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Show B3 Time for Mother’s Day Reform? ier on most women than this day ELOUISE BELL AnnaJarvis dreamedup. Do not misunderstand. Mothers deserve honcr, recognition and volumes more appreciation than they get. It’s not the idea, but the mannerof celebration, that has gone astray. As a start, here are three suggestions for lifting this day out of its smarmy morass. First, change the date. Any date would be an improvement over We need to face up to it: No date on the American calendar crackles with more irony than Mother’s Day. Not Labor Day, when no onelabors; not Easter, when rabbits lay chocolate eggs; not Thanksgiving, when we gorge ourselves in memory of Pilgrims who needed American Indian welfare baskets to make it through the winter. Mother's Day was the brainchild of Philadelphian Anna Jar- Sunday. Thelink of piety, prayer, and the parade of amateur and professional saints is just too crushing. The best, most loving, most successful of homesare boot campfor all concerned; to ceiebrateit in the language and imagery of cathedral or chapelis, to say the least, pre-mature. Second, recognize the ambivalence of the occasion and sprinkle the observance with the kind of Lee has been responsible for mood we usually enjoy on, say, April Fools’ Day or Halloween. Maybe institute a Mothers Parade with emphasis onthesilly, outrageous or comedic. Outlaw saccha- moreguilt. Mother’s Day squeezes Ameri- each year for the most joyously vis, who mastermindedthefirst observance in 1907. Only Sara cans from both sides. Countless sons and daughters cringe beneath the day's poetry, songs, media blackmail and Damoclean sword of obligation, green with their own worthlessness and ingratitude. One of the many iro- nies: the more dutiful the adult child, the more sharply the spur of consciencerakes. Because the dynamics between same-sex parent and child are more complex, daughters feel perpetually and irrevocably inad- equate to the expectations and assumptions of the day. But the irony falls heaviest on the very object of veneration on this second Sunday in May: the mothers. With each poem, each Gaelic ballad of mother-worship, with each sermonpraising the an- rine cards; award a Pulitzer Prize down-to-earth Mother's Day cartoon or comic strip. Third, create new Mother's Day events for mothersandanyorall of their kids. I envision relay swimming matches, three-legged races, musicconcerts, poetry recitations — a whole panorama of possibilities that would team up mothers and offspring in an activ- and improved If you're going to tinker with holidays, I suggest that instead of trying to redefine them, we just wipe them all off the calendar. Eachholiday that causes a threeday weekend costs the country billions of dollars of lost produc- tivity. Granted, Mother's Dayisn't one of those days, but it doesfall into the category of guilt mongering, making you feel like a creep by not buying a card, flowers, making a phone call, buyinga gift, ete. Just what the country needs. Moreguilt. The only people who really smile about all these holi- days are the Hallmark people and retailers who use the occasion as an excuse for another big sale. What does Easter have to do with bunnies and egg hunts anyway? Weare steeped in paganrit- uals such as that and Halloween. And while you'reatit, would you explain April Fools’ Day? Whydo we have to have a national day to honortheoffice moron, whois normally annoying ev- ery day of the year, by setting aside one day when he/she can exercise an idiotic sense of humor in a heightened fashion? Why don’t we just call it Morons’ Day? sense. What better day to heap moreguilt on people than during the one day of the week that we are madetofeel guilty for not go- Whatdo youthink, Anna? Time to lighten up? ing to church? Church is dependent on guilt to survive. Without love — without the guilt. Elouise Bell is professor emeritus at Brigham Young University. TOM BARBERI it we would be on thegolf course, ski slope, couch,in the local pub, back-yard garden,etc. I like your idea, Elouise, of creating Mother's Day events. How about Mother’s Day dunking tanks? Clean-up-your-room competitions? Third trimester 10K’s? Hairbrush-paddling competition? On second thought, let’s stop worrying aboutit and stick with the way thingsare.I find nothing difficult about telling my mom: lowerandheavierin their seats. Any woman ever interviewed on the matter insists she is light years away from Mother McCree. She can rattle off her maternal shortcomings so fast it would RESPONSE make the carnations in your bou- quet wilt. A straightforward national day of public humiliation