While I fancied myself an aware public participant, I never quite approached an election with the care and concern as the current campaign for US President. Whether it be my first election where I am not only voting for my future, but the future of my children, or the simple fact that regardless of outcome, this election is historical, I find I can no longer stand on the sidelines without speaking out to any who would hear.
Last night I sat down with my husband to discuss the upcoming election. Like most homes in America, we spoke of issues and candidates and who we felt would best achieve the dreams we have for America’s future. My husband and I have had these spirited conversations in the past, but last night’s conversation took a dramatic turn. Within minutes of exploring our alternatives, we quickly concluded that if the Democratic Party was not able to re-gain the White House, that we were living in the wrong country! Last night, for the first time, I actually had a conversation that defined my patriotism and in particular what being American was all about.
If Americans are actually happy with the past 8 years or if they are simply reacting to the color of someone’s skin, what does it say about this country? Have we truly ventured so far away from the independence and religious tolerance that this country was founded upon that we cannot find our way out of the woods?
A true child of the 60’s, my mother use to preach anthemic catch phrases to me as a child. From “life is not a dress rehearsal” to “there’s not a lot of traffic on the extra mile” it has been engrained in me to not only not settle, but to seek out challenges and make a difference. Now, at this crossroads, I find myself in quite a precarious moral dilemma. I find myself fearing that the very definition of being an American has changed. From the life’s blood of my grandfather to the future of my son, we have become a cynical nation where fear rules the day, and self-righteous morality is the open door for the government to make us all a homogenous population of gun-toting pessimists.
And just like that, I am becoming one of them!
Here I go saying I don’t want to be an American! Here I am pessimistic and using fear as my motivator. Are they winning? Are they right? Am I not an American? Are their scare tactics meant to drum us out of the country so they can have it all their own? If we can’t take it back in this electoral cycle is it gone forever? Is the theory of America, simply that, a theory? Has it been gone for longer than 8 years?
Being a working mother with a stay at home dad at the helm of our household, my perspective on the women’s issue seems magnified. On the one hand I’m thrilled that women are finally being pandered to on the political stage. On the other hand, it is now, with the nomination of Sarah Palin, glaringly obvious, that there are those who still feel that our common reproductive system trumps our uncommon goals. Really? Is that really all the distance we’ve gained? That the conservative right is so out of touch with their feminine side that they think placating us with a female candidate regardless of qualifications or positions will be good enough?
The gauntlet, for that is what I believe it is, of Sarah Palin’s name on the Republican Ticket has been lain at the feet of all American women. It is our duty for our daughters to make sure that this is NOT the woman who is the first to have a desk at the White House. We owe it to history if not to ourselves, to ensure that this is not the legacy we leave generations. How can I be raising a daughter and look her in the eye and expect her to relate to that woman? We all protest that Barbie is unrealistic, but this is truly ridiculous. At least Barbie’s hyperbole exists because she’s a fictional toy!
I was raised that in order to defend my flag, I must defend the rights of those who chose to burn it. And so I sit in front of my keyboard poised for action and find at this juncture only words. I will attempt to do my part to make sure America doesn’t go further down this path of inequity and complacency. I will rise up and use speech as my dagger against those who would silence the voices of reason and fairness. But in the end, if my cries go unanswered and my liberty is further assaulted by conservative ineptitude, I may have to make a choice deeper than that of who will get my vote.
My profound sadness at this prospect is at bay while my optimism seeks it’s home in the Obama / Biden camp. Perhaps America, like any dark mistress, is only now revealing her true self, and my thoughts of what she could have been, were only the musings of some hippie’s daughter. Perhaps she will rise like the torch on the statue of liberty and reclaim the strength and pride forged by the generations who came before.
Only time shall tell.