-at-home life is a better and less stressful choice. The facts would indicate otherwise -- working women tend to be not only happier but even healthier than full-time homemakers, as I have documented in the book.

And what is so dangerous about this course of action you might ask? Well, what if the marriage ends in divorce or the husband dies? Or what if the husband loses his job? Hmmm... 1) Exception, 2) Exception, and 3) Exception to the norm. And here's three alternatives: 1) Life-long commitment and fidelity to your spouse. 2) Life insurance (term life is so cheap for our age its ridiculous not to have it). 3) Have your husband get his ass out there and get another job.

This scenario, oddly enough, reminds me of youth ministry. It starts as a solution to situations in which there is a break from the norm (parents not educating their children). Then it goes from simply a solution or an alternative to a norm of its own (We need youth ministry because it is good). The Good has been twisted entirely. On what basis? Exceptions. Sins. Thankfully, we have a new Good: Every woman for herself. Have fun with that.