I WONDER WHAT Elizabeth Cady Stanton — the American social activist and leading figure of the women’s rights movement of the 19the century — would have to say today?
I wonder if she were here in 2008 to watch this presidential election campaign, would she be as critical of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as so many women have been since she was nominated for vice president?
Since Palin took her position on the ticket, the campaign seems to be more like a nauseating scene out of the 2004 survival-of-the-fittest-teenage-girl movie, “Mean Girls,” than an intelligent debate among intelligent women.
From women I’ve visited with right here in Emporia to national figures like Katie Couric and Tina Fey (writer and cast member of “Mean Girls,” by the way) to online forums entitled “Women Against Sarah Palin,” it seems as if many of us are enjoying the feed fest on the governor from Alaska.
I can’t help but be reminded of my own high school years when the girls who were the prettiest, smartest and most connected were also the girls who were the most hated.
Now, I’m not suggesting that American women shouldn’t think critically about Palin’s place on the ticket or that they should just vote for her because she’s a woman. On the contrary, we should think critically. That’s why Stanton and hundreds of other women, from conservative Christians to radical feminists, spent nearly 70 years of ridicule and torture to make women’s suffrage a reality. Thanks to them, today we can translate the issues that are unique to women into a public voice that will be heard.
Unfortunately, I have yet to hear much discourse that reaches beyond sweeping statements about the governor’s qualifications to be vice president or her ability to balance the role with motherhood.
We would do well to remember what the Constitution has to say (and doesn’t say) about both: Despite what the media seems to think, there are only three qualifications to be president and vice president:
• The person must be a natural-born citizen of the U.S.
• The person must be at least 35 years of age.
• The person must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years before taking office.
It’s pretty simple really. Anything beyond that — motherhood and all — is discretionary and a unique personal story to the individual running for office. So, for heaven’s sakes, let’s quit saying Gov. Palin is not qualified to be vice president. She is.
And perhaps instead of debating what she doesn’t bring to the office, we should consider what she does.
She tells the story of an average smart, ambitious, sometimes ruthless American woman who, although didn’t take what we might conisder the traditional path to the vice presidential ticket, has been given an opportunity, nonetheless, to bring the first elected female voice to the executive branch of our government in our nation’s history.
You have to admire her for that.
(And that’s a story I want my little girls to know.)
Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat or somewhere in between, that’s huge for women everywhere. With our history of national representation not exactly on our side, perhaps we can’t afford to dismiss Palin based on what we think she should be.
Instead, consider that it just takes one to break the glass ceiling to make way for many after her. But until that happens, there’s only so much we can expect from — with all due respect — our male leaders to promote the change in this country that needs to happen on behalf of our daughters.
Stanton may have started the movement for women’s rights over a century ago, but we certainly haven’t finished her job. From workplace protections, disproportionate earnings, achievement levels in education and aid to poor mothers, there’s so much left to be done.
We have to start somewhere. Palin may not be able to do it all, but she just may give us the foot in the door that’s been a very long time coming.
So, between now and Election Day, weigh your choices carefully and consider your vision for the future of the “other half” of this country. And, finally, when you’re tempted to slice and dice this woman who may be the best shot women have right now for real change, remember these words our Democratic foremother, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, spoke during a similar time when suffragist Victoria Woodhull was criticized for running for President of the United States in 1872:
“Men say we are ever cruel to each other. Let us end this ignoble record and henceforth stand by womanhood. If [Sarah Palin] must be crucified, let men drive the spikes and plait the crown of thorns.”
Comments
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goodoleboy (anonymous) says...
Ever think that just because some intelligent educated skewer her that she might deserve it? A lot of women out there do not like her stand on abortion, a lot of them. To be honest if the male equivalent of Sarah Palin was on the ticket he would be enduring more, is that fair? Remember Dan Quayle?
October 3, 2008 at 3:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
citizen (anonymous) says...
Gayzettesux you are right about equal rights. But asking how Sarah Palin can juggle motherhood and work is not equal. We have never asked a man how he can juggle fatherhood and a career. Why, because everyone assumes a great women is at home taking care of the house. Fortunatley for Gov. Palin, she has a great husband who is supporting her career.
October 3, 2008 at 4:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
USNretired (anonymous) says...
Look at the merits of the choice. Race and gender only matter if the candidate makes an issue of them. This is a political office that must work with the Legislature and the Judiciary. Which one can do this the most effectively? Which one can galvanize the other civil servants to actually serve?
October 3, 2008 at 4:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not about to support her just because she's a woman. What an insult to my intelligence. What an insult to the education I worked so hard to attain.
You say you're "...not suggesting that American women shouldn’t think critically about Palin’s place on the ticket or that they should just vote for her because she’s a woman." Ashley, that's exactly what you're saying. I'm not the first one to get that out of your article. You used the words of Elizabeth Cady Stanton to say it --"stand by womanhood."
No way. I won't stand for dumbing down expectations just because Sarah Palin is running.
October 3, 2008 at 4:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
I think the point that Ashley is trying to make in this article is not, as create suggests, to support her JUST because she is a woman. I think her point is don't BASH her JUST because she is a woman.