andpenitence would be mucheas- I hate it when I don’t get it, Hatch: He Says He Understands Working Poor The audience sat silent as the senator recounted how someone outside the convention meeting room hadtold him sometimes you mayhaveto let some children die to stand up fora principle. “That isn’t my feeling,” he told the still silent audience. “That isn’t whatI believe. Thatisn’t the wayI think youfeel.” Hatchoften spoke softly. Some- Happy Mother's Day. I love you. . yourrotten son. eral crap that ever came down the pike.” The child-health carebill is the minimum wage bill of this year, Hatch said. And, by working with Kennedy on it, the measure already has some concessionsbuilt in for conservatives, he said. Thebill allows thestates to set their owneligibility standards. It creates no new bureaucracy because the federal government al- threw a partisan jab at the ex- While two-thirds of the money pense of the bill's co-sponsor, Democratic Sen. Ted Kenuedy. Hatchnotonly cast the issue in will go to the states in health-care least one person in the household who worksfull time. “They are the working poor of this country,” Hatch said. “I come from them, I can understand Delegates Send A Message to Party Leaders @ Continued from B-1 drifting.” Hurtadopointed to the convention turnout, noted it was large for a nonelection year and sug- gested it showed that party members felt strongly about speaking their mindsto leaders in the GOPcontrolled state Legislature and the five Utah Republican members of Congress. Weber County delegate Joe Granducci agreed, noting the votes were intended not as personal rebukes but as philosophical reminders to lawmakers who seemed to be drifting too close to many liberal views. “We are opposed to these is sues becausethings have become so skewedtothe left,’ said Gran, duce, The resolutions reflected the party's willingpess to embrace the block grants, the bill also dedi- compassionate terms, but he also described it as a political necessi- “J put Kennedy on record for icized Republican leaders for not playing along to win some conces- sions during the lengthy debate. “‘T've seenit time andtime,”he deficit reduction,” he quipped, “and that alone is worth an awful lot to me.” Hatch also touted thebill’s value in termsof health benefits and lower public spending. Henoted that a 10 percent increasein the cost of cigarettes reduces the number of young people taking up the habit by 7 percent. In addition, those chil- dren areless likely to take up cocaine and other drugs. “These poor children, they're not Democrats and they’re not added angrily, “when the pres- Republicans,” Hatchsaid. ‘That's views of someofits most conservative members, At the same they would not look at the bill,” time, they did not carry the force of law nor the endorsementoffull assembly of delegates. There are 2,500 delegates in the state; just 625 voted at the convention. Still, legislators and congressional staff regarded the votes as a vivid reminder that Republicans vention, and passage of the resolutions amounted to a stern message from the rank-and-file, according to party activist Alex Hurtado. “These guys are telling the leadership, ‘We think you're going too far," he said.““They are ready collects cigarette taxes. cates the remaining third to deficit reduction, he pointed out. the Democrats’ minimum wage increase last year because the GOP seemed destined from the start to come out looking coldhearted, and the opposing party seemedcertain to win. Hatch crit- can hold a variety of views. The smart-card resolution echoed the sentiments expressed in the recent Weber and Davis county conventions. Embedded with Hatch said in reaction. Janalee Tobias, sponsor of the resolution requiring a vote on bill, co-sponsored by Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy. She noted that two prominent GOP leaders also had rejected the measure, Gov. Mike Leavitt and U.S, Sen. Bob Bennett. “This is not a Republican position,” she said, “It’s a Democratic bill, and we don't wantit.” A defender said Hatch’s bill would help some 80,000 Utah children who lack health-care coverage, but the resolution passed handily. “They hate Kennedy so much h : © feria) © SWINGS @ SPRING CHAIRS getting addicted to cigarettes.” @ CHAISES @ TEA CARTS Meanwhile, taxpayers bear the estimated cost — between $50 million and $100 million each year — to care for people who _ each year from smoking related Thy AND MORE Free Delivery have becomeill because they used tobacco. Some 419,000 people die @ OCCA. TABLES illnesses, he added. “Seems to methat. . . it’s only fair they start paying some ofthe costs they burden society with, Hatchsaid, the audience clapping in response. QUALITY CRAFTED IN YOUR CHOICE OF COLORS The senator slipped on wiredrimmedglasses as he made argu- ments aimedat reassuring his audienceit is not unconstitutional to raise taxes to support a program Csie tee TION OF QUALITY Lalhk RAFT WROUGHT IRON ofthis kind. But, in the end, Hatch shuffled aside the lawyerly arguments and cited a Bible verse on the rewards of charity. “In Psalms, David “Your Patio Shop Specialist” Leisuré Living says, ‘Blessed is he that considerth the poor. The Lordwill deliver him in timeoftrouble.’ 