“This morning Speaker Ryan shared with his colleagues that this will be his last year as a member of the House. He will serve out his full term, run through the tape, and then retire in January. After nearly twenty years in the House, the speaker is proud of all that has been accomplished and is ready to devote more of his time to being a husband and a father. While he did not seek the position, he told his colleagues that serving as speaker has been the professional honor of his life, and he thanked them for the trust they placed in him. He will discuss his decision at a press conference immediately following the member meeting.” –Brendan Buck, Counselor to the Speaker
“…is ready to devote more of his time to being a husband and a father”. Huh.
Forget politics and religion. Parenting is the most volatile subject for those who dare quip an opinion, whether benign or portentous or anything in-between. Couple parenting with politics or religion…be prepared for WWIII! God help the person who wades into the parenting waters discussion and is not a parent. After all, for some others, participating in a parenting conversation requires the credential of actually being a parent. For those who meet the basic standard of being a parent, some up the requirement with the higher credential of being a “good parent”. On and on it goes. The credentialing process is more stringent than obtaining a federal security clearance.
Yet, it seems one parenting scenario is off-limits for comment…when high-profile figures use their family to slink off into the sunset. Is it against some unwritten rule to just simply tell the truth why one is leaving? Does Speaker Ryan, et al, really think the public believes the “spend more time with my family” statement?
It bothers me when people make grandiose announcements about their intent to, “spend more time with family.” I don’t know what that means, and candidly, why do people feel compelled to make such a statement? What’s the point? Is the public to interpret that you acknowledge you haven’t spent enough time with your family whom you say is your priority? If that’s the case, is there a steadfast barometer of what’s considered “enough time” with family by which to measure one’s sincerity and success in really, really, really wanting to spend time with his family?
I firmly believe what we do, rather than what we say, more clearly spells out our priorities. What is not spelled out as clearly is the “why”; however, I don’t consider it anyone’s business as to why parents do what they do when it comes to work/family balance (another popular topic), but it seems to be the acceptable “out” when one abruptly leaves a position. Politically speaking, I can’t say I’m all that torn up about Speaker Ryan announcing his retirement. Personally speaking, I can’t say I or anyone else with whom I’ve spoken believe his family is the reason why he’s retiring. It remains to be seen if this obligatory form letter is reality. Time will tell.
@CyFlys
