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TechnoratiI am woman; I am strong
And you know what? I like Sarah Palin. She's a better role model for my daughters than Gloria Steinem.
I am trying to figure out when I stopped being a “real” woman. For the last week, every newspaper, blog and television newscast I have seen or heard has blathered on and on about John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate for the US Presidential elections. In that short period of time, there seems to be a vast divide between two camps: those who support McCain's decision and those who think that Barack Obama now has the presidency sown up and placed in his back pocket. Much of the commentary has been an outright attack on Sarah Palin; the vitriol has come from left-wing feminist stalwarts, like Gloria Steinem, Maureen Dowd and Arianna Huffington, who seem to think that John McCain and Sarah Palin are trying to send women backwards a few hundred years in terms of equality. The fact that Sarah Palin does not support abortion and is open about her love for her husband seems to be at the heart of these venomous statements.
The thing is this, I consider myself to be a modern woman. I vote in every election. I have no problem speaking my mind. I teach my daughters that they need to “find their power” (usually when one of their brothers has done something they don't like and I tell them to deal with the situation themselves). I tell all four of my children that girls and boys can do almost anything. I do not feel that I am somehow less worthy than any man simply because I carry two X chromosomes. I believe that women have the right to vote, to work outside the home and to accomplish as much as they can in this world.
But I do not support abortion, gay marriage, euthanasia, cloning or embryonic stem cell research. I feel that there are things that men can do that women simply cannot, and vice versa. The fact that I agree with many things that Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan and countless other women fought for seems to be completely discounted when I mention that I am also a firm believer in the teachings of my faith. And because of that, I am somehow considered to be less of a woman; no longer a “real” woman, because a “real” woman must believe in the right to choose, in assisted suicide, in condoms for every 14 year-old and that “intelligent design” is only for those poor saps not fortunate enough to know that we are all descended from a pile of goo.
For years, I have listened to, and sometimes engaged in, the debate between working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. I fall in the latter category. That I stay home with my four young children while my husband goes out to work has caused some consternation among family and friends over the years. I am, after all, a modern woman. I should want to contribute to our family income and to society. That says it all right there. Not working for a paycheque means that I am not a contributor to the world, and therefore, not a real woman.
Many times I have wondered how women can tear each other to shreds over the choices we make and still consider ourselves the gentler of the species. Now, once again, it is an us-versus-them showdown, and this time it is not just working mothers against the stay-homes, it is pro-choice (read: pro-abortion) in a knock-'em-down-drag-'em-through-the-mud slugfest with the pro-lifers.
As a woman born in 1968, I was raised in the late 1970s and the 1980s to believe that it is normal for young women to want to sleep with anyone and as many men as they can, to terminate unwanted pregnancies and to choose whether or not the baby I did decide to have deserved to live in the first place. In short, I was raised to believe that it was alright for me to play God with my body. Sarah Palin's decision to keep her unborn child does not signify to me that she is behind the times and less of a woman, and I fail to see how anyone could rationally take that point of view. The very essence of being a woman is our ability to bear children. As the mother of four myself, how could I look at my children and pick which one should not have lived? Should Sarah Palin now be asking that question? Does her youngest child deserve less than any other child because he was born with Down's Syndrome?
For those of us who believe that the Palins made the correct choice, Sarah Palin stands as a testimony to what a real woman looks like. One who is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in, one who is ready to take on the nay-sayers and prove that she does have the strength, courage and intelligence to play with the big boys. A woman who, at the end of the day, remains completely and wholly dedicated to her role as wife and mother. In short, Sarah Palin is a role model for all of us and the kind of real woman I want to be. And I'm a Canadian, not an American!
Barbara Lilley is a writer and mother of four living in Ottawa, Canada.
To Spanker,
Well, what do you expect from CBC, the mouthpiece of Canadian political correctness? But one thing is obvious - they ARE scared, very scared…
Francis Philips said: “Here in the UK, over 90% of Down’s Syndrome babies are aborted. Thus Sarah Palin will not find friends among women who have chosen to abort their handicapped babies”
I agree with you, Francis. I have to point out that there is no political dimension here. These are people who recognize, at some level, that the better choice is the one they didn’t take. It’s why we attack people who, by their more noble actions, make us feel small. (Don’t take this as an endorsement of Sarah Palin’s political aspirations.)
