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I did not have an opportunity to listen to the program but I applaud your attention to the topic. My mother called me in the middle of the show to say that commenters were reporting that while young fathers of the current generation take care of their infants and toddlers, fathers of previous generations did not. While I'm sure this is representative of the average trend over the last half century, it is not a universal truth. My father was my primary day time care taker while he was in graduate school, 50+ years ago. He took me to the park, changed me, fed me, put me down for naps and generally attended to all my needs while my mother worked in the Botany Department at Dartmouth College. This was a choice driven by economics. Even with the generous GI Bill in the Korean War era, my father could not earn enough working at night to take care of all his family's need. And, my mother had completed her graduate education and could earn more than he could. Taking care of a small child is a very taxing job--and, there were very few social supports for dads doing so in the 50s. Maybe there still are few. But, this physical caretaking creates a bond that I'm not sure can be created any other way.

posted 4 years, 11 months ago
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Are we sinning when we eat bananas, chocolate and coffee? It seems like there are many positive aspects to choosing to consume local foods--supporting local businesses/farmers, enjoying great products and supporting sustainable farming practices. It also seems like there is a role for supporting good farming practices in areas of the globe that grow things that can not be grown in the Willamette Valley and giving those farmers a good market for their crops as well. (And, in some cases the alternative crops those farmers could grow in their terrain and climate are drug crops.)

posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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