Shock and awe, in the style of the NYT

Last updated on: August 28, 2008 at 9:32 am by Pia de Solenni

Shock and awe, in the style of the NYT 2008-08-28T09:32:06-07:00 Pia de Solenni

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Turns out The New York Times thinks that having a baby at age 44 is newsworthy.

I never expected to be commenting so much on the election, but the naming of Governor Palin as McCain’s VP has definitely brought up many of the hot button topics that I write and speak about: women, women and work, abortion, family, etc.

Now it turns out that the private decisions and details of the governor’s life are so shocking that they merit front-page coverage in the NYT. Remember, this is part of the same mainstream media that thought Bill Clinton’s infidelities were “private.” Apparently, the notion of privacy doesn’t apply when you are a woman who thinks differently than the MSM. Then, your amniotic fluid becomes headline news. She hasn’t done anything unethical; but she did have a baby at age 44. Gasp. Part of me is surprised that the piece isn’t more targeted. (The Financial Times had this piece noting the condescension of liberals who, btw, dominate the MSM. Tammy Bruce has this piece on Politico; it’s one of the most thoughtful pieces I’ve seen on the governor’s nomination.)

When it comes a woman – a married woman at that – getting pregnant, the MSM suggests that we should be shocked. She works and she has babies, just like most women throughout the history of the world. Remember, the invention of the middle class where women don’t work is relatively new. In days gone by, women were often involved in the family business, i.e. whatever it took to put food on the table and some semblance of a roof overhead.

The contraceptive culture has created a climate in which we are surprised that a woman is having a baby even though that same climate is fixated on sex.

The abortion culture followed on the contraceptive culture, resulting in a world where we suggest that some women stupidly or ignorantly have babies since, after all, there are “ways” to get rid of that little “problem”. Smart women, it would seem, don’t have babies, at least not more than one or two and not while they’re working. [Has the MSM even realized who makes up the working classes in the US?]

Sure, not all women might choose to have a large family and work in a high profile job. It might not even work for most women. But that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work for some. Ultimately, that’s a decision that a woman makes with her husband and family….just like decisions should be made about the husband’s work and his role in the family.

My favorite part of the article – this quote from Governor Palin:

“To any critics who say a woman can’t think and work and carry a baby at the same time,” she said, “I’d just like to escort that Neanderthal back to the cave.”

It will be interesting to see if the MSM can move beyond the personal life of a VP candidate and get to the political issues. In the meantime, their shock and awe tactics over normal happenings in a woman’s life belie the inability of the MSM to report the news. They’d rather make and shape the news.

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