Ladies Where We Are?
Today I was listening to NPR like I usually do. It has become a part of my routine since Howard Stern left for Sirius. I do miss his show, but I'm not looking back, because I get news stories that I would never hear on mainstream media and for me that's a blessing. I sigh with relief every morning I turn my home or car radio to 90.5 fm WNPR.
This week the media has given plenty of attention to political banter going back and forth between McCain and Obama, they're setting them up to be the two presidential candidates come November. Although I'm an Obama support, I won't count Hillary out, not yet. We'll all know next Wednesday after the next set of primary competitions in Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont.
Today, one of the stories on NPR featured interviews from McCain and Obama supporters gearing up for the primary elections in Texas. The comments from the Obama supporters invoked the change theme that has been crucial to his campaign theme. The McCain supporters were a disfranchised bunch, no big surprise, the real hardcore conservatives consider Huckabee, their guy, but they realize he doesn't have a shot at the nomination. Now they must settle for McCain, and many of them aren't happy about that. I'm sure everything I've mentioned sounds pretty straight forward. Here is where it gets interesting for me, the reporter interviews a women, who identifies herself as a conservative Christian, she talked about her beliefs and why she's going to vote for McCain even though he is not her first choice. Her beliefs as a Evangelical Christian women led her to say that a woman should not be the president of the United States because that is not her role as a women. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I thought to myself, how many woman in our country and the world feel that woman shouldn't have the right or authority to be leaders of there nations.
I thought to myself, a women can take care of her household, husband, children, but not be President, Prime Minister, or a General. I said, "This lady is crazy." I know the woman isn't crazy, but her interpretation of her religion and the role of women in her religion gave me a sense of disappointment. I guess I expected that attitude from men and got caught of guard that it was coming from a woman. Although things change, they still remain the same.
I know women and men aren't physically equal, at least not in most cases, but I believe equal work deserves equal pay, and that still isn't happening for the majority of women in this country. Hell, if you decide to have a child, you only get up to 8 weeks paid leave. That is a travesty in my opinion. The so-called greatest nation in the world doesn't even respect new mothers, many of whom are working mothers enough to protect their jobs with pay for a year. I'm sure the conservative would call my idea socialist and say it creates too much government interference, but if we believe that raising a child is the most important job a woman can have, shouldn't our government do more to support that role, and I'm not talking welfare, I'm talking child care, mom at home with her baby. Since Conservatives are all about family values I think this would a cause they champion. I think this is an area I'm going to do some more research on.
Let me get back to my point and that is, Where are we and where are going? I'm still trying to figure that out. We're have better technology, more ways to communicate, more access to education, yet we still aren't bridging the gaps. Can there ever be middle ground for the staunch social conservatives and progressives like me? I doubt it. All I know is the world is a lot smaller than it seems and in our world there is a constant battle of ideals. We all want to believe we're right. Being right feels great, it's triumphant, but in the end what is the right ideal?
This week the media has given plenty of attention to political banter going back and forth between McCain and Obama, they're setting them up to be the two presidential candidates come November. Although I'm an Obama support, I won't count Hillary out, not yet. We'll all know next Wednesday after the next set of primary competitions in Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont.
Today, one of the stories on NPR featured interviews from McCain and Obama supporters gearing up for the primary elections in Texas. The comments from the Obama supporters invoked the change theme that has been crucial to his campaign theme. The McCain supporters were a disfranchised bunch, no big surprise, the real hardcore conservatives consider Huckabee, their guy, but they realize he doesn't have a shot at the nomination. Now they must settle for McCain, and many of them aren't happy about that. I'm sure everything I've mentioned sounds pretty straight forward. Here is where it gets interesting for me, the reporter interviews a women, who identifies herself as a conservative Christian, she talked about her beliefs and why she's going to vote for McCain even though he is not her first choice. Her beliefs as a Evangelical Christian women led her to say that a woman should not be the president of the United States because that is not her role as a women. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I thought to myself, how many woman in our country and the world feel that woman shouldn't have the right or authority to be leaders of there nations.
I thought to myself, a women can take care of her household, husband, children, but not be President, Prime Minister, or a General. I said, "This lady is crazy." I know the woman isn't crazy, but her interpretation of her religion and the role of women in her religion gave me a sense of disappointment. I guess I expected that attitude from men and got caught of guard that it was coming from a woman. Although things change, they still remain the same.
I know women and men aren't physically equal, at least not in most cases, but I believe equal work deserves equal pay, and that still isn't happening for the majority of women in this country. Hell, if you decide to have a child, you only get up to 8 weeks paid leave. That is a travesty in my opinion. The so-called greatest nation in the world doesn't even respect new mothers, many of whom are working mothers enough to protect their jobs with pay for a year. I'm sure the conservative would call my idea socialist and say it creates too much government interference, but if we believe that raising a child is the most important job a woman can have, shouldn't our government do more to support that role, and I'm not talking welfare, I'm talking child care, mom at home with her baby. Since Conservatives are all about family values I think this would a cause they champion. I think this is an area I'm going to do some more research on.
Let me get back to my point and that is, Where are we and where are going? I'm still trying to figure that out. We're have better technology, more ways to communicate, more access to education, yet we still aren't bridging the gaps. Can there ever be middle ground for the staunch social conservatives and progressives like me? I doubt it. All I know is the world is a lot smaller than it seems and in our world there is a constant battle of ideals. We all want to believe we're right. Being right feels great, it's triumphant, but in the end what is the right ideal?
Comments