I'm sitting here, attempting to postpone further the writing of my sermon. So far, so good! I'm also waiting to see how many of the trees around my apartment get blown down in the tropical storm. We're currently looking at two--one giant, one smaller. All this has freaked out my dog to the point that he won't go out the front door anymore. I think he might have the right idea.
I have been thinking this past week about (of course) Sarah Palin. Just like almost everyone else in this country.
Now, I don't like Gov. Palin. At all. I don't like her to the extent that I was ranting to anyone who would listen about her for the past week. I don't like her policies, her record, her way of presenting her record, her accent, or her pride in being 'folksy.' Really, I don't like her--and I was kind of disturbed by that. There are a lot of famous people I don't care for, but I tend to not obsessively dwell on it.
And the conclusion I came to was this. It wasn't just that her politics make my skin crawl and her hypocrisy is somewhat astounding. (Though, there is that too.)
This woman makes my life harder. Each and every day, she makes my life and my work more difficult. This is why I don't like her.
She plays into stereotypes that were hatched in 1950s sitcoms. Women must work to be pretty all the time--and the prettier they are, the more capable. But not too capable--heaven forbid they admit to ambition. No, they just run for the local PTA to help their kids. After all, their kids are their proudest accomplishment! And they don't worry too much about big problems like Iraq or global warming or pay equity or even decent sex education (probably a mistake, looking back)--they just praise the decency of the nice old man who gave them their job and smile and look pretty.
So, by playing that part so very nicely on a national stage, Sarah Palin just made it that much harder for everyone else. At work, the next time someone compliments my hair instead of my sermon, she made it easier. The next time someone tells me they're glad the church hired me because I am so young and cute, she made it easier. The next time someone tells me my sermons are too complex for me to give, she made it easier.
These people aren't malicious--they're just doing what their culture tells them to. And so thank you, Gov, Palin, for reinforcing all that for a new generation.