Nobody scrutinizes male candidates about whether or not they have time to be a politician and also take out the trash, mow the lawn, and do all the other duties usually ascribed to the man of the house. Nobody asks Biden about what magazines he reads (I'm sure Couric was just WAITING for her to say the Ladies Home Journal). The same people that are blasting her for her lack of experience have no problem with Obama's lack of experience.
To put it another way: There are plenty (nowhere near the majority, but plenty) of black people out there who do NOT support Obama. But, I think, regardless of that, no matter HOW much they may disagree with his policies, I think they should still be proud that our country has progressed to the point where a black man stands a serious chance of becoming president. And proud of him for that. Even if they do not plan on voting for him. And I think Ashley is trying to say that Americans, and women in particular, should give Palin the same credit, and be proud of her for that, whether they are voting for her or not.
Organizations like NOW and people like Gloria Steinem claim to be all about equality and women's rights - but they are, in reality, 2-faced liars. They don't give a hoot about a woman being all she can be, or about a woman having an equal footing as a man to be exactly who and what she aspires to be. That is all a lie. All they truly care about, is that a woman agrees with being what THEY want her to be, what THEIR idea of a woman should be. Yes, lots of women out there don't agree with her stand on abortion. But lots of women do. Does that make them less qualified? Apparently it does, because NOW (National Organization of Women) will consider you to be beneath them. If Sarah Palin cured cancer, solved the problem of nuclear fusion, and became the first woman on the moon the people and organizations I mentioned above would still denigrate her - because she doesn't agree with them. Hypocrites.
October 3, 2008 at 5:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
And create, I didn't mean to bash you in my above post. You are a smart lady and I respect you. My last statement above was directed at Gloria, NOW, and their ilk - not at anybody here. I simply think you misinterpreted the point that I believe Ashley was trying to make in her article.
I think, even more than not bashing her just because she is a woman, Ashley's main point was what I tried to explain in my second paragraph above. Disagree with her if you will, dislike her if you must, but for ALL Americans, and women IN particular, respect her and be proud of what she has and is accomplishing as a woman.
October 3, 2008 at 8:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
nmse_s (anonymous) says...
As you can see Govenor Palin can hold her own against the elite in her profession. She does not need sympathy votes because she is a woman. What she does need, and other women in this country who are living the life in a career, is for people to leave them alone about being a mother and working. It's not 1850 or 1955 where women were "expected" to be home and take care of the house and children. We should concentrate less on that and more on the idea that it's ok for women to be working with families.
I agree with Ms. Walker and what she said....women spent almost a century trying to break a glass ceiling and when it happens, women are riduculed (including Mrs. Clinton).
You do have to make a informed decision on election day. Please don't vote on what you hear from other voters and their opinions, vote on what YOU witness through interviews, speeches and debates.
October 3, 2008 at 10:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
open_eyes, with all due respect, you and I spar all the time and I appreciate your good sense. Perhaps if Ashley had written a bit more clearly, I would have understood her more distinctly. I did find myself re-reading; that should be unnecessary. With regard to Palin, or anyone running for office, I make my judgments based on empirical evidence and not on what others suggest about gender or color or age. Both sides are making mistakes and telling whoppers, so now more than ever, we need to be vigilant.
One thing I will say is that I am glad to be living at a time when women like Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin can indeed run for top offices like president or vp. Women my age made it possible for them. I say that because I grew up in the fifties when girls were told that their best route to success was to marry and have children. Even college scholarships were rare for women then. I am one of those women who decided to "roar in numbers too big too ignore," raised my own girls in full view of equality, and will never agree that women have a "place." Women are independent thinkers, always have been, just didn't always have the chance to voice their views as they do now.
October 4, 2008 at 8:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
My kudos to you, create. No 2 people interpret everything the same, and maybe not every point is presented in a clear enough manner for everyone's interpretation to be on the same page, regardless of their intelligence. But I think your statement "One thing I will say is that I am glad to be living at a time when women like Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin can indeed run for top offices like president or vp" is the real point, and something all women in America should be able to agree on, and be proud of. If NOW and Steinem want to blast Palin, then do it on their policy disagreements, don't start comparing her DNA to other women, call her a step backwards for women, etc... just because she happens to not agree with them on abortion, or because she is a Republican. Part of what Gloria & NOW are SUPPOSED to stand for is a woman's right to choose to be a conservative or a Republican or pro-life if she so chooses to be. Apparently, they think that women should only think a certain way, or be a certain way, that only agrees with them - and how is that very different from telling a woman her place is in the kitchen????
October 4, 2008 at 9:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
I love it when we agree, open_eyes, because I have a great deal of respect for you. If you were my neighbor, I'd take you over a big, big bunch of sweet basil. My garden is full of it and it smells so absolutely wonderful! High five.
October 4, 2008 at 12:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
Thanks and a big Ditto to you, create!!! :)
October 4, 2008 at 12:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
glarson (Gwen Larson) says...
Create and Open Eyes:
May I extend the Civil Discourse Award to you. (OK, I made that up, but thanks for showing how to express emphatic beliefs without attacking others.)
