Getting Political, Are We?

I don’t usually voice my political opinions, and I’ve certainly been quiet about the upcoming election. Most are shocked to know that I once followed politics with quite a relish. It’s true. I wrote papers and “editorials” in grade school. I read them now, and I laugh. Republicans were always right, democrats were of the devil, etc. Oh the naivete!

High school and college were more of the same, I wanted to become a page on Capitol Hill, but my parents nixed that idea, and I think it was for the best. I minored in Political Science and got a degree in journalism. And somewhere in the middle of my studies, I got disillusioned. I decided I didn’t want to pursue politics, and I wanted to write more than “just the facts, ma’am." Instead, I wanted to stir hearts. I wanted to move people...

Recently a fellow Jane Austen fan shared this political editorial with me. I’m a bit late in posting it, since it is a week and a half old, but here it is anyway. I don’t completely agree with this editorial, but it made for an interesting read and rekindled a lingering interest in the current state of affairs.

1. I don’t appreciate Maureen describing Jane Austen as “chick-lit.” It sounds like fluff or silly school girl stuff that only a woman would dare to read, but Jane Austen wrote quite to the contrary. There is no bodice-ripping, bicep-bulging and the like in Pride & Prejudice or my personal favorite Persuasion. There is so much more to Jane Austen’s deep pen.

OK, don’t get started, Mel. Just let it go...

2. I know for a fact that all women do not base their political decisions based on whether or not a person has enough “meat on their bones,” or whether or not someone is likable or “handsome enough to tempt me.” I know Maureen isn’t saying this in her editorial. I am just disappointed that these are the faces that the media capitalizes on: these women who refuse to elect another man into office or the women that feel a candidate needs to be “less svelte.” I sense that there is this misconception that these women speak for all women and that we have to stick together, we band of sisters.

But don't you believe it... These women don’t speak for me. I have a mind of my own, and it’s not made up yet. Personally, I’d like a third candidate to select from. So, I'm praying for wisdom.