Mother's day

"It’s not about you," are the first words of Rick Warren’s ever popular best seller, THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE. Most would approve of this sentiment on Mother’s Day. Or should we? Not only the concept but also its interpretation is equivocal. 2008 marks the centennial of the 1st celebration of Mother’s day in Grafton, West Virginia, when Anna Jarvis commemorated her mother’s death at the Andrews Methodist Church. Mother, of course, is the operative word but remember that the ceremony took place in a church. Respect for motherhood has fallen in proportion to the fall-off in church attendance. Consider too the concept of selflessness embodied in the word mother. Some time past, a mother’s devotion to sacrifice was replaced by a devotion to ‘me.’ Yes, present culture speaks to fulfillment of ‘me’ - my needs, my wants, my career, my dream, my life, my spiritual journey without regard for an ‘other.’ I’m sure Rick Warren intended his philosophy to inspire Americans to serve others, to doing unto them as you would want them to do to you. But women (and men) should revisit the concept of me (not you) in light of what duty, sacrifice and yes, love truly mean. Otherwise, moral behavior and self-satisfaction will never coalesce. A recent letter to the Record-Herald by Mr. McDaniel pointed out a few of the weaknesses in our society’s moral backbone. Do we still have mothers (symbolized by Anna Jarvis’s mother) who civilize society and provide backbone to our nation? Single mothering, inebriated mothering, absent mothering, self-indulgent mothering, undisciplined mothering just won’t do. Truly it’s all about you this Mother’s day, mothers, with or without the flowers.