I rarely find myself agreeing with or even bothering with “libertarian conservative” Andrew Sullivan, but a quote today caught my eye as being particularly insightful.
“To my mind, this pick is not about Palin’s unreadiness to be president. It’s about McCain’s unreadiness to be president. This act of judgment - a blend of ignorance, gut, cynicism, and pure egotism - makes him seem like a worse potential presdent (sic.) than even George W. Bush. This is McCain’s first real executive decision. And it is unbelievably shallow, incompetent and reckless.” emphasis mine [here]
In the last 72 hours, I’ve heard some amazing responses to the choice of Sarah Palin. What strikes me most is the emotional nature of the discussion and reaction. From the maybe-fake-pregnancy story to the Alaskan separatist ties to the pregnant daughter to the troopergate scandal, people seem to be reacting with a mix of anger, hurt, sadness, indignant defiance, mean-spirited glee and smug satisfaction.
I’ve had my personal commitment to feminism called into question (something I found terribly upsetting, but in the end, all I can do is make weak protests and admit that I’m a man and sometimes I’m simply blind to the hurt and pain that others perceive). I’ve been forced into some soul-searching about questions about the means and the ends in political goals. As a family member of handicapped children, I’ve had to really think about the role of family and parenting when a child has special needs.
That’s when it hit me. Sarah Palin reminds me of my mother. She reminds me of my sister, Jessi. Both are women with children that have special needs. My mother had 9 children, a large family like Palin’s with children separated by 15 years. When my brother Jordan was very young, my mother was a stay-at-home mom, but she later went to work and some of the older children began taking on more responsibility with Jordan. Jessi has worked since Craig was born and only recently found out he has Asperger’s syndrome.
The so-called “Mommy Wars” heating up the internet today have women and mothers on both sides of the debate discussing whether a woman with a newborn that has Down’s syndrome, an unwed pregnant teenage daughter, and a son shipping off to Iraq can be second-in-line to the Presidency.
Looking at the examples set within my own family, I have no doubt that it’s possible to be both a fantastic mother and be well-qualified, capable and dedicated to your career.
Much as I might identify Palin with members of my own family, there’s still no way I could vote for her. There’s a pundit on TV right now saying Americans are bonding with Sarah Palin because “she’s one of us.” That may be true, but if my mother or sister expressed as many anti-choice, anti-queer, anti-environmental, anti-science, anti-peace and anti-poor policies as Palin does, I wouldn’t vote for them, either.
We need to put aside the “emotional bond” we may feel for the candidates and remind ourselves that an informed electorate must use their brains.
There’s room for us to debate sexism, gender roles, parenting roles and family roles in our national political discourse. I’d welcome such discussion, but wouldn’t that discussion be better served if we could inject a little more patience, empathy, reason, and logic into the conversation?*
As I’ve said from the beginning, there’s nothing about Palin’s politics that I like. I believe she’s a dangerous addition to the Republican ticket that will only further bind the “party of Lincoln” to racist, religiously biased, sexist, heterosexist, classist, compassionless conservatism. And McCain’s choice of such a neocon nut addition to his administration signals that far from being a maverick, he’s simply a typical win-at-any-cost politician. As Mr. Sullivan hints, and as remarkable and impossible as it seems, McCain-Palin may one day have us looking back on the Bush-Cheney administration as the golden years.
* I’m aware that even my call for “logic” and “reason” in the debate may, based on historical record and institutionalized biases, strike some as sexist and particularly male-dominant. I’ve heard the IQ/EQ debates, and don’t much like the Mars/Venus brain theory of gender duality. My opinion.
Posted: September 2nd, 2008 under politics.
Comments: 3