When most people think of Donna Reed, they think of "The Donna Reed Show", where she played Donna Stone, a woman devoted to her family, and to being a housewife that didn't just stand back and smile while the husband took care of everything. For the time, it was rather atypical--not only did Donna Stone actively help the children solve their problems, especially when her husband--a pediatrician--had to see patients, but she also worked as a nurse at a time when almost, if not, all women her age were (or were thought to be nothing more than) housewives.
I mention her because she was, in a way, a really good role-model for me and especially my present situation. Like many women on television of the era, she kept up the house and looked good doing it. While I now realize that the looking-good-doing-it part is rather impractical, it had a good impact on me. Also, watching my grandmother do that sort of set of tasks with such dedication helped immensely. Through watching real-life applications of what I saw on television (not that I was around for the initial run of the show; it was watched in syndication by my grandparents, so that's what I watched; my choice was either that or nothing), I learned the value of keeping up a home, and just what they mean when they say that home-making is truly a job, yet without being paid.
Most people either dismiss Reed's show as a fine enough situation comedy, or some similar, but I think it was a good example of television having a positive impact. It wasn't the sole cause, of course, but it was at least a cause. I learned a lot of old-fashioned values, also, and really think that if more people held to similar values, the world in general would be a better place. Oh, I'm not talking about the "values" spouted by the left-wing or right-wing zealots; their values try to pin people down, one way or another, without giving room for individuality and differing paradigms. An example of what I'm talking about would be not caring which person stays home and which person works. Whomever is best suited should do what is needed. If, in a heterosexual relationship, the woman enjoys working and the man enjoys staying home, I don't see why they shouldn't do just that. If both want the same thing, I think they should talk about it and arrive at whatever decision suits them best. What, really, is so wrong with such a blend of old-fashioned and new-fashioned?
Sooner or later, maybe I'll have an answer to that. Right now, it seems that people lean too far one way or another, and that right there is, I think, a big ause of such a schism in the world. It's fine enough to set roles, for whatever needs to be done--in any aspect of life, within the home or without it--but too many people either try to pin people down into pre-defined roles, whether or not they're even well-suited for those roles. Or, people try to have no roles whatsoever, and say that things will "work themselves out". Maybe so, but such a devil-may-care attitude about it surely can't be helping, either.
Maybe one day I'll have a better solution than "respect people without trying to make them into what you think they should be", but then--I have to admit to not thinking there should be a better solution than that.
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