Today I want to address the dire state of maternity leave in America. It just plain sucks. Mamas should not have to leave their babies at 6 weeks or 8 weeks (if they are lucky enough to have a full time job that provides them that). It is, in my opinion an epidemic of sorts. A cruel and barbaric system that creates detatched children who grow into hurting adults.
Don't get me wrong here. I will never judge a woman who goes back to work because I know, we all gotta pay the bills. Its never easy. Not for most of us. And I give props to all the exhausted women out there who find a way to make it work. All the women who love their babies hard on the in between times and who help these children grow. I'm not judging you.
But as a society, I feel we are dangerously balanced on a foundation of seperation. If you want to create a better world, a more peaceful world, a more balanced world ... start fighting for maternity leave. Start protesting that. Get angry. Write your congressman.
Maybe I'm wrong and maybe I'm not but I tell you this ... there would probably be a lot less people in the world who would feel compelled to do crappy things if they all got a little more mama love. I think, on a very basic level, so many of the problems we face as a nation would be diminished if we truly cared for mamas and babies. And I don't mean just throwing her a fancy baby shower. I mean real, true honest to god SUPPORT.
This whole business of making people - its freaking hard. I'm not gonna lie. Its work. It drains you. And its made a thousand times worse by a society that does not value the benefits of mother-infant connection. That fails to nurture this important time as deeply human and necessary. So we end up with adults who spend their entire lives longing for SOMETHING ... something they can't quite put their finger on but they desperately know they need. SOMETHING unattainable. SOMETHING to fill them up. SOMETHING that they'll never find because its already long gone. MAMA LOVE.
I'm not saying that you can't give your child enough mama love if you go back to work. Please don't get me wrong. I have seen many women pull it off. Amazing and strong women with pure lovely fairy children. Its not impossible. But I don't know why our culture need to make it so hard to accomplish it. I don't know why its not NORMAL. That's all I'm saying.