By the way, I really enjoy watching the liberal-biased Canadian media (which means practically all of them) crudely trying to demonize Mrs. Palin by publishing the least flattering photos of her, and how these primitive tricks backfire among the general public. When will they finally realize that they are quickly losing their ability to influence anybody?
Opposition to Sarah Palin, in highly educated Americans, has nothing to do with her stand against abortion, her love for her husband, or her effort to combine motherhood and community service. The better educated Americans are, the more strongly they support all women who take these stands.
Concern about Palin is anchored in her disturbing record of government service in Alaska, discussed in major newspapers like The NY Times and The Washington Post.
It is not true that Sarah Palin has not accepted huge sums of money for the ‘bridge to nowhere’, as she has claimed. Early on, after being elected, she hired an Administrator to do her essential work. She has zero experience with international affairs. She has said that she doesn’t know much about Iraq. She was involved in her PTA only briefly with her first child, not subsequent children. She has spent millions of dollars from taxpayers to preserve the hunting of bears and other wild animals rather than on education in the town where she was mayor, where many students do not complete high school.
Alas: there are women in the Republican party with fine records of government service and fine attitudes about such important matters as abortion and working mothers. These women were not chosen by McCain.
As a staunch conservative, I disagree with all the praise for Palin.
Whilst it is great that attention is being diverted from Obama and this gives conservatives something to rally around, one has to ask the question of what sort of ‘role model’ or ‘Christain woman’ would go back to full-time work two days after giving birth to a baby with Downs Syndrome - who clearly needs attention and care, not its mother running for political office.
In my opinion, A true Christian woman certainly would not.
As for her daughter falling pregnant outside of wedlock. Mmm, this seriously gives liberals a chance to say that the credentials and ideals conservatives proclaim, are not practiced in their own lifestyle.
One wonders if this lady could not seriously teach her own daughter chastity or either she he would not listen, then a lot of fat good she will do in the White House.
Three cheers for a great article. You BE who you are, Barbara. All the other positions are taken.
Charles+
Good article Barbara. You are turning out to be quite the writer. I think you nailed it.
There is a lot of hate out there for “new feminists,” who don’t need a whole system to support them specifically. The opportunities are available to all women to have a chance. There is even a product now that allows women to pee standing up.....
To share some of the hatred found from our very own CBC, I have pasted an extract of what one female Canadian writer (Heather Mallick) had to say in an article about Gov Palin
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/09/05/f-vp-mallick.html :
...Sarah Palin ... fit of pique ... the white trash vote ... sexual inadequates ... she isn’t even female really ... Alaska hillbilly ... “white trash” ... trailer trash ... rural, loud, proudly unlettered ... toned-down version of the porn actress ... overtreated hair, puffy lips ... “pramface” ... roughneck fuckin’ redneck ... prodding his daughter ... ratboy ... fizzing with rage and revenge ... vicious and profoundly dishonest ... good fast listing… nervous wreck with deeply strange hair ... the hick vote ... ordinary hillbilly ... racism? ... racism ... “rectal fissure” ... tense no-hoper ladies ... white female marginals ...
Mrs. Palin is more than entitled to make decisions based on moral issues. I am a man, who like many of my friends, thinks abortion is always wrong--but I don’t know enough about the problems facing every pregnant woman to impose my beliefs on them. Some might be convinced that continuing the pregnancy is even worse. That is not the point when it comes to being the Vice-President. I have 8 years of post-graduate education, and several decades of experience. The same is true of my wife. We both know that you SHOULD NOT want either of us to be a heart-beat away from the Presidency. We hope that the candidates for the job have done the requisite thinking and developed sufficient judgment for the responsibilities of the job. Neither of us see any evidence that this is the case for Mrs. Palin.
