Parents are not an oppressed class per se, and not necessarily the go-to thinkers for political liberation movements. When you think "political intelligensia" you do not necessarily think "stay at home mom" or "doting father." On the other hand, there is a political wisdom that comes with parenting. Also a spiritual wisdom that comes with being wholly present in the present moment, as parenting calls us to do.
Many parents and parenting blogs ask the simple questions of - how do I get my child to try new foods? how do I get my baby to sleep at night? how do I make my child listen better?
At a meta-level, all of these are questions about power. Philosopher Michel Foucault defines power as "action upon the action of others." And this is where it gets really interesting.
As a parent, you ask yourself not only "how do I get my child to do x?" but the harder questions as well - What is the just exercise of power? How do I wield authority without crushing developing minds and egos? Or go ahead and crush away, just don't be surprised if you raise a sullen and embittered child. What is the harm of authoritarianism? What is the harm of insubordination?
Notwithstanding that I earned a Ph.D. in political philosophy, in the 13+ years that I have been raising a child I feel like I have become a lot smarter about power and society, not just in the realm of political theory, but emotionally and spiritually as well. I have had to answer the hard questions - why do people believe in God? why do we have to say the Pledge of Allegiance in school every day and not just once?, what is a pedophile?
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As a young adult, before becoming a parent, I was involved in equality movements with clear notions of who are the oppressors and what are the oppressed classes. These movements deploy political theory more or less specific to different types of inequality, and strategically specific to shifting those inequalities of power so that jackbooted thugs will get their foot off your neck. Whether this is class, race or gender inequality, the battle lines are drawn much the same way.
But being a parent changes all that. You are, to your teenager, the jackbooted thug. So, yes, you have considerable power, but unapologetically so. Your child is vulnerable and unformed, and the more power you have to provide and to protect, the better. And this begins to shift the reflexive valence within liberation movements that power = bad. Power is what it is, more or less effectively deployed, and eliciting a whole range of human emotions that go with its exercise.
As a parent you have standing in society in a way that finds favor - in the tax code, for example, with child credits, day care credit, education credits and so forth. But you also have low status, because parenting is seen as a collection of quotidian obligations and chores that hinder your pursuit of public accomplishments which would bring higher social standing - a public life and a successful career. There is perhaps a bit of condescencion towards parents from those who have gained great intellectual and public attainments unfettered by domestic obligations. But there is also a deep satisfaction in the being there wisdom of parenting that allows us to graciously abide this condescencion while cherishing what we love.
