(P.S. Mom, this is not real.)
Archive for the Category »Politics «
22
Feb 2009
19
Sep 2008
Marti and I spent a long time tonight talking about politics, about who is principled and who isn’t, or if “principled” even really applies to politicians. But one thing is clear: I’m a Democrat because of my principles, and because I believe that more Democrats share those principles than Republicans. It took me a long time to get to this place where I agree with one side rather than the other, but I truly believe that allowing religious interests to seep into our politics will make us little more than a theocracy — no better than any Islamist country that elects its ministers to office. Call them Imams or Preachers or Pastors or right-wing nutjobs — they all stink in politics.
SÃ, se puede cambiar
Afterward, though, after talking about all this, I felt really sad. Sad enough that I could not sleep, and here I am, up at 3 a.m., writing a forbidden post on politics. But what can I say? It’s infuriating. I mean, the media is terrified to criticize the Republican candidates, there is a media blitz about an aging beauty queen who is completely unqualified to sit public office, let alone the White House, and in all this I fear that we will, again, slide backwards with another conservative election.
What matters the sex of the candidate if that candidate does not support women’s rights? I am sick of puppets. Marti admires the Republican party for this strategic move on the chessboard; I just find it sad. As always, women are being lied to and manipulated when their best interests are not at heart. Someone who makes rape victims buy a rape kit in order to be examined — not a women’s advocate. Someone who publicly refused to take maternity leave because she thought it was unnecessary — not a women’s advocate. Someone who touts abstinence-only sex education, then turns around and flaunts her pregnant, teenage daughter to the world — not a women’s advocate. I might shoot a gun, be able to skin and quarter a deer and know just the right way to cook a sage grouse, but that doesn’t make me qualified to run the country. Nor does it mean I have conservative values. Those are just skills — the skills of someone who grew up in the backcountry. I, at least, can speak multiple languages and am familiar with what, exactly, the job of vice president is. Perhaps I should apply for public office?
- SÃ, se puede. — César Chávez
Is that what the glass ceiling is all about? Realizing that it’s really not that big of a deal, this representation of all the people in the United States? I mean, why have women held back, if all you need is to cater to men’s opinion, and show your pretty face?
I wait for the day when a female candidate is not another move on the chessboard, but a real political figure, with the education and experience she should have in order to hold the highest office in the land. Someone who actually cares about women’s issues, even if it means that she might not be as popular. Someone who is honest and truthful, and makes me proud that another woman is running for a public office. Maybe it’s just a dream, but didn’t someone say once, I have a dream? We all have one. I’ll keep dreaming mine.
07
Sep 2008
I get wayyyy to worked up over politics, and tonight, just as I was fuming over certain things (like why teenage pregnancy is suddenly no big deal to certain political groups) I saw this great video by Steve Colbert.
I also found a supremely interesting article by the associated press, which can be read here, about truth and lies in politics today (as one of my favorite bloggers put it, “it’s a report from the AP, not some spooky liberal blog that wants to kill babies.”)
Anyway, I plan to go back to sticking my head in the sand and trying to avoid political events as they unfold. I did not watch either of the conventions, and I cling to what my dear friend Margo McNabb says: “Real politics are local.” I’m sorry to say I was ill and had 3 ill people to look after during local elections this year (September 2nd is such a strange date for elections) and so I missed them, but I do agree with her and hope NOT to miss them again. And it’s true; what the board of supervisors does in Tucson affects my life a lot more than distant Hill politics.
Ok. So, I am taking a deep, liberal bleeding-heart yogic breath in and trying to let go of the fury, but before I do, I have to include this article as well: Praise for Pregnant Teen Shows Double Standard, where the author considers what the rhetoric would be like if Bristol Palin were a pregnant black teen instead of a white one. Okay! I’m done!
Honestly, though, growing up in a split family — my dad got married at 17 as well, and divorced within 10 years, as half of shot-gun marriages do (more than twice the national average) — I have to say I feel very sorry for Bristol Palin. Maybe this was the only way she could get her mother, who is working two jobs, caring for a special needs child and now campaigning for a national race under the guise to family values, to actually pay attention to her.
Guess what Bristol — you got it.
01
Aug 2008
Sometimes I think that I’ve become an underachiever in life; then I take a look at what my friends are up to, and I know I have. There’s J., putting child molesters away as a forensic nurse in the north; S., studying to be a nurse after 7 years in the jungles of Thailand; LeeAnn, traveling through Europe this year after Japan, and Australia, and Thailand, and Korea; Trevor, who’s embarking on his world tour. And then there’s Aaron, a fellow teacher from Japan, who has always amazed me with his charm and confidence, who the U.S. state department is now lucky enough to have as a foreign service officer. Where is the esteemed Aaron Snipe right now? Iraq. Not just Iraq; rural Iraq. And finally, finally! He has started a blog. So that all may see the amazing things he’s doing, and get a glimpse of many lands far far away, with ever more exotic forms of dying via food poisoning.
Here’s Aaron:
And here’s his blog. I hope you enjoy the gift of meeting and discovering Aaron Snipe as much as I have. Good luck in Iraq, Aaron! We’re waiting for you to turn things around (no pressure).
