I came across an article in my news feed that caused me to seriously consider whether or not to even click on it to give it a page view.
The title was "Why The VP Refusing To Dine Alone With Women Is Consequential To Women."
My curiosity won out, and I opened the link. The article talks about how Vice President Mike Pence's refusal to dinner with women who aren't his wife has major repercussions for women's issues.
Mike Pence's decision is absolutely not a threat to anyone's womanhood. It is a boundary he has set up for his own marriage and a rule he lives by. It doesn't affect anyone but him and his wife.
Pence is a Christian, and in Christianity "do not commit adultery" is one of the 10 Commandments. In a country with religious freedom, Pence has the right to take precautions necessary to ensure that this doesn't happen.
The author thinks Pence is implying that he only sees women as "sexual beings." That is just not true. Pence is putting his marriage above anything. It is not because he thinks it will happen, he just wants to make sure there is no chance of it ever happening.
It's not that he thinks you can't put your sexuality on the backburner. While there may be 1,000,000 women he could have dinner with and it would be fine, it would only take one woman, one time, one dinner and one to many drinks to cause the downfall of his marriage.
Furthermore, he is a public figure. Even if he is having an innocent dinner with someone rumors could start and things could escalate quickly. He's removing that possibility.
Almost 40 percent of all marriages end in divorce and infidelity is a real problem. It's not unrealistic, statistically speaking, that there is a chance of this happening to his marriage. He's not willing to take that risk.
Contrary to be demeaning, Pence is showing extreme respect toward his wife and seeking to fully honor her with his actions. He is loving his wife and treating her the way she should be. What could possibly be more uplifting toward women than a man who is willing to put aside any of his own personal desires to make sure the woman he loves is well cared for and knows she is appreciated?
Pence doesn't want to have a dinner date with another woman. He's a married man who is madly in love with the woman God gave him. He wants his loyalties, emotionally and physically, to be completely with his wife.
There's a double standard here. People are so mad at President Donald Trump because of the way he talks about women and how he sexualizes them and doesn't treat his wife well. But here is Pence on the other side, loving his wife and showing extreme respect toward her and everyone's mad about that.
Finally, Pence's decision is for his life and his marriage. He can do what he wants and he can set the boundaries he wants. It is his choice to engage in his religious freedom, and it his choice to set rules for his marriage. And aren't we all about choice in this country?
