Poli-ticked-off

It’s politics season. Once every four years my favorite time of year (yeah, fall!) is marred by the Battle for the White House. Ok, “marred” might be too strong a term. I think it’s wonderful that we have a chance to select our leaders, locally and nationally. Even though the people I vote for almost always lose I recognize that this is an important process and take my vote very seriously. I always investigate my options and make my voting decisions based on the canidates records and their plans for the future.

But I do think that your political opinions should be just that: opinions. If you want to share them with others, that’s fine. Just remember not everyone is going to agree with you! It seems as though some people take their political decisions almost as seriously as their religion (in some cases, more seriously!). When these people hear you’re not voting for the canidate they’ve picked, they seem to take it personally and consider it their mission to change your mind. There isn’t much that I despise more than someone not respecting my opinion, and I hate it when those people turn out to be friends and co-workers.

On a semi-related note, I really am tired of the media treating the women differently than the men in this race. It’s 2008. The only thing more ridiculous than people telling Hilary to “get back in the kitchen” is the fact that it wasn’t reported because it was so prevelant. And now Sarah Palin can’t be a mom and the VP? Anyone who questioned McCain or Obama’s commitment to fatherhood would be laughed out of the room- why the double standard? In my opinion a woman (or a black man for that matter) is far overdue in the White House and I’m glad to see that, one way or another, advancements will be made.

One more “feminist” point: I don’t have that many female friends, but of the ones who are married, I know that two of the three make more money than their husbands (I’m actually not sure about the third). These women have chosen careers in challenging, dynamic industries and they’ve worked very hard to get there. They are also the breadwinners and, whether they like it or not, they’ll always have the pressure to work.
In their case it’s considered working hard to better themselevs and their situation and it’s the bearing the burden of responsibility for the family’s well-being. But when Hilary does it she’s needy, controlling and desperate, and when Sarah does it she’s neglecting her family. Let’s try to have a conversation about Sarah and Hilary as canidates instead of as women, or let’s start talking about John, Obama and Joe as men (oh, wouldn’t that be interesting…).