2174 eyoo E con to Granite Furniture “I’m considering the poor, I hope He will deliver me,'’ said Hatch.“But if he doesn't, I'll just haveto take comfortin whatI believe.’ si Mon.Sat 487-3289 10am-6pm ALL OFFERS INCLUDE EYE EXAM! Before you buy elsewhere ask... "Is the Eye Exam Included?" . Daily Wear Soft 49 Disposab le zie, se§ "49 state's lawmakers could not misunderstand the convention’s mes- Unit 2'Six Packs into Ottor* New Pationts sage about the project. ‘Are they going to be with us or are they Gas Permeable going to be against us?" Noting he is a tion and Infrastructure Committee, he stopped shortof saying he would require a popular vote before he pushed for federal money to help pay for the project. However, he did say he would push for congressional hearings on the subject of local input on transportation projects during a meeting he has plannednext week Eyeglasses ve Paee wets ae wiecvon CALL NOW! WE’LL BEAT IT! Our Nameié.. Am E=RI CA’S Best CONTACTS & EYEGLASSES.gstabished 1978 party, the GOPneededto stick to- keepits dominanceinall levels of 2 ion FREE LENSES! Bring in an ad with a lower price ferences of opinion within the gether to keeptheir strong influence on government. Rob Bishop, who became the state party chairmanon Saturday, noted that the party must continue working together if it hopes to 69 een) Limit t Pair Intro Ottr + New Pabants + Tins Aditi with the committee chairman Other leaders made the point that, while there were obviousdif- Utah politics. + *Trainload Savings” Limit 1 Pair intro Otfer + New Patients member of the House Transporta- ing the party's collective objection to Hatch’s children’s health / “The voice of the people has to be heard,” she said, noting the U.S. Rep. Merrill Cook respondedin his report to conven- gates to pass the resolution voic- WROUGHT IRON PATIO FURNITURE * wishes. tion delegates, Meadowcraft TRiBSTORE leaders to carry out the public's smartcards were described by opponents as another way big-gov- ernment could use technology to intrude on residents’ privacy. Gayle Ruzicka, leader of the Bagle Forum in Utah, urged dele- 1-800-729-6791 light-rail spending,said residents had lost faith in their elected electronic chips capable of storing volumes of medical, criminal and financial information, the for your Natural Gas Needs not the issue. They're kids, and they’re dying because they are “T want you to know I am not publicans in Congress to oppose © call MGA sure’s on, we'll pass the mostlib- and seized the opportunity to defend himself. Hesaid it was a mistake for Re- Gas Heats aan era Tom Barberi is a talk-show host on KALL-AM. times he boomed. Sometimes he took a defiant tone, sometimes contrite, and occasionally he ty, a sound health-policy move and a constitutionally sound principle. Acrowdgathered Saturday atthe International Peace Gardens, 1000 S. 900 West, Salt LakeCity, to dedicate a bust of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi. The India Forum of Utah coordinated the project and the governmentofIndia donated the bust. 143 SOUTH MAIN SALT LAKE CITY 237-2018 theme trumpeting his entrance, some patsy who does things for political reasons,” he said. “I do them becauseI believe in them.” His voice soft and raspy, he told howhis family lost its home when he was a boy. Later members moved into a house his father built on a one-acre lot he bought for $50. The house had nobathroom andserved on oneside as a billboard. Henotedthat 40 million Americans — 10 million of them children — have no health insurance even though mostof them haveat Al Harimann/TheSalt Lake Tribune MAN OF PEACE Your idea of moving Mother's Day from Sunday makes evenless ity that celebrates connection and gel-mother, most women scrunch ® Continued from B-1 Elouise, but what is so ironic about Mother's Day? Your take on this day is a grand case of how something doesn’t need to be new Call Now For a No Obligation Appointment = eo MIDVALE 26 WEST 7200 SOUTH 561-1300 OGDEN ATS WALL. AVE OREM 185) SOUTH STATE ST 627-4424 Eye ExamBy Independent Doctors of Optometry. t 225-8500 Re: tictlons May Apply 4 * |
