On Feb 3, 2021, former South Bend Mayor and failed Presidential Candidate, Pete Buttigieg, was sworn in as Secretary of the US Department of Transportation—Making history as the first openly gay cabinet secretary. On September 4, 2021, Buttigieg announced that he and his husband, Chasten, had welcomed twin babies into their family, a boy and a girl.
Since then, the Secretary’s decision to go on paternity leave in order to help care for his premature babies, one of whom required a week in the NICU, has earned him the ire of conservatives. Since taking office, Buttigieg’s tenure has been marred by supply chain disruptions.
With the disruptions boiling over in October, leading to record shortages of household goods, conservatives have chosen to direct their anger towards the Secretary’s decision to go on paternity leave, framing it as an act of negligence.
Conservatives here have conveniently chosen to ignore two facts here. The first, being that Secretary Buttigieg has made himself available remotely, to make any crucial decisions. The second fact being, that Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg has more experience in the transportation sector than Buttigieg, and is more than well equipped to run the Department in his absence.
Of course conservatives haven’t let facts get in the way of their feelings. CIA reject Tucker Carlson, attacked Buttigieg wondering if he was still, “trying to figure out how to breastfeed?” Conservative shock-jock and washed up child star, Steven Crowder, attacked Buttigieg on twitter saying, “paternity leave is for [expletives.]” Tech investor Joe Lonsdale opined that, “the correct masculine response to becoming a father should be to work harder, not take time off.” Adding that fathers who take 6 months off are “losers”.
Of course it should come as no surprise to anyone that Republicans, the party of “family values” has once again shown just how little they actually care about families. They’re all for fatherhood and strong male role models, until they have to pay a few cents extra for a Big Mac.
Whether it’s their willingness to sacrifice workers’ health and well being for the sake of corporate interests, or how quickly conservatives in both parties shot down 12-weeks of paid family leave, the disdain that so many politicians seem to have for working families has never in my lifetime felt so palpable.
Unfortunately, the thinly veiled homophobic attacks on Secretary Buttigieg are a symptom of a much large bipartisan problem: capitalist brainwashing.
In humans, the desire to work is instinctive, and the importance of a strong work ethic cannot be overstated. Unfortunately, the grind culture that capitalism breeds, has successfully brainwashed generations of people into tying their own self-worth to their ability to make a living.
As wealth inequality continues to widen, America’s attitude towards work has become so toxic that people can easily be made to feel guilty and worthless for needing a day off. No matter how important their reasoning.
The prosperous future that America deserves, needs to start with us building a healthier, more human-centric approach when it comes to work. Because no one will ever be on their deathbed wishing that they spent more time at the office.
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