Sarah Palin, among other things...

I've been obsessed with politics of late...It seems like everything matters so much, I feel really divided in how to spend my energies...homeschooling, adoption advocacy, the near destruction of our traditional foods, (Thank you for that terrifying knowldge, 'Animal, Vegetable, Miracle'), physical fitness, yard work, parenting, missionary work, developing strong relationships with my family...It's amazing to me that God manages to care so much about each of us all the time. I feel like I have to choose what I can care about because I just can't handle it all at once. Anyway, politics is winning right now and I'm just attaching something I posted on some stranger's website. Here it is.

This Palin debate is driving me nuts. The feminists criticize her as inexperienced and say she should be with her family...like that's where they are...I'm a stay-at-home mom and even though Gov. Palin made a different choice, she shares my values. Should I not vote for her because people who despise everything I believe in think SHE should be at home with her kids so THEY can run the country?

The media is constantly talking down to her. Did you notice how the commentators kept pointing out how the speech-writers had changed the speech to suit her specifically, like every other politician in any party wasn't also following a script?! The media is also happy to promote completely false notions without any apparent sense of responsibility. News Week and The New York Times have had to retract statements they've made about her, to name just a couple.

Look. It can be one of two ways as I see it: 1) You're a real life feminist who believes that women should be able to choose what is best for them and their families without feeling a need to judge that decision by the varying standard of your own individual choices. {Why do working moms and SAHM's feel so threatened by each other, anyway?} 2) You're the kind of intellectual elitist feminist who believe a woman's personal choices are her own as long as they coincide exactly with your own world views--i.e. "You can choose to work, but choosing NOT to work is a slap in the face to all the women who came before you." Puh-lease.

If you're a real feminist, Sarah Palin's gender is entirely beside the point and her character and policy are center stage. NOBODY would call a liberal democratic woman candidate a "cheerleader", "good-looking", or "homecoming queen." Nancy Pelosi isn't an ugly lady, but I've never heard anyone demean her place in politics in any way by copping to her physical appearance. Can you imagine what the liberal press would do with that?!

In summary, kill the double standard. VP is a big job. So is being a teacher or working 3 jobs or anything else. One news guy got it right. (Yay PBS!) Every person who pursues politics at a national level is choosing their career or country over their family and they know it. I haven't heard anyone criticize Obama or his wife for the exact same decision.

I don't think we have a right to second guess Palin for choices we (as a culture, at least) applaud in other, more private sectors. It's especially odious that it's the elitist feminists criticizing a self-made career woman for doing exactly what they say everyone else should do. Maybe they just can't handle a strong woman who has the audacity to disagree with them. Then they can't play the gender card and intimidate any genuine opposition with "sexist" labels.