At first I was skeptical about Sarah Palin. I even wrote a post called Can a stay-at-home mom be Pro-Palin? And then I watched her speech last week.
Why didn’t anyone tell me that a woman can have it all?
I feel like everything I’ve ever known about what a woman can be and should be, what she can have and should want to have, has been turned on its head.
Remember paradigm shifts? Remember when it seemed your paradigm shifted every week (puberty)? Remember when you grew up and your paradigm seemed to never shift past the next diaper change and yesterday’s batch of macaroni and cheese?
Sarah Palin seems to be the embodiment of post-feminism. As a tomboy/beauty queen/college graduate/wife/mother/mayor/establishment-taker-on-er/governor/vice-presidential candidate, she rocks!
I think we just saw Rosa Parks sitting in the front of the bus.
Did you see Piper (the 7 year-old daughter) licking her hand and smoothing down baby Trig’s hair?
Did you hear Palin introduce her “man” and her parents?
Did you wish you could be adopted and play under her desk while she made important phone calls?
I did.
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Tags: election 2008, feminism, motherhood, politics, presidential election, republican national convention, republicans, sarah palin
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I love Sarah Palin. Did you know she winged her speech tonight. The teleprompter didn’t stop scrolling during applause breaks. She Rawks my Sawks!
http://www.redstate.com/diaries/redstate/2008/sep/04/breaking-sarah-palin-winged-her-speech-bec/
Kats last blog post..Praying Above the Politics – Psalm 72:3
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Yes…i like her…is she too good to be true!
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You feel betrayed? I’m confused?
OMG I heart this woman! Did she really wing her speech? That just doesn’t seem possible.
Love love love the baby hair smoothing down!
kikibibis last blog post..Athletic Supporters!
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I was thrilled when she was announced as McCain’s VP. I first saw her a few months ago when she was on Glen Beck’s show, talking about her baby who has Down syndrome. Woman+wife+mom+special needs advocate+everything she did in Alaska to conquer corruption= one really great candidate.
I think the media attacking her family proves that they are very afraid.
Scarehaircares last blog post..
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I am thrilled with the Sarah Palin. I think she is a true role model. Now I need to watch her speech because I recorded it. It was too late to stay up and watch it.
Tiffanys last blog post..How to spend your first free morning unproductively
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I was watching with my husband… We both cracked up when we saw the little one do the spit polish on her brother. I am so glad they got that on camera – and I so hope their family taped it to keep!
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Awesome!! I was a little tentative as to whether I would like her or not…but no longer!
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Kikibibi — What I meant was that I feel betrayed by everyone who always told me that women can’t have it all or women have to choose carefully which they’ll do well — family OR career, because of course it’s impossible to do both (and not have serious regrets).
Though, to be honest, I just don’t have as much energy as some of these superwomen have.
But then, to be honest again, I kinda agree with Tracey, that Sarah Palin is a little too good to be true. I hope she holds everything together, and never regrets her choices. I hope to read her memoirs in 20 years and get the real backstory.
Can a woman really have/do/be it all? I don’t really know. I do know that I can’t. Or maybe I could have — if I’d had a role model like her . . . who knows?
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Too bad I disagree with her politics.
Sheas last blog post..Am I that kind of parent?
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I have to say I may vote for her just to show support of moms everywhere. I loved the spit-polish and I loved her sassy attitude.
Beths last blog post..The Husband Olympics
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I did see the spit hair pat. LOVED IT! So cute. Was a little concerned with how proud/pleased her older daughters did NOT seem to be. There’s going to be some negative fall out to SuperWoman’s choices over the years but there’s ALWAYS negative fall out. There are always regrets. To be Sarah, you need to have a lot of energy, be quite organized and not be a perfectionist.
I thought she was quite sassy and seemed like she could totally hold her own. BUT she said some things that I think are going to make it easy for the pundits to twist. Namely, something about terrorists and that Barack wants to read them their rights. It was such a vague statement that it could easily be perceived as a mocking of people who believe that even EVIL people should not be tortured for information. It’s a double standard when we believe that people are innocent until proven guilty in LAW but not when it comes to national security. What’s the difference? The number of people who stand to be at harm if the accused person is let out to re-offend? How is a terrorist any different from the Unabomber? The Unabomber wasn’t taken into private custody and tortured in secret until he confessed and then sentenced.
Anyway, she said it so mockingly and it was such a vague statement that it could easily be interpreted as meaning that she doesn’t worry about innocent people being tortured.
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Yeah, what Kat said. Governor Palin could pull off an amazing speech without the aid of a Teleprompter because it was less scripted and more from the heart than any other political speech I have EVER heard.
She can pull off biting wit directed at her opponents with a mesmerizing smile. She doesn’t get angry or shrill or flustered, she just pointed out what the difference in the campaigns are and what she personally plans to do to keep our country strong. I love her!
elasticwaistbandladys last blog post..Sarah Palin: Our New Goddess On The Conservative Values Frontier
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Found this post of Dr. Laura’s to be very interesting. While I’m inclined to agree that kids deserve their mothers’ attention . . . couldn’t they make do with their fathers’, at least some of the time?
Sarah Palin and Motherhood
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I think she’s fabulous. Just divine.
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I just watched Palin’s speech (love DVR) and it was AWESOME!!!!!!!! I felt like I was watching history in the making.
I feel like she is a woman who really speaks for me, as a woman, mother, American, small-town girl, and a hard worker. She is humble and has humble origins. She doesn’t have an Ivy League education. She doesn’t come from a privileged wealthy background. She cares about her country and wants to really make a difference.
Go SARAH PALIN!
Tiffanys last blog post..The true measure of parents
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Dang. See, this is when I NEED tv.
I have no idea what was said, and I’m going to have to spend the better part of today finding a way to see/hear it.
Anyways, from what I know, Palin seems great. I don’t have specific political affiliations, and on some issues I agree with her. There is just the one biggie… I can’t imagine living in a world where I don’t have the “right to choose”.
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Did you know that she pumps breastmilk for Tigg. (Downs babies have an easier time with bottles.) And she even has been seen using a baby carrier, sling/wrap style.
And she didn’t wing her speech. The teleprompter may have sped up or slowed down beyond her words, but she did not wing it.
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I’m not that impressed. There are always consequences for our actions and, no, there are not enough hours in the day to change the world both through political office and by being a mother. The role of a mother is not that simple that you can do it a couple of hours at
night and on the weekend. It’s not a part time job. Anyone who is a part time mother will have her children suffer the consequences of having a part time mother. Sarah Palin seems to be reaping the consequences already. And that’s just the beginning.
Yes, I’m sure women can have it all…but their children can’t. I may not have it all, but my kids do.
Jane, you may want to look to the example of your grandparents, they had 10 kids, and their kids had it all (hardworking dad, stay at home mom, religion). They all turned out to be wonderful human beings. My mother in law had 8 kids, and she stayed at home in spite of being poor much of her life, and all of her kids turned out practically perfect. This is not typical. Josh had to write a paper for a psychiatry rotation about all of the descendants of his grand parents. He had to note how many were in jail/prison, drug addicts, alcoholics, divorced, etc. Out of about 100 people, only a two were divorced and only one had been to jail, and only one smoked. The teacher was dumbfounded. He had never heard of such a large family with so few problems.
Stay at home moms are a large part of the equasion for a sucessful family. No Jane, you dont wish you were 17 and pregant with the child of your looser boyfriend, no matter what your mom did for work…
sylwia
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We bet something in her life had to give, somewhere. No one can be as perfect as she is, right?! RIGHT?!
the sits girlss last blog post..Featured Blogger: Swirl Girl’s Pearls
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I think it is unfair to say that Palin’s current occupation as Governor is directly responsible for her daughter’s pregnancy. There are multitudes of good parents who have daughters that get pregnant, DESPITE good teaching, SAHM, etc.
I know because this happened to my family. I grew up in a LDS home. We read scriptures every morning as a family at 6 a.m. My dad is a worthy priesthood holder and a good man. My mom stayed at home, even when my dad’s business nearly went under. We had Family Home Evening every Monday. Gospel topics were a very important part of our daily lives. My parents lived what they preached. We attended church as a family. No one has worked harder than my parents to raise good kids. They’ve wept over us, prayed for us, taught us, etc.
But our family has our share of troubles. Last year my sister became pregnant out of wedlock. My sister is a good girl, but she made bad choices and she knew her choices were wrong.
So did my parents fail? According to the two previous comments, yes. But I don’t think they did. I know they didn’t. Children will make choices and there are times when they make the wrong choices. I credit my parents with teaching about the atonement deeply because when my sister faced the reality of what she chose, she did the right thing. And she is doing the right thing, repenting and working with her (now) husband so they can provide a good home for their baby.
We all do the best for our families. I think Sarah Palin is an outstanding mother and those who question her mothering are not being fair. Sarah Palin is not in this parenting business alone, but will have her husband at home, caring for her family.
Tiffanys last blog post..The true measure of parents
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Liz, as far as good parents having kids who make bad choices, the scriptures are replete:
Adam & Eve–Maybe they didn’t have the whole murder discussion, but its pretty safe to safe that Cain knew the gospel.
