Which is scarier - a Beck/Palin ticket or a Palin/Beck ticket? Beck is already hearing voices and if you believe the recent Vanity Fair article, Ms. Palin doesn't seem to be far behind seem to be riding on the same crazy train. In case you missed the article. it's got something for everyone. For Palin haters, it paints her as a vain, emotionally unbalanced, paranoid, money-hungry harpy with a sense of entitlement that is matched only by her sense of self-importance. For Sarah Palin supporters, it reads as a hatchet job that was written by the biased liberal media that is just out to put down a good woman. What is true is that Sarah Palin was grossly under qualified to be either President or Vice President of the United States. At least in her 2008 bid for VP, her lack of qualifications were mitigated by Senator McCain experience. I am going to have nightmares if she and Beck team up.
I know many women liked seeing another woman getting the nod for the #2 spot on the 2008 Republican ticket, but honestly, is she the best the party could come up with? Democrats too haven't done a stellar job at finding qualified women for higher office. I know they have to be out there.
So I'm calling on all you moms and dads of daughters out there to step up and start grooming our girls for leadership. I don't care about your politics. Teach your girls to think critically about what they are learning. Teach them to read the newspaper. Broaden their horizons - and yours at the same time. If you only read the Washington Post try turning on FOX News for a little while and if your primary source of news is from Fox - try giving your ears a little break and turn on NPR - and LISTEN to the other side for awhile. I mean really listen. Teach your daughters to use their voices in class. Teach your daughters to stand up for what they believe in. Teach your daughters that they can make a difference. Teach them that math isn't hard. Teach your daughters to respect themselves and to respect others. Teach them to be self-sufficient. Teach them how to be strong yet flexible. Teach them to THINK!
They may come to share your beliefs or they may follow a different path, but at least you'll know it's their path and they came by it honestly. And maybe, just maybe, we'll have a female candidate for President whom we may not all agree with but we can all respect.
Here here! We as a nation are losing our ability to listen critically and to do so civilly. And our media only adds to it, be it reality shows that focus on back biting and bickering to 'news' shows that pick and pick and pick but never say anything.
ReplyDeleteCritical thinking and listening. It should be a class in school.
And on the subject of voices, when I listened to an interview with Huckabee on NPR, he sounded so intelligent and reasonable. But then you hear other stuff and it's like "no way can that man be President." I don't get it. Is that the way people see Obama? Maybe it is.
As usual, an awesome commentary on your part...and I am very heartened to think of how amazingly you are raising your daughters :) Of course, I would love to see more women @ the highest echelons of politics and power, but not just b/c they are women a la Palin...and there is very little that scares me more than the thought of a Palin/Beck ticket, no matter who is first or second in that pecking order...
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