A Letter to Ann Romney

Dear Mrs. Romney,

I watched your speech on Tuesday. You were articulate, compassionate, and it was clear that you do have a deep and abiding love for your husband. So thank you for sharing that with us.

In the first part of your speech, you took some time to address the women in the audience, mothers more specifically. I understand your desire to connect with women, and it sounded as if they really appreciated your ability to empathize with their situation.

As a dad, however, I respectfully take issue with those comments. As a dad, I felt like a second-class citizen in your estimation. Does my wife work hard in our family to make it work? She definitely does. Does she sigh at the end of the day, relieved that everyone has survived another 24 hours. Oh, yes. She is a daughter, a mother, and a big sister, and performs all of those roles with an amazing amount of grace and love that shows me day in and day out why I am blessed to be married to her.

I strongly disagree with the insinuation that men do not work just as hard, do not care just as much, do not worry just as often that our families will be OK. We go to our jobs, blue-collar and white-collar alike, wishing we were respected more than we are. I say often that the most fragile thing in the world is the male ego. I see evidence of that everywhere I go. We fight for respect at work, and many of us then try our hardest to come home and play a significant role in our family, where society many times tells us we are inept.

Biblically, I believe that men are called to lead their households, which means that, ultimately, the buck stops with me. Consequently, it should be the men that hold this country together. Please don't hear me say that, in any way, I am a proponent of the archaic, "Women should be seen and not heard" mantra of decades ago. But I see that men have been given the responsibility to...lead, and I have had so many conversations with fathers, married men, and single men, who have to fight voices and paradigms like what I heard last night in order to even feel capable to accept that responsibility, much less take that challenge on.

I do believe that your intention was not to add the overwhelming undermining of men's roles that is already out there in society today. As you continue to refine that message, I would ask that you find a way to empower women without making light of the struggles that fathers face on a daily basis.

Sincerely,
Chris Via



Did you watch her speech on Tuesday night? What were your thoughts on her message to moms and women?