Friday, May 9, 2003 | 5:16 a.m.
WHERE ARE the voices of reason? Where are the voices of sanity? Where are the voices of responsibility?
Where are our mothers' voices?
If you haven't already figured out that today is Mother's Day, there isn't much I can say to you or do for you. If you are married to the mother of your children or if you have the good fortune of still sharing this planet with your own mother, you have probably already experienced the consequences of forgetting this very special day.
And, if you can only celebrate this day through the lasting and loving memories of your mother, then forgetting her is not an option. Wanting one more day with her is your wish.
I always enjoy writing about Mother's Day in this space, mostly because I have the great fortune of having my mother as well as my mother-in-law with me, and so I consider myself and all others like me among the lucky ones. But sometimes I think I am too easy on the people who give us life.
Hence, the questions at the top of this column.
If mothers are the people who are supposed to nurture us from infancy, smother us with love and affection, teach us right from wrong and instill the confidence we need to succeed in life -- somewhere there is a role for fathers, which I will get to in a moment -- then why does it seem like the world is falling down around our ears and their silence is deafening?
I don't know about the way others grew up, but when my mother wanted us to hear what she was saying there was never a problem communicating that need. The decibel levels went up, the threat levels increased and her point was made crystal clear, usually at the end of a shoe or whatever else was close at hand.
Today, of course, reason reigns supreme because mother has resorted to a more rational approach. That is, until she wants something that her kids are reluctant to give. Then it is back to plan A. And we wouldn't have it any other way.
I don't think mothers are very different from one another and I suspect that all mothers, believing their families were in trouble or their kids were about to be harmed, would react in much the same way. Their displeasure would be seen, heard and felt until such time as the threat abated.
Nevada is in the throes of a debilitating decision-making process that could go awry, and the voices of motherhood, until very recently, have been absent. While there are any number of issues that need immediate attention, none could be more pressing than the Legislature's seeming reluctance to provide this state with the ways and means to teach our children and secure their futures through a good and solid education.
I am talking about the inability or just plain reluctance of our elected leadership to do what is necessary to provide the tax dollars required to provide teachers, textbooks, class sizes, class days, athletics, music, advanced programs for gifted children and all the other components of a first-class education because they are afraid of the voters who put them in Carson City in the first place.
What would have been a frightening fantasy story just months ago is now nearing fact as school district officials are providing budget cuts deep into the bone in anticipation of a legislative disaster caused by our senators and assemblymen who will fail to represent the people's needs in this state. The Clark County School District has told us what will happen if the Legislature fails to act responsibly and the picture ain't pretty.
I know in this Mars versus Venus stuff we read about that the men are supposed to worry about things like taxes while the women have to figure out everything else. Well, this is the planet Earth, and here taxes are the stuff from which a great deal of everything Mom is responsible for are made.
Whether it is education for the kids, health care for the parents, job training for the siblings or a hand up for our neighbors, the burden has fallen squarely on the mothers of this world because among most fathers, inertia reigns supreme.
It wasn't until this past week that the voices of mothers, daughters and grandmothers started to be heard. What isn't happening in Carson City is intolerable and must cease, and it appears that only the protective instincts of mothers will get this job done.
If hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, then I feel sorry for the lawmakers who continue to take a duck on this tax issue because they will be held accountable by the one half of the population whose job it is to make sure that the children grow up with all they need for success.
And, if the fathers, grandfathers, uncles and brothers among us have any brains, we will pay attention to the voices of reason and responsibility and do what they ask because all they want is what is best for the next generation.
It isn't that the men folk don't want what is best, it is just that we sometimes get confused and need that female voice to set us straight. That's how it worked when we were kids and that is how it still works today.
So, if you want to make Mom's day a happy one, hear her voice and join with her to make the politicians do what she asks. And, if we don't, I predict a not very happy Father's Day next month.
So, for your voices strong and true, I wish all mothers a most happy day. And for my own mother and mother-in-law, I hope you appreciate the fact that I have listened and learned from both of you.
Happy Mother's Day.
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