I Would Not Be Me If I Didn't Write About This

I have been trying to leave politics kind of our of my blog because it tends to be a divisive issue, but like the title says, I would not be "true to myself" if I didn't write about this. So, if you don't care to read my political brain dump concerning Sarah Palin, then stop here.

Friday morning, I read the news that Sarah Palin had been selected as McCain's running mate and I was surprised. I read her Wikipedia page, thought she had quite an interesting life, and felt a little unsettled that she could turn the race around for McCain. She seemed likable, though a bit "light" on experience. I felt kind of drawn to her story of rising up from the middle class, PTA member, working mother, etc.

However, over the past 4 days, I have found out a number of things about her that prove to me exactly why I can't vote for McCain (and Palin), not even if you paid me the requisite $5 million that he believes you need to be considered "rich" (his response to Pastor Rick Warren's question of how much money do you need to make to be "rich").

First, I already knew about the allegations of Palin using her influence to get her ex-brother-in-law fired as her sister was in a bitter child custody battle with him. OK, not ideal, but I've heard of worse stuff than that. It's not enough for me to discount her as a viable VP.

Then, I found out she wants to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Um. Like I have said before, desecrating nature for the sake of oil addiction, in my opinion, is the wrong way to go. There is only so much oil in the world, and sucking every drop out until there's no more hardly seems like a good long-term plan.

She is so staunchly pro-life that she believes abortion should be illegal even in cases of incest and rape. This is a bit much for me.

She believes in teaching creationism in schools. I am not against the idea that perhaps evolution isn't the only way the human race arrived here on earth, but creationism is very strongly coupled with religion. The first amendment to our constitution requires a separation of Church and State. I think parents can choose to teach their children creationism through home schooling, private schools, bible study, etc, but it should not be taught in public schools where there are children of ALL religions present. That is against the First Amendment.

She does not believe in sex education and believes in teaching "abstinence only" for family planning. This didn't really throw me over the edge until I found out her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant. How can I believe that this teaching of "abstinence only" will work if your own daughter couldn't follow it? And apparently, Palin herself didn't either as her first child was conceived before she was married. I am not saying that it is "bad" to have children out of wedlock. So what. I am saying it is bad to "talk the talk" and then not "walk the walk." That is not leading by example.

And, finally, how can Saran Palin have time to be the Vice President of the United States when she has a 4-month old baby with Down's Syndrome and a pregnant teenager? This seems absolutely insane to me. I am all for working mothers, I plan to be one myself. But the job of Vice President is not your everyday office job.

I simply cannot understand how John McCain made this choice and I think we have to question his judgment in making decisions without considering the ramifications.