Every First Lady takes on a project. In recent years, we saw Michelle Obama focus on child nutrition. Melania Trump focused on online bullying. And Jill Biden, well, she said that she was going to focus on military families, but we haven’t seen much in the past year.
Granted, Jill has been busy as the handler for her husband. We have seen her on countless occasions show him how to get off stage, when to sit down, and when to be quiet. It’s embarrassing, really.
Our president should have the mental capacity to handle speaking engagements without the help of the First Lady. The First Lady should be able to go off and do things that will make a difference.
Finally, we hear about something that Jill Biden is doing that doesn’t involve helping her invalid of a husband. She’s working with military kids and hanging their artwork throughout the White House.
Every military kid that created art that is now hanging in the White House is likely feeling very proud of themselves. But we have to ask the question: is it enough?
Considering what other First Ladies have done, is hanging some artwork created by military families enough of a special project? We have to say no.
It’s hard not to read about what many families are dealing with – long deployments, uncertainties when it comes to where they will be shipped off to next, and even the insufficient housing on base.
Families are struggling. They’re not getting the support when and where they need it.
That’s where Jill Biden should be focusing her energy.
April has been designated as the “Month of the Military Child.”
Imagine all that Biden could have done in order to really make an impact. Instead, she fell short. It must be something that comes naturally by having the Biden name.
Approximately 20 pieces of artwork were displayed. The exhibit included everything from drawings to painted face masks to works of poetry.
Joining Forces is the initiative where the first lady is advocating for military and veteran families along with their caregivers.
The first lady had the entire month to make an impact. What she did was author essays for a number of publications and visit a Defense Department school in Missouri. As an educator, she visited one school across the nation. Disappointing? Oh, you betcha.
There are countless areas of opportunity – and it seems that Jill Biden has the same listening problem as her husband. People don’t care about seeing their kids’ artwork being hung in the White House. They don’t care about reading an essay from the first lady in some random publication. They want action – and Dr. Jill Biden can’t seem to give it to them.
What Jill Biden could have done is visit more schools. Considering that she’s the first lady, this should have been an easy task. She visited a lot more than one town when she went on a crusade to convince people to get COVID vaccines. It shows that she was doing this as a PR stunt – nothing more, nothing less.
If Jill Biden really wants to make a difference with military families, she has to get down and dirty with some of the families. If you listen to enough of the military wives, they’ll tell the first lady everything that’s wrong. She could start by making base housing a bit more livable…