Gwen Larson
October 4, 2008 at 3:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Create takes a big bow and offers Gwen some basil.
October 4, 2008 at 7:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
open_eyes, being extremely hungry, snatches the basil and runs - LOL
Thank you very much, Gwen :)
October 5, 2008 at 8:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
create frowns, stamps foot, then says,"Ha, there's more where that comes from." She returns to gathering more basil while feeling sorry for open_eyes who must really be hungry to resort to eating basil. Poor open_eyes.
Sniff.
October 6, 2008 at 8:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
Actually, since create's basil is famous world-wide, open_eyes sells it on the market at a huge profit, taking the proceeds and eating like a king. Of course, he keeps a small amount of it for himself to flavor his feast with...... yummy! LOL
October 6, 2008 at 9:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lycomu (anonymous) says...
Palin should be attacked, or rather mccain should be attacked for picking her as a running mate in the first place. She is woefully out of her league. It would seem she does more to hold back other women than propel them forward. Could you imagine Margeret Thatcher winking at her audience? Palin seems to being using her femine charms like a woman in other eras might have done. We are in a crisis here in America. We need compent leaders, not panderers. I couldnt care less if palin is a women. Substance trumps style. Not all men are neandethals. Some of us are actualy evolved enough to know the difference between the truth and BS
October 6, 2008 at 9:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Summer_Breeze (anonymous) says...
Lycomu, you're exactly right--substance trumps style. Not that I liked Palin's style, either, but she seems to have NO substance.
October 6, 2008 at 10:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Right on, lycomu. Substance indeed trumps style! I don't trust any woman who believes she must use her feminine wiles to win anything. We did not march in the streets for that.
create plants more basil and notes the Dow is down nearly 500 points and shakes head as open_eyes and his basil profits go south; she hopes he sold his stock on Friday when the market was up 200 points since basil is too precious to allow it to go for a loss.
October 6, 2008 at 12:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
Dang. Bush warned me against investing in basil 5 years ago, but I listened to Barney Frank instead.
open_eyes then celebrates as Palin takes on corruption in the basil industry (create is exonerated as being one of the few, honest, independent growers) - and gets a chunk of money back from the tycoon basil conglomerates and their windfall profits. open_eyes doesn't care if she used feminine wiles or hit them over the head with a brick, as long as it got done.
Palin then agrees for her next public appearance she will appear unkempt, smelly, wearing a gunnysack and not smiling, sporting a perm that turned out disastrous. In exchange for her doing that, the ladies on "The View" have agreed on their next Obama interview to not tell him how sexy he is or that he looks like Brad Pitt.
The "Fairness Doctrine" is then enacted in which candidates are forbidden to be charming, witty, attractive and engaging. (So as to all appear McCain-ish - LOL). Eventually all public viewing of candidates is totally banned, so as to not give any one opponent an unfair advantage, such as the many older men with thinning hair who are voting for McCain just because he is the closest to being bald of the candidates. In addition, to level the playing field in the speaking department, all speeches & debates for the public is to be done thru a monotone computer-generated voice translator, so nobody can tell who says what.
October 6, 2008 at 2:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
create, honest basil farmer and true lover of the earth, having recently won a landmark court case against the basil conglomerates, returns to the farm and forms a small coop. She reminds members that effective merger enforcement remains critical to preserving competition among domestic private basil companies. She suggests that they also diversify by developing the next alternative energy souce -- basil oil. create's brother, T. Basil Pickens will oversee production and entertain investors with stories of wind farms.
Meanwhile, back at the farm, create's latest idea for marketing John McCain and Barak Obama scarecrows goes into full swing production as back yard gardeners everywhere wonder which one they can depend on most. So far the biggest seller (except for the state of Kansas) is Barak Obama because the John McCain scarecrow looks like it is falling apart.
October 6, 2008 at 4:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
I love it!
Actually, since the point of a scarecrow is to "scare", the Barak Obama scarecrow is the biggest seller because.....IT'S THE SCARIEST!!!!!
See, debating and arguing CAN be fun.... LOL
Create, I will never be able to disassociate you from basil, ever again. I think I will take it out of the spice rack and have it mounted in bronze right next to my Civil Discourse Award from Gwen...... LOL
October 6, 2008 at 6:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Yes, I enjoyed this very much. Just think, we could both be working on Saturday Night Live and making a few bucks for having fun with our views.
BTW, the shipment of McCain Scarecrows was refused delivery in Michigan. They have been recalled and retrofitted with white flags to be waved on November 4.
The Palin scarecrow had to be put on hold because the model kept throwing rocks. Once put into a transparent box, it used the rocks to try to shatter the glass ceiling -- to date no luck.
They call me create. Peace.
October 6, 2008 at 7:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
Well, I could never work for SNL, because I would poke fun equally at both parties, and they would never stand for that. Unless SNL moves to Fox.
They call me open_eyes, because I'm a discontinued model. All scarecrows manufactured now are built with their eyes closed, and stamped either Republican or Democrat on the back, and are from that point forward completely immobile, and largely useless.
October 6, 2008 at 8:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )