I like to think of myself as a forward thinking woman, who is proud to see women taking stands and doing good things in life; however, I am getting tired of women in politics. Don't get me wrong, if a woman wants to run for political office, and she is voted in, then I'm fine with that -- more power to her. What irritates me about politics and women is that people lump women all together. When Hilary Clinton was still in the running for President, people talked of her like she was the voice of all women. She wasn't MY voice, and she certainly wasn't the voice of many of my female friends. Now that John McCain has appointed Sarah Palin to be his Vice Presidential running mate, people are now talking of her like she is the new voice for women. Again, I'm not convinced that she is my voice, and women that supported Hilary certainly aren't ready to throw their support to her.
What I really would like to know is why women are supposed to vote for someone just because she is female? Saying that a woman will automatically vote for a woman is like saying she doesn't have brain power to look at issues and decide who the best person for the job is. I hope that women will not automatically vote for a woman candidate, just like I hope that black people will not automatically vote for a black candidate, or Asian people will not automatically vote for an Asian candidate, and so on. If that is where we are headed as a nation, then why should we have campaigns and debates, and conventions. People should just vote based on gender and race.
Discrimination is dying in this country. We can see that because we might have a black president or a female vice president in a couple of months, but why is this the highlight of all the national coverage. If this country really wants to kill discrimination, then maybe we should stop bringing it up... Maybe if we voted for Obama because we liked his policies instead of the color of his skin... Maybe if we voted for McCain because we liked his policies and not the fact that a woman is his running-mate, then we would be closer to truly killing discrimination. If we truly want to get over discrimination, then why do we keep bringing it up when we talk about the candidates. Why does the news make a bigger deal out of the fact that Obama is black, when really they should be highlighting his health care plan or his immigration policy. Why is McCain in the news only because of his female running-mate? Shouldn't we be highlighting his education plan and his energy plans?
It is time for America to stop focusing on 'focus' groups, and focus more on the issues at hand. Obama shouldn't win the election because he is black, and McCain shouldn't win because he has a female running mate. Women shouldn't let the media tell them that Sarah Palin is their voice, because perhaps she isn't. Personally I feel that there were more qualified choices for McCain's Vice President, and he chose Palin mostly because of her gender, and that is completely wrong and disrespectful. Sarah Palin deserves better, and Republicans and Americans deserve better.
5 comments:
Very well said. I get so tired of politics becoming about what the person is instead of what the person stands for. I agree that we need to search for the candidate who best agrees with our voice. It seems that even in adult life political campaigns seem to go to who has the cooler ad or who gets more face time. It often reminds me of junior high elections. I hope that someday politics will return to policies and solutions rather than campaign strategies. You have a good voice, Steph, why don't you run for office???
I agree that people shouldn't vote for McCain because of the female running mate, but I disagree that this is the reason that McCain selected her.
I believe that he selected her because she, like him, shakes things up a bit where she goes. I think he selected her because of her almost unheard of approval rating in her state. Statistically, because of Alaska's low population, the state will more easily have the extremes, very high, or very low approval ratings. This means that we shouldn't be over impressed by that approval rating, but it is an advertising piece that most non-statisticians will be attracted by.
My point is, I'm not saying that Sarah Palin is the right or wrong choice. But give Senator McCain a little more credit than just picking a girl.
Good points. I think that media needs a serious overhaul as well as American politics in general. Black, female, old, Mormon... I'm tired of the labeling! I also agree with Justin that McCain didn't pick Sarah Palin just because she's a girl. I think she round out that ticket a little more because she has a fresh take on politics and a naturally different perspective. I love that she put the luxury jet on e-bay! Maybe she could clean up a little around the White House. But I'd be a little scared to have her be Commander and Chief if something were to happen to McCain. But so far to me she makes McCains ticket stronger. And in the end I think that's what he wanted to do.
As for Obama I'd like to see this "change" diagrammed out because voting for "change" for the sake of "change" doesn't make sense.
The election is over and Barack Obama is our President. The divine constitutional intent has been realized. The American People have made their selection. Almost every American was ready for a change. Both candidates declared they would change the current paradigm in Washington DC. Between the two candidates President Obama represented the biggest change and his ethnicity was not the least of his difference with Senator McCain.
John McCain is an American Hero but in the eyes of the world he represents a time that has passed. It is time for a new American presence in the world. A time where peace can be discussed. A time when cooperation to stop war, hunger and hatred can be discussed. A time when the doors to all nations might be open to an American presence (read that to mean missionaries). Whether he can do it or not President Obama is a statement to the world that we (americans)are ready to atone for our unilateral aggression and to be a peace with the world. May God bless America and May God bless the World.
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