A Moment to Consider

In 5 days, the fate of our nation, for the next four years, will be decided. The road here has taken many twists and turns and now we must discern who presents the best step forward.

This election is important to me for many reasons. Like many others in this nation, I am thirsty for change. And I know this term has been over advertised by both parties during their campaigns, but over the past 8 years I have become disheartened by our nation’s attitudes, both on domestic and on foreign policies. I want a leader at the helm who I can identify with, their values, vision, and policies.

I worry what a McCain/Palin Administration would bring for this country. I worry about what would happen to healthcare, specifically women’s healthcare. As a nation, we should be working to make healthcare more accessible for everyone through access to health insurance (which is what the campaigns are talking about, not socialized medicine). Taxing healthcare creates incentives for employers to not offer it and millions of Americans will lose their ability to pay their premiums (which will be the cost of their entire plan). To exacerbate this, reading the data that women will be charged more for health insurance plans that they have to seek out themselves, for pre-existing conditions, such as the ability to have or having had children.

I worry what will happen to minority rights. Given the age of some of the U.S. Supreme Court Justices, the next President will nominate their successors and I want a Justice who will stand up for minorities and women rather than the current Court who, in the past two years, has essentially eliminated a woman’s ability to prosecute her employer for discrimination based on equal pay. Because of privacy laws, it could take years to discover that you’ve been paid less than your male counterpart. As such, you would have no legal standing to sue. According to the new legal precedent, you only have a window of six months.

In addition, I want a Court that will stand up for GLBT rights and defend our Constitution. I want Justices that will recognize that our country, while it respects religious beliefs, does not establish them in their laws. I appreciate that I have the freedom to my own faith and am not forced to worship a god I do not believe in.

I want a leader who will inspire our nation. Over the past 8 years, President Bush has done nothing but turn away the majority of American citizens as well as the global community. America is now perceived as a bully who does not respect the sovereignty of other nations. Instead, we have become a global police force. Our defense policy has been founded on lies and now we are tied up in a war that has nothing to do with capturing Bin Laden. And only after we tore apart Iraq, did Al-Qaeda appear. Plus, I would think in 6 years, we would have found some indication of Weapons of Mass Destruction. We can not continue to discredit the 9-11 Commission Report.

I believe in Senator Obama’s vision for a new direction. I have seen how he has inspired many across this nation, including my generation, which has traditionally been apathetic to politics and historically has not participated in the electoral process. In addition, both conservatives and liberals have been rallied behind him. In that sense, and that he is a politician unlike the others, he would be the Maverick.

This election is also very personal. I am tired of being embarrassed by its leadership. I am tired of knowing that my rights are dismissed by Right-Wing Fundamentalists and their actions justified by their interpretation of the Bible. I want a united country, not a divided one; one that respects all of its citizens.

If you have not already voted, I encourage you to do so. And when you mark who you believe is best equipped to serve at the helm of our country, consider who best represents America’s values. For me, that leader was Senator Obama.

Sarah Palin Is Not the Right Voice for Women

Before 2000, potentially $457,000 was generated from the female victims of sexual assault in Wasilla, Alaska alone. Charging victims the cost of the a rape kit was a state-wide practice until Representative Eric Croft, a Democrat, sponsored legislation to overturn this policy. The only resistance to the initiative was from Wasilla where the now Vice Presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, was presiding as the town Mayor.

As a woman, I am appalled and saddened that another woman would not lead the charge for overturning this practice. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a national survey studying violence against women, one in six women will either experience an attempted or completed rape. Applying this data to Wasilla, where in 2000 the total population of women was 2,741 that would mean 457 women would have been the victim of sexual assault. If these women wanted to prosecute their attacker, they would have had to come up with the $1,000 to pay for the rape kit before the District Attorney would take their case. This practice further victimized the victims and potentially deterred them from prosecuting their offenders.

In the United States alone, seventy percent of sexual assault victims do not report the crime to the authorities or an advocacy organization. Victims are either afraid of retribution from their attacker, feel ashamed because of misperceptions about the criminal act, or they fear being attacked again. In the same study from the U.S. Department of Justice, it was found that sixty-two percent of rape victims know their attacker. Do we really need another roadblock for women to overcome just to report the crime and for her to be able to prosecute her attacker? Do we really want a woman who is unwilling to lead the charge to protect these women standing second in command at the helm of our country?

Sarah Palin’s track record proves that she is not qualified to speak on behalf of women because she does not understand every woman’s basic desire to not be victimized by a predator but also to not be victimized by their government as well. Instead, women should rally behind a leader who will protect women.

Senator Barrack Obama is a leader whose track record shows that he voted to increase funding for advocacy organizations that help victims of sexual assault. Obama believes that ending violence against women should be a top White House priority by creating affordable housing and equal pay for women. In addition, Obama will appoint a top advisor who will be responsible for keeping him up-to-date on this issue.

When you go to the polls on November 4th, think of yourself, your mother, your sister, and your friends, all of whom would suffer from legislation that would be enacted from a McCain/Palin Administration. Would you want any woman you know to have to pay for her rape kit order to prosecute her attacker? Instead, cast your ballot for Barack Obama. Senator Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden, will stand up for the rights of women. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will work to eradicate this and other issues that plague women. On November 4th your voice matters.