Sarah Palin - Pro-Life Feminist

I actually wrote this before the 2008 election, but I brought it up to date.

In these dark times, a miracle!

I think a good many of us were concerned about McCain, especially after some of the things he pushed earlier, such as the immigration reform bill (about which, more later), the election reform bill, and so forth. I personally felt that he has learned a great deal, and I was planning on voting for him, but his candidacy wasn't one that made me feel particularly excited. That has changed.

I was seriously afraid he would choose either Romney or a pro-abortion person for his running mate. What none of us realized is that he was feeling the waters for a long time, and he already knew he should not appoint a pro-abortion person.

By the time McCain's time of announcement was drawing near, I was favoring three possible candidates: Bobby Jindal, Steve Cohen, and Sarah Palin. I knew enough about each to know that each would be fully acceptable.

In retrospect, I think Bobby Jindal needs to be right where he is: protecting the people of Louisiana from their horrible weather. Steve Cohen is a miracle: a conservative Jew. But how many people are ready to vote for a Jew? I would like to think it wouldn't matter but there is still a lot of antisemitism out there. With all the catering to Islam going on, how ready will people be these days?

Imagine my surprise when I woke up and learned that McCain had chosen Sarah Palin. I was ECSTATIC! It was the best choice of the three!

Sarah is the quintessential pro-life feminist. She LIVES her convictions. She has been a member of Feminists for Life since 2006, and as you may know, I was one of the founders of that organization. Two particularly startling pieces of evidence for her convictions are the fact that she bore a son who has Down Syndrome, KNOWING he had it before he was born. The other is that her daughter is bearing a child outside of wedlock, and this child has been fully accepted and will be loved and cared for by the entire family.

If you have spent any time on my web site, you know how I feel about Down Syndrome. It's NOT an affliction! It's just a case of being different. We haven't constructed an environment that truly nourishes these children, and they are left to fend for themselves in many case, even though they need a particular environment more than most of the rest of us. One of the best ways to provide that environment is through Montessori education, which, quite frankly, would be better for the vast majority of children. I have SEEN a boy with Down Syndrome in the Montessori classroom, and if nobody had pointed him out, you wouldn't know which one he was! Early intervention concentrates almost totally on training physical skills, and programs to educate the minds of these young children is virtually nonexistent. This needs to change. My nephew had phenomenal language development. He tested at 5 years when he was only 3 1/2. And he showed other signs of early language development. For example, I have a videotape of him having a philosophical discussion with his brother at about the same age. How was this achieved? Mostly, it was through intensive exposure to language. It started with his speech therapy, but the main element was that he was surrounded by people who talked to him constantly, or when they weren't, he was watching decent TV programs or listening to music. Did you know he is SO gifted in language that not only can he do all these things, but he has memorized the complete script of a dozen movies, and hundreds of songs, as well as the Lutheran liturgy, both the pastor's and congregation's parts?

Sarah Palin's son will have the same fortunate background. He has siblings, and he will be in many social situations. One of the things that really upsets me is the way people are judging Sarah for not devoting her life to caring for him 24/7. Well, folks, that's NOT what a child with Down Syndrome needs! He needs early intervention, and he needs to be exposed to lots of different people and situations. Children with Down Syndrome are characterized by having less muscle tone that most babies, and by having a very laid back attitude. They don't care! So they don't provide the feedback that normally prompts mothers to provide that natural education that mothers give in their interactions with their infants. Children with Down Syndrome do well with things that need to be manipulated. A Montessori environment can be provided in the home. It's the philosophy that counts.

I just got back from spending two weeks with my nephew. His education leaves a lot to be desired. But he is very bright, and could live a fairly normal life. If they hadn't shortchanged him in the schools, he would be even better off. Given his strength in the language area, I am always ready to capitalize on that. One day before my visit, I called and talked to him on the phone. He said, "Aloha!" He knew what it means, too. He picked that up from watching TV. He loves languages! He also knows some Spanish. So while I was there, because his mother wanted him to learn some German, and he wanted to learn some Spanish, I was working on him with both languages. He picked up quite a bit, and even started to attempt sentences in German, all in the space of two weeks. Before my visit, they had been here, and at one point, we went to a Chinese restaurant. One thing he loves to do is thank the waiter in his native language. So he asked how to say "thank you" in Chinese, and we told him. He said it to the waiter, who responded. Then when I was visiting, we went to a Chinese restaurant again, and this time he thanked the waiter in German, and I told him it had to be Chinese. I told him the word again. So he said it, and the water responded by saying several sentences in Chinese!

