Posted by
GOTAZ on Sunday, November 29, 2009 2:00:16 AM
I am retired Navy. I am a Wife and Mother. I was also a single parent for ten years. I only mention these things because they play a part in my political affiliations and my gradual shift to more conservative values. I have always strongly supported equal rights...how could I not? I spent twenty-two years in the Navy as a woman and much of that was as a single parent.
I started to become more conservative as my daughter got older because it seemed to me that womens issues were headed down the wrong path. It was all about abortion and the rights of lesbians....where was the concern for childcare? Where was the concern for helping the hardest job in the world...stay at home Mom? Ultimately, I was questioning my pro-choice viewpoint. It didn't feel right in the pit of my soul.
Even though I was a Democrat, I always admired Senator McCain’s patriotism and willingness to buck his party for issues he believed even if I did not agree with his opinion. I was thrilled when he selected Governor Palin as a running mate. A Republican Woman that I identified with? I couldn't believe it! I had been a strong Hillary Clinton supporter. I felt that I needed to do some research. I really didn't like what I was hearing about Candidate Obama and his ties to William Ayers and Jeremiah Wright. They seemed to be the anthithesis of everything that I believed.
Ultimatley Sarah Palin was one of the main reasons I voted Republican last year after contributing the the Hillary Clinton campaign during the primaries. Governor Palin rallied the Republican base and as a former Hillary voter, she inspired me. Wow, is that possible? Not acording to the mainstream media anyway. However, against everything the pundits told me to believe, she made me rethink my pro-choice opinion. She brought her son out on stage every bit the strong leader and proud mother. I truly had tears streaming down my face when I saw her on stage. After I did research into the abortion rates for Down Syndrome Children, these tears turned into gut wracking sobs.
This is the real reason that the liberal media and others have attacked the Sarah Palin in such a rabid manner. She made us question choices that we have made or supported in the past. She made us question what has always been the baseline for feminism. Should pro-choice really be the basis for feminism? Can we still support equal rights, equal pay and other “everywoman” issues such as childcare, healthcare, and maternity leave? Will we be taken seriously if we put emphasis and focus on the later? Or will we be seen as weak? We had to face our decisions in Trig's face every time he was mentioned. This was not a pleasant feeling. No one wants to look into the face of a child and know that they themselves had made theoretical arguments in support of death for children like him. I truly could not sleep that night
Sarah Palin did not hang her head in shame over her daughters choices. Instead, she did a very difficult thing...She supported her daughter and showed the world that she did not want her daughter to hang her head in shame or hide away. She continues to want her to take responsibility for her actions and choices. She wants her to embrace life. She did what every good leader and parent in America does...adapt, improvise and OVERCOME!!
That is real life. Real life happens. Our job as parents and leaders is teach our young to keep rolling with the punches and still succeed. Life does not have a perfect play book. We learn from choices that were perhaps not the best planned. In fact, while they can and often do make life more difficult, they can also ultimately bring the most joy!
Sarah Palin emboidies leadership, motherhood and feminism in a way that is very often difficult to master. Trust me this is difficult...try maintaining a sense of your female self, control your nuturing instinct and train young men (and women) to go into battle. It is not easy to compartmentalize. Yet Sarah Palin does this compartmentalizaton, and still retains her feminity. Which is what essentially angers so many Americans.
Men do not like to be led by a woman that they are also attracted too...that is a simple fact. Women are jealous of strong female leaders that still retain their feminity, also a simple fact. She makes us rethink our own sense of self-worth. We are forced to rethink what we have been told our whole lives. We are told that we can have it all but we get angry at those who actually do. Not because we didn't want others to succed but most of us have had to compromise some part of our life's goals in order to succeed...Sarah Palin did not. She is an example of how you can be strong, in charge and still have a family. Something that many career women who have made other choices secretly resent.
With all this being said, I am now a reigistered independent who will vote for Sarah Palin in 2012. Thank you Sarah for helping me to go rouge and step away from my lifelong affiliation to the democratic party. But according to the "lamesteam" media she really isn't a threat now is she? It would be just AWFUL if there were many others like me...wouldn't it? GO SARAH!