At some point in my life, I realized that the annoyance I felt at people confidently talking about helicopter aviation without the requisite background implied that everyone else felt the same about me when I stepped into their lanes of expertise. It doesn’t mean that they can’t be wrong or I shouldn’t critically think about what they have to say, but if I find myself comprehensively rejecting a field of study because it doesn’t align with my prior beliefs… well, maybe I should pause and reconsider my prior beliefs.
I think you may have an order of operations problem here. I don’t think that a lot of officer wives are not working after PCS’s “because” the officer makes enough to support the household. Lots of other factors prevent them from having consistent and fulfilling employment, and the sufficient single income somewhat mitigates this.
Oh man, wait until you hear about the “ew you don’t have kids” face.
Anyways, as I sit in my air conditioned house, eating a banana shipped from around the world, and arguing with people spread all across the world, all while I prepare to go to my job flying spinning metal monstrosities, I think that maybe we passed biological imperatives a few thousand years ago. If the outcome of biological, intellectual, and economic independence (for both men and women) is a significantly reduced fertility rate, then maybe we should start thinking critically about how we manage that society.
