Changes

I've been playing around with my blog. I had to do something to stop myself deleting it due to my increasing frustration at not being able to see it. LOL! I've had fun and I have a few things planned yet. And guess what? I can actually see the changes today that I made yesterday!

I've been following the American presidential campaigns with interest. I'm so glad I don't have to vote. The more I read the more I am aware that neither candidate is squeaky clean and that there's a lot of bandying around of words and phrases that the voter loves to hear but do their policies and actions back up what they profess?

Just a thought from an "objective" (yeah, right) and not-very-well-informed observer.

I'm rather bemused that Sarah Palin seems to be the flavour of the month, particularly amongst evangelical Christians. I have nothing against Sarah Palin but do wonder how those same evangelical Christians reconcile her position as a working mother who has an infant with special needs at home with their view that marriage and motherhood is a woman's highest calling? I understand that her husband has given up work to care for the family but as a wife, a mother, the daughter of a mother who worked full-time and a father who was the main caregiver after school, and an early childhood teacher, I'll say this: children need their mothers - they want their mothers. Research has shown that little boys especially need their mothers in those first few years and I imagine this would be doubly true for a child with special needs.

As a mother I cannot imagine what it would be like to arrive home late at night or after a week away and be told that junior had learnt to [fill in the blank] while I was away. The typical milestones are going to be even more precious when the child has to work harder than most to attain them and to miss out on seeing so many of them would be a personal tragedy - at least in my book.

She may be a wonderful politician. She may be just what America needs. But it will come at a price and I suspect that the cost will be felt most in the home.

So I'm glad I don't have to vote in the American election because, while I believe it's a privilege to vote, it would be very very hard to know how to vote.

On the other hand, I wish I didn't have to vote in our upcoming election which, as was announced yesterday, will be held on November 8. Many people think it's time for a change of government (change can be good!). Others think that neither party leader has what it takes to run this country.

I wonder: will it come down to choosing the lesser of two evils?

What will I do?

I don't know. But I do know that between now and the election, we need to humble ourselves and pray. Our country needs it!

Comments

SchnauzerMom said…
I'm not real happy with the choice of candidates either. We need all the prayer that we can get.
Anonymous said…
While I, for one, stay home with my children (and am fortuante enough to now do so), I think that with many professional women, they will work and have a profession no matter what. I think not voting for Sarah Palin is not going to cause her to stay at home with her children as a result! She will probably work no matter what. So my voting for her, in my mind, is strictly based on how good a job I think she'll do for our country, and I think it'll be good. Besides, her husband is at home with the kids. Maybe Daddy isn't the same as Mommy, but as I said, I don't think not voting her into office will change any of that anyway. I have to base my votes on the jobs I think the candidates will do for the country.
Unknown said…
I like the new look of your blog! It is pretty!

I'm thrilled with the pick of Sarah Palin. I think she will do a wonderful job. I love that she is for all the things I am for, and against the things I am against. And I agree with Mermayd. She is a career woman. That is what she has always been. I know that being a career woman isn't for me, but for others it is what they want. She was a governor before this, and a mayor, so she is used to working and having a family. I think she will do a wonderful job as VP. Plus she has energized the Republicans, which is a great thing!
Jules said…
Thanks for your thoughts. I know that not voting for Palin will not cause her to stay home. I wasn't suggesting such a thing. I guess what I was trying to say is that the image that the candidates are trying to portray is often what they think will win voters and isn't a true portrait of who they are or what they stand for.

From my viewpoint (and it will be different to many because I'm on the outside) Sarah Palin's ticket seems to scream "family values" and "pro-life" but whose family values (can it be argued that she defends motherhood and the value of raising children?) and how can she be pro-life when McCain apparently supports surgical abortion and dissection of embryos?

Then there's Obama who professes to be Christian yet wants to make it easier for women to choose abortion if they decide that's the only option. Studies have shown that women will choose abortion if it's readily available at a time when they are really not in a position to make such a decision. Making it easier to obtain makes it more likely that they will choose this option.

The point I was trying to make was that it's not clear cut - not black and white. There's a lot of issues to murky the waters of decision. And the same will be true here when we go to the voting booths in a few months.
Anonymous said…
I think it would be impossible to find a candidate that agrees with you on every issue 100% - or with anybody else for that matter. You have to look at the big picture of who they are and what they represent and what kind of leadership they will bring to our country.

Ronald Regan's first marriage fell apart largely because of his dedication to politics. But nobody said he shouldn't be president because of what he "represents" for family values. And he was in my opinion one of our greatest presidents. Likewise a lot of military choose to defend our country often to the detriment of the family. It's a sacrifice some choose to make for the rest of us. If nobody did, we'd be in big trouble.
Jules said…
I think I might gracefully withdraw (if that's possible) from my brief foray into American politics. I don't know the difference between a Republican and a Democrat and do not understand all the nuances of politics. While my views are not influenced by total dedication to either party they are definitely influenced by the way America's policies and governance affects life down here in New Zealand. Even in my original post I used "objective" in inverted commas because I doubt that anyone can be totoally objective - even someone like myself who is on the outside. What happens in America affects our economy, our exports, and so many other things.

It's been said that it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt. Well I spoke up and now there's no doubt. :)