While I was there, we also played Uno quite a bit. They changed the rules a little, so all the cards are laid out where all the players can see them. This leads to increased opportunities for strategy. My nephew is very good at strategy in Uno. He beat me a number of times.

More recently, I have learned that he is interested in horticulture. There is a good chance he can make a career in this area.

So my advice is that people LAY OFF criticizing Sarah Palin for how she is raising her son! She will do just fine, because she understands that like all children, children with Down Syndrome need a varied and stimulating environment, NOT Smother Love! Keep in mind that these children love unconditionally. Their love IQ is off the charts. They should be teaching US, not the other way around.

So let's lay the idea that she's being negligent to rest right now.

Then there is the issue of the expected grandchild, which was being carried by her daughter, who is not married. I don't care HOW careful you are in your parenting, these things are bound to happen, because society no longer supports parental efforts. She would have been exposed to all kinds of influences that would pull her away from parental teaching. You can teach them until you are blue in the face, and they will still make their own decisions. We even provided an intensive environment to counteract the influences that would draw children away from our teaching. We homeschooled. But we didn't cut off all contact with the outside world. We don't believe in imprisoning our children. Well, guess what! We have an illegitimate child in OUR family, too! What matters is NOT whether your young adults decide to go against your teachings on this matter, but what you DO about it when they do. Like Sarah, we welcomed our grandson into our family with open arms. And for a pro-life person, that's the way it should be. And finally, do NOT forget that Christians are supposed to be loving and forgiving, and that's exactly what she is doing.

Instead of harping on Sarah for the decision of her DAUGHTER, how about admiring her courage for living her pro-life convictions? How about following her example? How many young women are getting abortions because they are AFRAID of how their parents will react? They don't even know, but they are petrified. How do I know that? I have talked to lots of them! We need to make it clear that while having a baby out of wedlock is a mistake and not wise, even more, we need to make it clear that these babies are also made in God's image, and WE SHOULD NOT KILL THEM! Instead of forcing her daughter to kill her grandchild, Sarah is standing behind her wholeheartedly. This takes courage with all the judgmental people out there. It's time we recognized this courage instead of trashing the people who stand up to evil in this way. Sarah has set a good example; let us follow it. Christians above all should be willing to be supportive.

Some of you folks out there don't think about what a blessing God has given us in Sarah Palin! I think He chose her and set up her life in a way that would position her right where she is.

Well, then, what about the fact that she is a productive, creative, accomplished person in addition to being a mother? What did the feminists tell us? That we shouldn't have to choose between career and motherhood! And now that we have a shining example of someone who did just that, all they can do is trash her! What, are you "feminists" JEALOUS? Heaven forbid!

Sarah stands for the proposition that WE DO NOT HAVE TO LET ABORTIONISTS RAPE US WITH INSTRUMENTS OF DEATH to achieve both a family and a career. What person running for public office, who happens to be male, and has a large family, gets the kind of criticism she is getting? And do you have any idea how many children may be saved by her shining example? Let me tell you this: between 80-95% of all children who have Down Syndrome are being aborted. What a priceless treasure we are throwing away like so much trash!

Sarah says she will be an advocate for parents with special needs children. Indeed, she will be. We need to recognize that the special needs child is someone who is here to evoke our compassion and self-sacrifice. We are far too close to the point where we will be exterminating our disabled people just like the Nazis did, and we KNOW how that destroys a society. We have seen it happen. Germany has still not recovered from the consequences of what the German people allowed the Nazis to do. For one thing, they exterminated millions of civilized, educated people just because they were Jews, and now they are living with a huge influx of Moslems who include many who either openly commit violence or advocate it. Not a very good trade, as far as I am concerned. Moslems NEED TO SPEAK OUT against the violence. But until they do, nations like Germany will suffer the consequences, not only of that situation, but of the fact it has become almost totally secularized.

Did Palin make a mistake by resigning as governor of Alaska? A lot of people think it means she's a quitter. What arrant nonsense! She's principled. She saw that people were attacking her and the government was paying for her defense. And that's wrong. So she put a stop to it. Not only that, but this frees her to move forward on the national scene, and I for one am hoping and praying she will run for President. The LAST thing we need is for REPUBLICANS to reject her because she did the principled thing.

So, folks, let's stop all these games, spreading trashy lies about Palin, and support her! This is a dream come true for me, and it should be for you as well. Unfortunately, the McCain-Palin ticket lost. It has cost our nation dearly. So it is time to start moving toward electing Palin as President! Are you with me?