Jacob’s sons, at least 10 of them: the sins are multitude, plotting to kill their brother, selling him instead, etc. And then there’s Judah who refused to follow the correct tradition for his daughter-in-law, Tamar and then she finally disquised herself as lady of the night so that she could have the children she was promised. Judah must have been known to visit harlots in the past.
I could keep listing families in the Bible, but I’m going to jump to the Book of Mormon. Lehi, the Prophet, and his wife, Sariah, (surely a SAHM) had two sons that completely fell away, despite their best teaching.
Then there’s King Mosiah and his rebellious sons in cahoots with Alma the Younger, actively fighting against the church. That’s pretty bad. Not all parents’ prayers about their kids inactivity or whatever are answered like Alma’s were. And then Alma the younger’s own son, can’t remember his name, chases after a harlot while he’s on a mission. Do we assume the parents were bad or that the mother is to blame?
And what about our day? Remember President Benson? His son, Steve, left the church and has been pretty anti for many years. Or what about Hugh Nibley’s daughter, Martha Beck? She left the church and is now living in a lesbian relationship?
Again, do we say that they are bad parents? I just don’t think that we can or should be the ones to judge that.
As far as this relating to Sarah Palin, I think she is a good parent because she and her family are working together to face the consequences of her daughter’s choice and build a future.Palin easily could have paid for an abortion for her daughter and hid the mistake. But she didn’t. Did her work outside the home contribute to her daughter’s choice? I don’t know as the only people who know that aren’t discussing it.
I feel strongly that making a snap decision is very judgmental when we have no business or even the adequate knowledge of the unique details of the situation to even qualify us for that judgment.
Tiffanys last blog post..The true measure of parents
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agh… my whole comment just got deleted.
Let me recap. I think that Sarah Palin gives the illusion that women can do it all. But no one (men or women) can do it all. The more time one is at the office, the less time he or she is with their kids. That’s the reality of life. Sarah palin delivers a great speech and has beautiful children. But I find her very conservative views incredibly anti-woman. She doesn’t represent me in any way and I would never support her.
the mama bird diariess last blog post..the morning after sarah palin
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I get really uncomfortable whenever people assign too much blame or praise to parents for what their kids do or for what happens to their children. Divorce happens to people who have done no wrong. Babies with special needs are born to mothers who never drank Mountain Dew
during pregnancy.
Life’s just too complicated for me to adopt a Calvinistic worldview where good is rewarded and bad punished (in this life, immediately, etc).
Which is not to say that I don’t think stay-at-home moms are important and have immense power to influence for good. They dang well better be — or I am wasting my time here.
the mama bird diaries — I’m not sure I think it’s fair to consider her views anti-woman when so many women seem to like her. Are those women also anti-woman?
But you’re probably right about it being an illusion. It’s just such a pretty, pretty illusion.
When I wrote the title and first line of this post, I honestly didn’t know if I wanted to write it sarcastically or not. Because of course no one (male or female) can have it all. But I confess freely that I was utterly swept off my feet by Sarah Palin’s speech, and I cried a little inside that I’d given up (seemingly all) my ambitions when I got married and started having kids.
No answers here — except I really would like to be five again and play under her desk.
Thanks for the comments!
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I think a presidency with sarah palin with have as much negative impact on our culture as the philandering bill clinton. bill clinton gave us the example that it is ok to be immoral and i think that has hurt our culture greatly. sarah palin would give us the example that it’s ok to have a demanding full time job when you have small children. i know that even before these people held public office many people already believed or disbelieved these things. but i still think it has an impact. and both immorality and encouraging working moms attacks the concept of the family and family roles. The family is under attack and preserving the traditional family is of utmost importance. it does not help our culture when the president or vice president gives us an example that destroys the concept of the traditional family. that’s why sarah palin would be bad for the country. she would be a bad example. her success would further the idea that women can and should change the world in the workplace, even if they have small children at home. and that is not a good message in the last days when the family is under attack…
sylwia
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She’s got my vote!
The Apron Queens last blog post..Your Face Is Gonna Stick Like That!
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Sarah’s speech was written by Matthew Scully, who has written speeches for Bush and McCain…and Sarah did not wing her speech..
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/03/1338564.aspx
She does NOT have my vote
Kates last blog post..September 11
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[...] a Stay-at-Home Mom be Pro-Palin? and Sarah Palin at the RNC from What About Mom. Excerpt: “Sarah Palin seems to be the embodiment of post-feminism. As a [...]
Have recent interviews with Palin changed your mind about her? I have to admit, I have SERIOUS concerns about her ability to lead the country if her 70+ year-old, cancer surviving potential boss were to kick the bucket sometime in the next 4 years.
Paul Ps last blog post..My next project needs your help
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I think Palin definitely gives a decent role model to mothers across the country, I don’t think that makes her qualified to be VP though.
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