It's been a long time since I've said anything about politics. Not that I haven't been paying attention (in my once-daily check of the New York Times or in between my wrangling exercises with my television's bunny ears). Rather, I keep on forgetting to write about it. So, this will be a rather rambling post.
First, can I say how I've gotten angrier about the fact that Senator Clinton is almost always referred to as "Hillary" while other politicians (i.e. male politicians) are noted by their title and last name. Maybe it was self-imposed, since Senator Clinton did campaign on her first name and such, but I just find it really weird and almost demeaning in a way. She has worked just as hard as any other person of her stature and doesn't she deserve to be recognized for doing so? I mean, I don't even refer to my friends' parents as their first names, why would I do so to a woman who was a major contender for the presidency? It just doesn't make any sense to me.
Secondly, I'm appalled by Senator McCain's choice for VP. Yeah, it's good that it's a woman, but if it's a woman who so anti-feminist that she might as well be a male, does it matter at all? I applaud her for not aborting her child with Down's Syndrome, but I think that that's a deeply personal decision and I think it's a difficult decision nonetheless. I think that most pro-choicers would have as much difficulty making the decision as most pro-lifers because it comes down to a decision that most people think they never have to make (it's a classic case of, "it will never happen to me" thinking).
Thirdly, however much I support Senator Obama, I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed with his acceptance speech. First, the whole thing in a stadium was rather weird. It didn't seem like a political speech that was meant to touch the hearts of farmers in the Midwest as much as it was to reach out to the thousands of youth who are used to seeing Madonna concerts in huge stadiums. Secondly, the speech was meandering and lost its aim at points. Even I, who tried as hard as possible to pay attention to the overarchign theme, found it hard to keep my focus and find that overarching theme. That's not to say that it wasn't a great speech - because it was. However, I was, along with thousands of others, expecting an extraordinary speech on the level of Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech and was disappointed.
Lastly, all this convention talk has been totally jazzed up for November. I can't wait for it to happen, but at the same time, I'm very anxious of what it may hold. My hopes are that the Democrats win seats in the House and Senate and win the Presidency with a large margin (enough to say that it was definitive... none of this, "half the nation didn't vote for the man who we call President" crap anymore). Fortunately, I'm hopeful that this will happen (at least the President part... I'm still trying to get my hopes up on the Congressional part). However, that's not to say that I'm not anxious. I think that it's possible, albeit less likely, that Senator McCain wins with a large margin and the country goes on the course it's on. Whoever is out there, Democrat or Republican, who thinks that the election is already won is deeply confused and needs to really consider that anything is possible at any time. Just makes me want to get out there and work for a candidate - but then I am reminded that I have no time to even check my mail everyday.
First, can I say how I've gotten angrier about the fact that Senator Clinton is almost always referred to as "Hillary" while other politicians (i.e. male politicians) are noted by their title and last name. Maybe it was self-imposed, since Senator Clinton did campaign on her first name and such, but I just find it really weird and almost demeaning in a way. She has worked just as hard as any other person of her stature and doesn't she deserve to be recognized for doing so? I mean, I don't even refer to my friends' parents as their first names, why would I do so to a woman who was a major contender for the presidency? It just doesn't make any sense to me.
Secondly, I'm appalled by Senator McCain's choice for VP. Yeah, it's good that it's a woman, but if it's a woman who so anti-feminist that she might as well be a male, does it matter at all? I applaud her for not aborting her child with Down's Syndrome, but I think that that's a deeply personal decision and I think it's a difficult decision nonetheless. I think that most pro-choicers would have as much difficulty making the decision as most pro-lifers because it comes down to a decision that most people think they never have to make (it's a classic case of, "it will never happen to me" thinking).
Thirdly, however much I support Senator Obama, I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed with his acceptance speech. First, the whole thing in a stadium was rather weird. It didn't seem like a political speech that was meant to touch the hearts of farmers in the Midwest as much as it was to reach out to the thousands of youth who are used to seeing Madonna concerts in huge stadiums. Secondly, the speech was meandering and lost its aim at points. Even I, who tried as hard as possible to pay attention to the overarchign theme, found it hard to keep my focus and find that overarching theme. That's not to say that it wasn't a great speech - because it was. However, I was, along with thousands of others, expecting an extraordinary speech on the level of Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech and was disappointed.
Lastly, all this convention talk has been totally jazzed up for November. I can't wait for it to happen, but at the same time, I'm very anxious of what it may hold. My hopes are that the Democrats win seats in the House and Senate and win the Presidency with a large margin (enough to say that it was definitive... none of this, "half the nation didn't vote for the man who we call President" crap anymore). Fortunately, I'm hopeful that this will happen (at least the President part... I'm still trying to get my hopes up on the Congressional part). However, that's not to say that I'm not anxious. I think that it's possible, albeit less likely, that Senator McCain wins with a large margin and the country goes on the course it's on. Whoever is out there, Democrat or Republican, who thinks that the election is already won is deeply confused and needs to really consider that anything is possible at any time. Just makes me want to get out there and work for a candidate - but then I am reminded that I have no time to even check my mail everyday.
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