My maternal grandmother died from cancer in a room she shared with my cousin, in my aunt’s house. The hands which took care of her belonged to those she knew and loved and who loved her—until the end. My parents currently care for my baby niece. This allowed my sister, a medical doctor, to return to work after maternity leave. These dynamics are ways my family has continued to live our version of the Iraqi village here in the West.
Leslie Loftis touched on a singular and important issue in “Feminism and the Razing of the Village”: feminism has contributed to the disappearance of the historical support structures in American society. To fill the gap and subdue the cries of women, the Left pushes for government to take up family’s lost role. In light of Loftis’s call for rebuilding “village” wherever we can find it, I would like to draw out wisdom from the Christian subculture that once existed in Iraq.
In spite of its political problems and recent subdual into near oblivion, there is much we in the West can learn from Christian culture in Iraq, a civilization which valued and honored the institutions of marriage and family, albeit not perfectly. The Islamic State has destroyed what was left of my mother land, but it has not erased its traditions from my memory. It is in the hopes of ameliorating this culture in which I am now raising my family, this country which I call my home, that I offer these insights.
Read the rest of the essay at The Federalist