I've come to a point in this election season where I really don't care who gets elected. Yes, I think there are differences between Obama and McCain and yes, I think those differences will impact me in various ways. But overall, I think neither person will do much to improve the lot of the average American. I think our expenses will go up, our net worth will go down, we'll still be insecure about health care and our eventual retirement, and America's status as a world leader will continue its slow decline. The reasons those things will happen will be different depending on who is sitting in the White House but they will happen nonetheless.
That being said, the hypocrisy demonstrated by many Republican faithfuls this week is really irritating to me. As anyone with ears now knows, McCain's VP choice, Sarah Palin, acknowledged that her 17 year old daughter is 5 months pregnant and unmarried. Republicans have been tripping over themselves to state that while this must be difficult for the Palin family, it shows how "real" they are and demonstrates their pro-life commitment. They also said that this is a personal issue that has nothing to do with the election.
Okay, let's take the first part of this argument. There is NO WAY such a free pass would have been given by conservatives to Barack Obama, or any Democratic nominee, if his or her daughter was in the same predicament. If Hillary had been the nominee and Chelsea was 17 and pregnant, conservatives would have been beside themselves raving about "liberal values" and what a poor example this would be for the nation. Given that Obama is half black, if his daughter would be pregnant, it would be a shit storm for Republicans. Not only would they see it as the typical immorality of the left but they'd also see it as further confirmation of the irresponsible child bearing behavior of young black women. But because it's Sarah Palin, one of there own, she gets a pass. It's not an embarrassment, it's a sign of strength.
In the end, I don't give a rat's ass what happens in the Palin family or that Bristol likes to ride the hobby horse. However, the Republican's also suggest that this has nothing to do with the election and I disagree. Sarah Palin is a staunch supporter of abstinence only education and public policy. Therefore, what has happened in her own family is relevant. There are only two conclusions that can be drawn from her daughter's pregnancy. Either Sarah and her husband really don't believe in abstinence and didn't convery that message to their children or they did convey it and it just didn't matter. If the first is true, then Sarah is dishonest and if the second is true she's just ignorant. My guess is that it's the second. I'm sure she didn't want her unwed daughter getting pregnant. Thus she has to admit that teaching abstinence doesn't work. If she can't even control what happens in her own home, and it's pretty tough with a teenager, how can she actually believe that such programs will work in the larger community where the people preaching it have even less contact with the kids than Sarah presumably had with Bristol? To continue to pursue a public policy that you know to be untenable is idiotic and demonstrates a clear lack of judgment.
Again, just my opinion. I don't have an axe to grind about this. I'm just tired of people, both in public life and in my own personal life, being dishonest and hypocritical and having this behavior consistently excused. I'm not willing to just listen to it anymore.
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9 comments:
Hopefully other people are raising the same point you make and handing this RIGHT back to the GOP:
"If [Sarah Palin] can't even control what happens in her own home, and it's pretty tough with a teenager, how can she actually believe that such programs will work in the larger community where the people preaching it have even less contact with the kids than Sarah presumably had with Bristol? To continue to pursue a public policy that you know to be untenable is idiotic and demonstrates a clear lack of judgment."
Yes, Bristol's predicament is proof that abstinence does not work. But when has the GOP actually ever acted on evidence? This is what I find mortifying. If the VP candidate can get away with saying that the war in Iraq is a "task from God" then what the hell else can we expect from these crackers?
The problem is that the Dems aren't much better. That's why I have so little hope this year.
Sarah Palin herself got married under the same circumstances as her daughter Bristol -- already pregnant. She eloped, her wedding and son's birthday are 8 months apart. She might be preaching abstinence in the political forum, but it doesn't apply to her personally or to her family.
Hmm... I have a big problem with everybody here pretending that people actually live up to the ideals they hold dear. None of us can do that 100% of the time.
I don't agree with Palin, but I'm positive she actually believes in what she preaches and holds those ideals up as something she really strives for. Just because she has failed at times doesn't make her a hypocrite - it makes her the same as you and I.
I have all sorts of ideas about how the world should run and how people should treat each other. And yet, I do the opposite sometimes. Were I to be a candidate, those "sometimes" would criticized left and right.
ALL of us preach one thing and do the opposite at times; be it on purpose or through circumstances beyond our control. All of us.
Boring - I think there is a huge difference when you're running for office, particularly the first or second most powerful position in the country. You and I have lots of opinions, some right and some wrong. As you say, we don't even always live up to our ideals. But we're not in positions where we can influence public policy for the nation. We're not on national TV spouting those opinions. We're not going to be in charge of funding for one policy over another. I don't expect politicians, or anyone else, to be perfect. But if you're going to put yourself in a position where you are dictating to the nation how one should behave, I think you have to be beyond reproach. To me, this is the problem. We excuse away everybody's behavior. I don't want a president who's like me. I want a president who's better than me.
Ah, that's where I say you are a dreamer. It's never gonna happen - a president that never acts the hypocrite. My point is that all these people are only human, and that they will all have times where they seem really hypocritical.
Yeah, they are running for the most powerful office in the world. Doesn't mean they aren't just simple people underneath; people full of mixed up emotions, screwed up ideals, hypocrisy and all the rest. I accept that my leaders will have all those faults and that they will enter into public policy in some way. Human beings are very imperfect.
Now, if you wanna discuss needing a more intelligent president, I'm all for it. That is something that can be measured. You can actually have a "smarter" president. I just don't think it's realistic to hope for one that isn't seen as hypocritical at times.
And that doesn't mean I'm excusing away somebody's behavior. I take issue with the ideals they fight for, not the fact that they will falter at times. Now, if they falter on a regular basis and are entirely full of it, then that's a different story.
You're right boring. The odd thing is that why I find myself increasingly unhappy is that I've actually become more of a dreamer as I've become older. You'd think it would be the opposite; that by now I'd be all cynical and just not give a damn. But despite everything that I've seen in my personal life, and yours, and the public stage, I'm actually more desperate than ever for that which I'll never have. I've got to find a way to get over it because it's really starting to bring me down.
I agree with you there. In fact, the only way I have found around it is to do what George Carlin said... Step back, watch the show and laugh. I heard him in an interview talking about that, in addition to him saying it on stage. He said, there really is no other way.
I actually agree with him now. I used to think it was just him being silly, but now I realize, it's really the only way.
Step back.
Detach.
View the sad spectacle.
Laugh.
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