This does not mean she is anything other than an admirable person. It does, however, reflect on the decision making process of Mr. McCain; and it shows a lack of care and a decision to put political expediency first. This would be true even if she turns out to be far more competent that we know. It is also a problem that both of them complain that the press is not fair. She is a largely unknown quantity, so the media have to start with almost no information. Yes, they may get some things wrong; but that is inevitable when so little is known. Some of what has come out is both correct and troublesome. They set themselves up to be in this position. Furthermore, if she doesn’t like attacks that she thinks are unfair, I am really concerned when she has to deal with the likes of Putin. She describes herself as a pit bull with lipstick. The lipstick should not lead us to forget the pit bull part.
Here in the UK, over 90% of Down’s Syndrome babies are aborted. Thus Sarah Palin will not find friends among women who have chosen to abort their handicapped babies - whether here or in the US. But I, like David Page, have not seen this voiced publicly, any more than (racist) Americans would dare confess publicly to not wanting a black man as President.
What I have heard voiced over here is: “Has Sarah Palin given her own pregnant daughter the right to choose not to have the baby? or is she being forced to have it because of her mother’s religious views?” (The press in the UK is generally secular).
Way to go Barbara! The world needs more women like you to speak their mind and not be afraid of what is said in return. Nicely written article. I know your daughters will make the right choices in life as they have you for a role model as well as Sarah Palin.
I loved this article. We have here in Canada, Realwomen who speak just like Palin and you, Barbara. They are not afraid to speak out for the life and family against liberal tide, and I am proud of them. Family is the basic unit of the society, and men and women are equal but different like salt and sugar. We both contribute to the society in different way. If the salt looses its taste and become like sugar, we will not be able to taste good meals;same can be said to the sugar. It is about the time for the real women to come out.
I believe that all the white women who were rooting for - what proved to be a lost cause for - Hillary have suddenly found in Sarah Palin a veritable substitute for their gender sentiments. Sarah can do no wrong not because of proven political credentials (which she certainly doesn’t have) nor because of her much-touted impeccable family values (read without the pregnant 17-year old Bristol) - but solely because she tilts the chromosone count - in the race for the White House - in favour of the womenfolk.
Very good job Ms. Lilley. Your point of view and personality reminds me much of my mother and its glad to see that there is more than one solidly grounded right minded woman besides my mother and Mrs Palin. You have given me hope! Thanks for a great article.
And to you Adebowale, Ms. Lilley has just as much right as you do to state her opinion about Mrs. Palin. If she thinks that Mrs. Palin is a good candidate and thinks she is worthy of praise, then let her do so without trying to “flatter” other readers with your “bland” criticism. People have criticized Mrs. Palin and her daughter for having a child out of wedlock and for her mother embracing this. Just type Pregnant Palin’s Daughter or some other combination into Google and feast your eyes on uncalled for criticism based on personal opinions about parenting about how this will affect her policies if she “rules” as vice-president and other misguided correlations.
When Ms. Lilley refers to Mrs.Palin’s Down’s Syndrome Child, she is referring to the fact that instead of terminating her pregnancy when she found out the child was to be born with Down’s Syndrome (as it is indeed possible to know this while the baby is in the womb), she let it come to term and was prepared to deal with the disease’s implications. Ms.Lilley is simply defending criticisms shoveled upon Palin by feminists and pro-abortionists who have a problem with this blatant and public testimony and evidence against abortion, and her use of her freedom to choose to have the baby instead of being bullied by pro-abortionists, who misguidedly call their movement pro-choice, to take the easy way out. Palin made a choice!
Yes we should in your words “saint Mrs. Palin” because she had the courage to accept the position as running mate to McCain and openly profess and stand by her beliefs and position against abortion etc. Anyone woman could make these decisions as you put it, but do they? She did it and that’s why I support her!
Bravo Barbara!
Very well said.
From Uruguay,
j.a.v.
Barbara: This is a great article. You got it! Finally we have a real woman acting as such: as a woman, as a wife, as a mother and making the difference in society with her participation in public life. I am sure that there are many other women that think and act like her: we just have to show it to the world with courage, like Sarah Palin.
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