Emperor’s Rants and Observations

In the past there have been critics of Palin in regards to her being a woman, being pregnant, and giving birth to her latest child Trig.  The criticism has basically been that Palin should have been home with her children, that she should have disclosed her pregnancy earlier, that she should have resigned when Trig was born to devote herself to his special needs care.  There were also some that criticized her for risking going to Texas while in the latest stages of her pregnancy putting herself and perhaps her unborn baby at risk.

In each case I argued against those critics because I don’t believe any of that has anything to do with Palin’s - or any woman’s - ability to do their job.  I believe every woman should be able to decide for themselves what is right and appropriate for themselves and their families.  I believe in equality for women.  I believe in their right to privacy.

I defended Palin in spite of her views on such issues as abortion, birth control, and sex education in public schools.

Now that it’s public knowledge that her unwed 17 year old daughter is pregnant however, I think it’s fair to question her on her “abstinence only” education stance.  If Palin can’t make that work in her own family, then what makes her believe it will work in ANY family.

However, we have to be careful in how we broach the subject because if people begin to feel as though Palin and her family are being ‘picked on unfairly’ it will most likely result in sympathy votes for the McCain/Palin ticket.   The same thing happened in the Gubernatorial campaign when opponent Andrew Halcro routinely made Palin look like a bumbling hillbilly that had no clue about the issues affecting Alaska.  Halcro lost ground, while Palin in spite of her ignorance, gained ground.

We should all sincerely wish the very best for Bristol, Levi and their baby.  They are embarking on a rough road, but if they truly love each other and work hard at the task of being a family, they can succeed and be happy.   I’m happy for them that they have a loving family that will help and support them, not all young adults in this situation are so fortunate.  They have done nothing wrong to deserve media attention, negative or otherwise.

They do however illustrate that even in the best of families, sometimes our young people don’t always  make the choices that we wish they would.  That’s why we have to give them every tool available to keep them as safe as possible. We need to provide them as many alternatives as possible when they do make a bad choice or find themselves in a difficult situation.

Another concern is the trend for Palin to only disclose or come forward with information when absolutely forced to.  She did it with her own pregnancy.  She did it all through the “Trooper Gate” (and continues to in my opinion). It begs the question of what else is she hiding? Not only that, but now what else does McCain know that hasn’t been disclosed?

There are many questions that need to be asked and answered.  I only hope that questions will be focused on issues and positions and not personal family matters.  Let’s show a little class and decency.

*Note:  I am not now, nor have I ever been, or likely ever be connected with the Obama campaign or Democratic Party.  I’m pretty sure they are happy about that fact.