WOMAN? OR A CERTAIN TYPE OF WOMAN?

Sarah Palin has captured the attention of the powerful in this nation. She has, in just a few short weeks, become a Vice-Presidential candidate, a fashion icon (glasses), and a target of a very biased ultra-liberal media, as well as who knows what else.

Perhaps the McCain campaign did not vet her properly. We shall see. But now she is being vetted by media of all types as we the public watch. But then, you knew that.

I have observed something about liberals. There is a kind of woman that the "elite" want. It is the woman who is intelligent, capable, willing to risk, egalitarian, very competitive with men, and shares the liberal agenda. A woman can match all of those and more but if she does not share the Feminist agenda, that woman is denounced and opposed at best, and treated as if she is less than human and lied about at worst.

The not-so-subtle message here is that most of these groups could care less about those for whom they claim to advocate. They are not interested in the rights of all women, just those who share their agenda. They are in fact, an enemy of anyone they might consider "common".

I applaud Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton. Yep, you read that right. These two women have disagreed with some of Palin's political views (which is fair), but they have refused to attack her personally or to criticize her for having five children, running for office, or practicing her faith as a conservative evangelical. Good for them!

I once had the opportunity to create a ministry and hire a woman for the role. It was a historic decision for that organization, but a much needed one. Do you know the big issues I faced in my choice? To some, I had to defend the hire of that particular woman instead of a more moderate leaning choice that bought the more liberal "agenda". When the woman hired was being processed to come on staff full time, I had to advocate for her being paid the same amount as the male hire who was also coming on staff. Both were assigned the same title. It was an issue of equal pay for equal work. Elitists are not just in blogs and politics. They wear brands of all kinds.

I do not know who will win the election in November. I do know that Sarah Palin thus far has managed to root out a deep cancer affecting women in America. It is those who would use women for their agenda and continue to disdain any mother who has more than 2.5 children or a woman that actually looks and acts feminine. And all Palin had to do was show up. Imagine what might happen if she actually had opportunity to affect policy?

Is this an issue for the people of God? Yes. Call your local women's shelter. Ask them for demographics of abused women. One might think it is the wife of a poor redneck who got beered up and beat his woman. Not so. You will discover the demographic covers the socio-economic spectrum, heroes of all kinds, and even wives of church leaders (both lay leaders and the anointed ordained).

The issue for us with Sarah Palin and other women is not just political. Pray and vote how you sense you should. I certainly will. But Palin's selection has revealed that we have a long, long way to go in this country regarding the way we treat others. This is not a complimentarian or egalitarian issue as it relates to the theology of women. This is an issue of respect and justice. It is an issue of life. Palin is a public advocate and symbol for life; not only the life of the unborn, but also for the value of the life of a child who in the eyes of many of the elite, should not have been given the opportunity to live.

I have never forgotten a comment made by a friend. We sat at a prayer breakfast in Dallas a few years ago to hear Coach Gene Stallings tell of the blessing of his Down syndrome son, John Mark. John Mark recently passed away at age 46. The story is here. Coach Stallings told of the immeasurable love and joy John Mark had brought into their life and the gift God had given them through that remarkable young man. As we were leaving, my friend said, "You know, what if we get to heaven and find out that WE are the ones with Down syndrome?"

My dear readers, you do not have to agree with Sarah Palin's politics. But God help us if we continue to allow the kind of abuse she has taken from the extremes to be tolerated as acceptable in this nation.

You see, I am a bit passionate about this. My own precious life companion came to me a number of years ago. We were in seminary and she was pregnant with our second child. She had a pretty good job with HUD and an opportunity for a government career. She said, "I believe God wants me to be a stay-at-home Mom. After the birth of our son, I want to leave work and be a full-time Mom." We made that choice for our family. You may make other choices, but that was ours. And, we paid a price not only economically but also relationally. We have four children. There were those (in the church) who were not guarded in their comments that we had too many children. I could share more, but discretion forbids it. We do not regret the choice we made. But then, as now, there is an elitist mentality that advocates for a certain type woman but not others. Thank God for Sarah Palin slamming that particular ceiling!

Beyond those issues, here is a post by Michael Spencer that I encourage you to read. Michael is a chaplain at a small school in Kentucky and blogs under the moniker of iMonk. It has nothing to do with Sarah Palin, but everything to do with the issue of what other young people face in many parts of the world.