Rantings and Ravings

By Sun Advocate

You know when you ask someone to do a piece of your job for you, you never know what you’ll get.
I am writing my own column this week and sending it in myself. It was nice of my husband to help out last week when I was in a pinch.
What a busy few weeks. What with the Olympics, two political conventions and a hurricane there is a lot to talk about around the water cooler.
The Olympics had its scandles and triumphs, but in the end it kind of just fizzled away.
But then so did hurricane Gustav.
The Democratic Convention was pretty much what we expected. No big bombs there. But, the Republicans have saved the day with the vice presidential nomination. This did not fizzle, but exploded with the specticle of a Fourth of July fireworks finally.
I had not paid much attention to the Alaska governor, Sarah Palin before she became the chosen one. Now she is all over the news. Several issues bother me a bit about her, but I truly think that her daughter’s pregnancy should not be an attack point for the opposition. I also didn’t think Brittney Spear’s little sister’s pregnancy deserved the media attention it got either.
That issue will get much more press that it needs to have. That’s because we have a whole group of talking heads that have to have something to give their opinion on.
The moral issue of teen pregnancy to an unwed mother has been a hot topic on several occasions over the last 10 years or so. Mostly from people who align themselves with the political party now dealing with the issue as part of their vice presidential nomination. Remember the fictional character “Murphy Brown?” and Dan Quayle?
I for one will not castigate this family on this issue. I have no right to second guess whether or not that Sarah Palin gave her daughter the right message about sex or that she wasn’t there enough for her child because she is a professional working mom.
As parents, most of us should not point fingers at others. I know many of us have gone through our own heartbreaks and trials as we raised our children.
What we all should be focusing on from all the candidates is the real issues that a president needs to deal with. The economy, war, gas prices and energy issues are top concerns for me. Also disaster relief and preparations, home land security and education are high on my list as well. We each have our own lists and priorities that we want in a president and our congress included.
So will this remaining election period be a side show or an example of democracy at its best. I worry it will lean toward the former.
I will not add to the circus. I plan on keeping my focus on the reason we elect a president every four years.
I hope you do as well.