The Button

Back in Denver (doesn't that seem like years ago?), I met a lady who had made and was selling to help defray Hillary's campaign debt,  this pin:

It was designed to send the message that Hillary supporters were NOW Barack Obama supporters.

If you have been a loyal reader, you'll remember my post of August 28 ("Everyone Makes Nice") where Hillary nominated Barack by acclimation and Bill Clinton gave a fantastic & supportive speech for Barack. It seemed everyone was "healed" or at least on their way to that promised land except John Oliver and the Daily Show people who were keen to point out that the PUMA people were NEVER -EVER-going to support Obama. 

The Convention concluded and as as we all returned to our home towns, we took our "Hillary Supports Obama" buttons with us. 

Then came the Republican Convention and the phenomenon known as Sarah Palin. I know I don't have describe what has since transpired. EXCEPT for the transformed button. 

The button has taken on a whole new meaning: That is, Hillary people ARE Obama supporters and NOT Sarah Palin supporters! 

Last weekend, my mom and I were in New York City and as we proudly wore our buttons--countless people stopped to talk to us --in the hotel, at lunch and dinner, on the street--to say they loved the button, how could they get a button of their own, and other equally cheerful things! We made a million new friends! :)

As we were checking out of our very nice hotel, the doorman (of all people!) made a snide remark about our pins: Something like: "If he wins, you won't be able to stay at a hotel like this!" And with that, my mother turns to him and says: "If he doesn't win, you won't be having a job at a hotel like this!"

And as we know, there is our great-grand-canyon-of-a-culture-divide.

Bookends

I sent this letter to the editor of The New York Times. Doubtful that it will see publication, I offer my thoughts in this humble blog. I suggest everyone call their Representative and Senators. This is no laughing matter.

To the editor:

In their meticulous description (Blocking Care for Women", NYTimes, September 19, 2008) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/opinion/19clinton.html 

Hillary Clinton and Cecile Richards perfectly describe what may be the matching bookend for the G.W. Bush Presidency. On his first day in office, January, 2001, President Bush reinstated the Global Gad Rule, a policy whose restriction mandates that no U.S. family planning assistance can be provided to foreign NGOs that use funding from any other source to perform abortions, provide counseling or lobby to make abortion legal or more available. The "gag" stifles free speech and health care progress for women in developing countries.

Now, the Bush Health and Human Service people want to extend a similar "gag" order cloaked as a way to "protect a provider's conscience" to block women's health needs right here in the United States of America. Good Grief. If this is allowed, "we the people" are surely headed toward an "imperfect union".

Culture

The last three weeks have been filled with two back-to-back political conventions and a week that was not to be for recuperation-but blaring with non-stop shooting of red and blue poison arrows. 

I write today about two things: 1) the double standard (it's "ok" for the red team but not-so-"ok" for the blue team and 2) Two countries: The USA and the USA.

The double standard I refer to concerns the righteous right against the somehow unrighteous- non-right. 

Examples-I'm sure you've read these before:

1) Jamie Lynn Spears (Brittany's sister) gets pregnant and the right shouts: "bad parents" BUT

Sara Palin's daughter get pregnant and the right politely states: "we treasure life".

2) If you're Harvard educated and by-pass the fancy law firm to focus on your community and your family, you are not "truly American" BUT if you never went to college or you went to multiple small colleges and finally graduated, you're living as  a "real American".

So goes the popular email entitled "I'm Confused"(Thank you, Andy!) and while all the examples are clever and very sarcastically-smart aleck, the real point is that there is something at work that- to me- and probably to  you, doesn't quite make sense. Why is my thinking so, so opposite? Why can't I get my mind around the "red world"?

To help educate myself and  better understand the "other side of the argument", I recently subscribed to the Wall Street Journal (Sorry, Bob, not quite ready for Rush's Newsletter!). As much as I am a devoted fan of the NYTimes op-ed folks; Tom Friedman,  Frank Rich and Maureen Dowd--I knew I needed another view. And there, on Saturday morning, was the article that said it all: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122125912790430149.html

In case the link doesn't work or you don't want to read the lengthy article, the main take-aways are: 1) "Liberals always think there's something broken in politics. Conservatives always think there's something wrong with the culture."

and

2) If hearing the word "culture" makes you think of Rossini, the latest translation of  "Anna Karenina", the Guggenheim Museum" or "The Wire", then you're probably a liberal--or at least, an  unreconstructed "cosmopolitan" conservative. But if the word culture means for you forms of courtship, or sexual preference, or the relationship between parents and children, or the set of rituals that revolve around the ownership and use of a gun, or, most passionately of all, ways OF living, and believing, and rejoicing, and suffering, and dying that are hallowed by the religion you practice, you are what might be called either a heartland or a Bloomian conservative.

Thus, I finally "get it"....it's about two ways of life...two opposite world views. Which brings me to my final musing...

Saturday-ironically the same day as the WSJ "Culture" article-I volunteered at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. My job brought me into the lives of two young suburban sisters--a 17year old high school senior and 20 year old-a college sophomore.

When someone walked by wearing an Obama hat, I  took the opportunity to inquire if the girls had chosen their candidate. Without a moment's hesitation, they forcefully and with commitment said"McCain". 

After I caught my breath, I gently asked what about McCain earned their support. And that's when the WSJ article intersected with my new teenaged friends: "Sarah Palin!" they exclaimed, "she's gonna bring us change."

It was raining on Saturday. And we had a two-hour shift together. I took a loooong pause. A short while later, I asked what they knew about Sarah? (Suddenly I'm on a first name basis with Ms. Palin!)  When the answers were non-coming, I asked, "Do you knew about Sarah's strict anti-abortion policy and her abstinence-only sex education?" No, they weren't that familiar with that stuff, but their own religion was against abortion.

Suddenly, the 17 year old volunteers that just 3 weeks ago she had accompanied a pregnant friend to court-as a minor, the friend was seeking a judge's permission for an abortion. (Being underage and not wanting her parents involved, she needed the judge to grant the abortion permission.) If the friend had to have the baby, she would have had to forfeit her 4-year, full college scholarship. Wanting to go on to college, she proceeded with the court approved abortion.

Now, we were talkin! We talked about the implications the overturn of Roe v Wade, back alley abortions, coat hangers ("really?" they asked eyes wide open?? These "hip-know-it-all"and  confident-girls were shocked!) We shared a few more "real stories, talked about Sarah's abstinence-only sex education policy ("Are you kidding?" they asked)  and then the younger sister said "well, we have have to vote MCCain b/c our parents and grandparents are for him" and, anyway, they are Italian and "Italians would never vote for a black".

Ahhh. And there it was. The angry, festered, bursting boil. The culture war at work.

I sympathized with their situation and acknowledged that kids often agree with the politics of their family's dinner table. The girls were silent. And I was silently hoping that armed with some facts from our conversation they would have the courage to make their own decision.

There is a lot of work to do to reach across the "culture".

Back Home and BAM!

Back home for a few days, and while I am still reeling from the long days and short nights, life was mostly back to normal when BAM!  John McCain names Sarah Palin as his VP and the suddenly, women across America are asking themselves: Can I support Sarah Palin?

Thanks to Lana Moresky for alerting me to the Gloria Steinem article in today's LA Times. Gloria says it all and says it best: http//www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-steinem4-2008sep04,o,1290251.story