Revisiting the war on women

April 15, 2016 — It’s back. That clever marketing ploy—the war on women—has returned to the headlines thanks to this week’s Equal Pay Day holiday and Hillary Clinton.

Not only is the perceived war demeaning, but also instead of empowering women, it makes them appear dependent. If Clinton wins her party’s nomination, we’re likely to hear more about it over the next several months while she campaigns as if she’s the original suffragist.

Here are a few of the battles we’re supposedly fighting:

Sexual assault on women
While a noble and legitimate cause, if you’re expecting support from Clinton, you might be looking in the wrong direction. She singlehandedly orchestrated investigations on the women who accused her husband, former President Bill Clinton of sexual crimes, and then later said, “Sexual assault accusers must be heard, believed and supported.” Clinton was in a sticky position for sure, and her husband’s behavior is not her fault. However, she knew about his past indiscretions, yet she tried to discredit the women who claimed they were sexually assaulted.

The right to choose
It is doubtful that Roe v. Wade will be overturned anytime soon, if ever, and both parties understand that. It was clear when democrats and republicans defended women and blasted Donald Trump after he stated that women who have abortions should be punished if he overturned Roe v. Wade.

No matter how you feel about abortion, it is legal. We have every right to protest against it for religious or ethical reasons should we desire, but as long as it is the law, it is a woman’s right to choose. As someone who is pro-life, my personal decision, I cannot demand that others live with the same beliefs. My decision comes from a spiritual place. I believe all life has a purpose that needs to be fulfilled. I know it sounds simplistic, and not everything is black and white with this issue. But it’s how I feel and I won’t judge anyone who believes differently.

Birth control
In the staged the “War on Women”, somehow this issue became a battle, too. Democrats accused republicans of trying to end insurance coverage for birth control in the last presidential election, when in reality, they wanted to stop the government from requiring employers to cover birth control at no cost to employees. That is a huge difference. Demanding that birth control gets distributed free, or forcing religious employers to offer it at a discounted price when is against their doctrine, is not something the government should do. Fighting for this slanted cause is not honorable; it is just another way to control women and make them dependent.

Equal pay
Equal pay for men and women was a major topic in the last election when President Obama sought re-election and campaigned that women are paid only 77 percent of what men are paid. We can all agree this is unfair, yet it is difficult to sort through what is fact and what is fiction. If someone can show me what statistics these claims are based on, I’d be grateful. What I do know is that we have fair pay laws in place, which may not have completely leveled the playing field, but they improved it.

There’s also a lot to be taken into consideration when determining pay. Experience, tenure, job performance and type of job or industry, are just a few. There are women do the same job as other women at the same workplace who are not paid the same. The same goes for men. Research also indicates that men are better at negotiating salaries than women are, and that’s an enormous factor. Unless the government can mandate salaries that take into consideration the exact experience, tenure, job performance and more, complete equality across pay scales is a daydream.

Does it really matter who the next president is?

April 4, 2012 – When it comes to American politics, it is often said we end up voting for the lesser of two evils. Given that we are a free people with the privilege to elect whoever we want, why do we take such a nonchalant attitude about those who create our laws and lead our nation?

This way of thinking would not hold up anywhere else outside of politics. Can you imagine eating in a restaurant and choosing between left over scraps from other diners, or rotten food that would make you sick? Of course not. Yet when it comes to voting, we are not dismayed when faced with candidates we know aren’t up for the job.

Could it be that we are so comfortable with our lives that politics is nothing but a casual sport? Or is it because people believe that it won’t make a difference one way or another? Either way, many politicians depend on the ignorance of the American people. They want us to stay uninformed because our lack of knowledge is the only reason they have jobs, the handsome pensions that they created for themselves, and first-class benefits that will last their lifetime.

Need more proof that the politicians are getting their way? A 2010 Pew Research Center poll showed that less than 60 percent of Americans could correctly answer questions about our political system, and I believe this is exactly the way they want it. The more complicated they make their jobs and the process seem, the more they can get away with.

The upcoming presidential election may be the worst offense yet. Last week, a news report claims that 52 percent of voters do not like any of the Republican candidates. While this statistic didn’t indicate whether the people polled were Republican or Democrat, I know enough Republicans who are unhappy with this selection of candidates to safely say they hope that no one receives the party’s nomination, and someone great steps in at the last minute and takes the party by storm at the Republican National Convention.

The same goes for the other side. Just as many Democrats are unhappy with the job President Obama has done over the past four years. I’ve heard enough people comment, and I’ve read the news reports that claim people don’t believe President Obama has the greatest track record, and if there were another option, they would consider it.

We accept the scraps these candidates feed to us like obedient children. By the end of the summer, we’ll likely have exactly what many of us don’t want – a choice between the incumbent candidate Barack Obama (who just announced to a group at a recent fundraiser that capitalism doesn’t work, and who was caught telling Vladimir Putin to wait until he’s reelected before they make any changes), and challenger Mitt Romney (who many Republicans believe is not conservative enough, and who is out of touch with the average struggling American). This match will most likely turn into a long, dirty campaign that the majority of Americans, both Republican and Democrat, despise. It’s a sad state of affairs, and a sadder way to select someone to run our country, and have a major impact on the world.

Politics has always been a dirty business, and it’s been that way long before now, dating back to the days of Washington and Jefferson. It just seems uglier now because neither party will compromise and most politicians seem to be in it for their own gain. 

Getting back to the original question: does it really matter who our next president is? I want to shout out YES, because it  should, but there is too much political unrest and not enough compromise between our political parties to achieve anything worthwhile, no matter who is in office. And we’ll likely have two candidates who are not faithful to their parties, or to the people gave them this opportunity in the first place. It’s no wonder people don’t want to vote (although that is not the answer to this problem).

So what do we do? Go back to voting for the lesser of two evils, and pray for a miracle?

As if we have any other choice.