Jim-Bob and Michelle Duggar have given birth to their 18th child, a healthy little girl weighing just over seven pounds. In case you don't know of the Duggars, they are a fundamentalist Christian Arkansas family who subscribe to the "quiverfull" philosophy, in which they want and welcome as many children as God chooses to give 'em. They are also the subject of a TLC reality show, to which I'm just ever-so-slightly addicted.
While I almost certainly disagree with the Duggars on virtually every political and social issue on the planet, after watching their TV show pretty regularly for the last year or two, I can't help but really like these people.They are kind, funny, generous, and sincere. I have great admiration for the calm, loving way the parents interact with their children, and for the generally respectful way the siblings interact with each other. I appreciate the way they value self sufficiency, hard work and personal responsibility. Their commitment to debt-free living is an inspiration. They just seem like the kind of people you would love to have as neighbors. Straitlaced Jim-Bob might not pop open the beer you would offer him at the neighborhood cookout, but he also wouldn't also judge you for the three or four cold ones you would enjoy while chatting with him.
I've already shared my personal affinity for large families, and while I would never want a Duggar-size brood, I find something rather magical in the organized chaos one sees in a generally happy large family. It's certainly not for everyone, but I am never more in my groove than when my house is bustling with people and activity. In that way, I can identify with the Duggars. After I watch an episode of their show, I find myself wanting to give my own children a hug.
I can't say the same for the other currently popular big family program, "Jon and Kate Plus 8." Jon and Kate Gosselin are also fundamentalist Christians with a bunch of kids and a hit reality show. But that's where the similarity ends. Watching their household function via their TV program is a bit like watching a painful train wreck. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is an air of anxiety and frantic dissatisfaction that seems to hang over that family, as opposed to the sense of calm that pervades the Duggar home. Of course, we are talking semi-scripted TV here, so who knows what the truth is. I can only speak to the way the two families appear to me as a viewer. And let me put it this way: I'd rather be a Duggar, prairie skirts, bad hairdos, and all.
Not long ago, a friend of mine explained her distaste for really big families like the Duggars by saying she didn't believe that women should "treat their uterus like a clown car." It's a clever line, but I think my friend's opinion really falls within the same continuum of intolerance as the opinion that says women shouldn't have the right to limit their reproduction via birth control or abortion. Michelle Duggar's body is her own. Her reproductive choices are her own. And her decision to become the mother to 18 children deserves the same protection and respect as another woman's decision to terminate a pregnancy. She's clearly a responsible, loving parent who has the resources and good health to care for the kids she has. So more power to her.
And congrats to the Duggars on baby #18.
ADDENDUM: Someone sent me this after I originally posted this blog entry: apparently there are some people who REALLY, REALLY cannot stand "Jon and Kate Plus 8!"
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