Finally our founding forefathers can rest in peace: Men and women are created equal in American politics

Dear Bashir,

Well, you did ask for it…my reflections on politics. First, as a disclaimer, let me say that I take everything in Life personally. Hard as I might try to be logical and objective, what I usually come up with are opinions based on personal experience and bias. I think I might head up a new, international organization called Agnostics Anonymous. Our motto will be “I’m an Agnostic. I don’t know; but neither do you!”

Where do our political leanings come from? I’m guessing that most people are as influenced as I am by their personal experiences in the realms of sex and religion. Those categories determine our possibilities, our opportunities, and our ethics in whatever community we live. (Don’t forget…this is just the way I see it.)

In America we are suffering, or enjoying, a barrage of political rhetoric. I’m delighted to see that after the 232 years since the signing of our Declaration of Independence, the United States is finally acknowledging that “all men (women now also understood) are created equal”. It took us a while, along with war and shame, to get around to implementing that glorious concept. Belated though it is, we’re way ahead of many other countries.

So each party has chosen to spearhead this affirmation in its own way. Democrats are putting up an African American as a possible president. Republicans are offering a young woman as vice president…and God forbid!…replacement as president if McCain should falter. I would like to assume that each party would carry on this “created equal” status in all future elections; major step in the right direction.

So, how do we choose between “good” and “better” to get the “best”. That’s when it all becomes personal. I’m thrown back on my own experience as a woman raised in America and as a traveler in the larger world.

As for gender, I have not been denied anything that I ever worked for or aspired to because of the fact that I am a woman. I have been cared for and respected by society and I have no complaints on that score. But, many women and girls have been abused, and taken advantage of. I worked for a time in a Planned Parenthood clinic. That was back in the 1950’s, when we were forbidden to teach 15 year old unwed mothers about contraception to prevent another accidental birth. It was against the law and religious principles of many people in that state. So what was Sarah Palin thinking in Alaska in 2008? And was her daughter not advised that bringing a new life into the world was going to require responsible parents to feed and nurture it? ‘Nough said?

As for skin color, after my rather segregated white upbringing, I’ve been blessed to welcome blacks as my family and my closest friends. I’m proud of the breakthrough and grateful to be part of the transition. One of my black grandchildren is of Colombian lineage. Another has Kenyan heritage. I might add that others are white American and two are typical Scandinavian. I like Barack Obama.

In addition to gender and race phenomena that are showing up in this year’s election…religion and ideology are also up front. I do not take issue with John McCain’s conservative religion; but I’m terrified of his devotion to the military and its methods. I’m afraid that in spite of his admirable personal bravery he is too closely attached to the close-minded, power-driven arrogance of the present administration. It’s a little late for him to start finding fault with Bush. We needed him to protest loudly in the past eight years to policies that were WRONG.

Yesterday I got a better look at Joe Biden on “Meet The Press”. I liked his view of what has happened in Iraq and what his predictions are for its future. Biden is well versed in Foreign Relations and has a realistic approach to America’s responsibility in world affairs. (I repeat…this is just my opinion from “the acre” in Cowpens.) What I really like about Biden’s interview was his firm personal belief in his own Catholic religion, while stating at the same time that he has no right to impose his beliefs on anyone else. OH!!!! I really like that!

And before I quit: Referring to both Hillary Clinton and to Sarah Palin, I would have liked to see them capitalize on their God-given femininity rather than their blatant attempts to out-macho the men.

The Oriental concept of martial arts has a lot of merit, I think. The idea is not to be more aggressive than your attacker, but to use his aggressiveness to defeat him. Hillary finally earned my respect and admiration when she gracefully submitted to Barack’s nomination. This is “woman’s way”…what comes natural to us.

Believe me; it has worked from the beginning of Time. It’s still effective.

By Ruth Shanor*
Email: ruthshanor@yahoo.com

Editor’s Note:
Ruth Shanor is an American grandmother in her 80s, an author of two books and numerous essays and a devoted surfer of the Internet. From her acre in Cowpens, South Carolina, Ruth surveys the world through the omnipresent Google. Her original intention of subscribing to Google Alert was to monitor the news of the countries where her children and friends lived. But little did she know that the world would be her oyster and that she would “stretch her one acre of land across the world” as she put it, establishing heartwarming friendships with people across the world and across cultures. It is through surfing the Web that Ruth found Awdalnews in 2004 after reading Bashir Goth’s article “Singing Into a Vacuum: The Torment of a Somali Playwright.

It is therefore within this spirit of “so many good things we share” as Ruth described the common bonds between people that we decided to publish Ruth’s reflections and show the readers of Awdalnews and the world at large that despite the physical, psychological, cultural and religious walls and barriers that human beings like to erect to divide them into Us and Them, it is alas the yearning of the human spirit for freedom and breaking of barriers that unites us.

In her reflections which we shall serialize in Awdalnews, Ruth will show us how we all face the same fears and challenges in life and share the same dreams, desires and passions for a better tomorrow. She will also tackle current cultural and political issues. The above piece is Ruth’s response to Awdalnews editor’s question on her opinion on the 2008 American presidential elections.