huh. Politically and socially, I self-identify as a moderate and a feminist. Probably in inverse order. (Moderate. Just because the world around me moved right, doesn't mean I moved left. ) Let's get one thing out there right now... based on what I know of her politics, the only reality in which I would vote for Sarah Palin is one in which she is running head to head against Dick Cheney.
That being said, I am not a person who needs to like my politicians. The only thing I need to respect about them is there brains and their work ethic. I need to trus them to a certain degree... that they won't sell to the highest bidder every time, and that they actually hold some real convictions. I don't need to like their spouse. I don't need to like how they treat people in their personal lives (I am looking at you Bill Clinton. Not at you John Edwards, because ... see above about trust.)
So, back to my main point. I don't like Sarah Palin. At all. But here is what I don't know: does what I know about her personal life make me dislike her enough that it would sway my vote had I been remotely inclined to vote for her before? I don't think so. Would I have the same opinion of her if she were a man? I think so. What is curious to me, is I don't know the answer to either of those questions. As a mother, I can no more imagine making the decision she has made to run for VP on the national ticket at this point in her life than I can imagine walking out on my toddler. If my 17 year old is pregnant, and I have a 5 month old (even disregarding the special needs involved with a Down's Syndrome baby), there is no way I am essentially abandoning my family for the next several months or years.
And on to the punditry... I love the way they talk about the rumor that her baby is actually her grandbaby. It amuses me that they feel compelled to talk about it at all. AT LENGTH. Full of righteous indignation and disgust. But hee. They can't stop themselves, any more than I can stop trolling around perezhilton.com. And Perez? Stop calling the daughter a slut and whore. That's just wrong. You don't know her... ditto for Miley Cyrus. Being 16 should get you at some pass.
Here is what drives me freaking batty. How does her decision to have 5 children, one of whom is special needs, "prove" her anti-choice stance? While I can't imagine HAVING five children, that has nothing to do with me being pro-choice. Nor does my decision in BOTH pregnancies to forgoe any sort of genetic or other diagnostic testing. There is no result that could make me decide to terminate, so why would I want to know? For an additional 5 months of stress? See... pro-choice. Her choice. My choice.
No comments:
Post a Comment