"We Don't Discriminate"

Since John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his vice presidential  candidate, I have been getting slack from people. Not because I am leaning toward the Democratic side or even considering becoming an Independent, but because I am a woman. I remember when Palin gave her speech at the Republican National Convention and I was with one of my good male friends. After she finished her speech, he looked at me and said, "I can't believe you don't support her. You are a woman and you should be supporting one of your own."

After he said this, I was shocked. I couldn't believe that he would just assume that since McCain picked a female VP I would automatically support these individuals. Most people who meet me realize right away that I am opinionated and very independent, so I do support women's rights. However, his comment made me realize that this presidential election would be different from others.

Even though only a few months have passed since the Conventions, the presidential race has had a different focus from ones in the past. Instead of focusing a great amount on what the candidates stand for, I feel like this presidential election is focusing too much on gender and race. Yes, Palin is a woman and Barack Obama is a black man, but do these characteristics really matter?

When applying for any job, being a woman or different ethnicity does not matter. Unfortunately, when you're "applying" to be the President of the United States, these seem to be major issues. Palin is being treated differently since she is a woman - whether like a delicate flower or more harsh than a man. She knows what politics are like and how difficult, manipulative and biased people are in the industry. For this reason, people should not be feeling sorry for Palin because she is being attacked by the media or is being asked unfair questions. As for Obama, I am getting sick of people using the race card. First and foremost, he is a man - the color of your skin should not determine how you are treated, just like your gender shouldn't matter. 

While I was in a gay bar a few weeks ago, an older gentleman said, "We don't discriminate. Gay or straight, white or black, man or woman - we don't care. We accept everyone." I wish people could be accepting like this man and look past the physical features that make us all different. If we did this, I feel this presidential election would be on track. What these individuals stand for is what people should be judging them on, not what they wear, looks or popularity. If this is what people are basing their votes off of, all I have to say is that I didn't realize we were still in high school voting for class president.