Politics

Ok, so by now, you have probably heard that the Republican nominee for VP is the Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin. If you are aware of that, then you are probably aware of this too... her 17 year old daughter is pregnant. This revelation came in response to the rumor that was flying around that Sarah Palin's 3 month old child was not really her's but was her daughters.

The rumor turned out to be untrue, but in response to it, the Palin family came out with the truth. McCain's people are saying that they knew, but they didn't feel it disqualified her as a candidate and that "parent's should not pay for their children's sins."

Here is my opinon.

As a parent, I'm confused and really sad for the 17 year old daughter. By accepting the nomination, her parents have exposed her to the criticism and ridicule of the entire world. While teenage pregnancy is a reality at all levels of society, it is still not acceptable. In all the pics I've seen of her on the campaign trail, she looks horrified. (I can't imagine being pregnant and living on a tour bus and airplanes, by the way).

They have already made her a poster child for making the right decision, but she's also a poster child for why Sex Ed is important. She grew up in a very conservative christian right wing priviledged home and even she became a statistic that could have been avoided. With everything that this child (the 17 yr old) is going to go through in the next few years, the LAST thing she needs is to do it in the public eye. The LAST thing she needs to be is a poster child for any cause. I question her parent's judgement. I question how any parent, mother or father, could put their own ambition over their child's well being, especially when she is going to need them more than ever.

The McCain camp says, "They are an American family. Lots of families deal with this, unfortunately, she will have to do it in the public eye." That's where they are wrong. She did NOT have to do it in the public eye. She could have carried her baby and built her life without many people really knowing, commenting, or caring about it. (I mean, there are more caribou in Alaska than people right?)

Being a young mother is hard enough. That, in itself, is consequence enough for her actions. Both Obama and McCain agree that people should leave the daughter alone. However, Dobson and the President of the Christian Coalition have already issued supporitve statements, gossip bloggers have already called her a whore. Good luck keeping her name out of the mouths of pundits and comedians.

Poor girl.