And now, once again, we are left to choose between two old white men as the Democratic nominee. Will it be 77-year-old Joe Biden, or will it be 78-year-old Bernie Sanders?
i was happy to see the diversity in the original field of potential nominees. There was Kamala Harris, of Black and Indian descent. Pete Buttigieg is gay. Julian Castro is Hispanic. Andrew Yang is Asian-American. Corey Booker is African-American. Tulsi Gabbard is Samoan and Caucasian. This was by far the most diverse field of candidates I have seen.
But look what we are left with: two old white men. After Warren suspended her campaign, I read several comments along the lines of "America isn't ready for a female president." Why not? When will we be ready ? What will make us ready? Will we ever be ready? We sure as hell are not ready for an illiterate, dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks, lying, cheating reality show host and grifter as president.
Apparently we're also not ready for a gay president, or a biracial president. Again I ask, why not? Why is this country, after 244 years, not ready for a president who isn't white, straight and male? Countries from Israel to the United Kingdom and Ukraine, from Ireland to Norway, New Zealand and Germany, from Pakistan to Bulgaria, Lithuania and Iceland, have been led by women. And this is just a sample of the countries that have been -- or are -- led by women. Once again, as with universal health care and college education, the US lags woefully behind.
Women are just as intelligent as men. Women can be as well educated as men. We may not have the same physical strength as some men, but physical strength is not a requirement of the presidency. If it were, the current obese blob occupying the White House wouldn't be there.
One comment I saw recently stated that Warren didn't seem compassionate. Yet the current occupant of the White House has not a molecule of compassion in his bloated body. If any of the female contenders appear 'too compassionate,' they are accused of being 'soft' or 'too emotional.' If they temper their public displays of emotion, they are accused of being 'too hard.' 'Likeability' and 'electability' appear to be more important factors than actual policies. But if this is the case, how did Chump -- who is not likeable on any scale -- get elected.
Women now serve as fighter pilots, as helicopter pilots, as commercial airline pilots. They are skilled physicians and surgeons, attorneys, engineers and scientists. Women are soldiers and sailors and Marines. They are generals and admirals, police officers and fire fighters. Women are astronauts who command space ships and complete space walks.
So why can't an American woman be president? Why are so many Americans, both male and female, opposed to the idea of a woman holding the highest job in the land? Half of American men don't want a female president. Why is that?
I would love to see a woman elected to the presidency, but I won't vote for a woman simply because of her gender. All things being equal, however, -- intelligence, experience, thoughtfulness, integrity -- I will vote for a woman rather than a man. Old white men have had their turn at governing America for close to 250 years. The exception -- Barack Obama -- is still being blamed for things that did not happen during his tenure. He is a highly educated, intelligent, compassionate man -- all the things the current president is not.
And how about this, from a story on cnn.com "Almost 90 percent of men hold some form of bias against women, according to a new global UN report.
Surprisingly, 90% of women do, too.
The Gender Social Norms Index, which measures how social beliefs affect gender equality, was released by the United Nations Development Programme on Thursday.
Despite
the progress that has occurred in closing the equality gap, researchers
found that people's beliefs still negatively impact women's rights and
equality.
For
instance, the GSNI revealed that nearly half of the world's population
believes that men make better political leaders, and more than 40
percent believe men make better business executives.
It also found that 28 percent of men and women believe that men are justified to beat their wives."
Why can't a person who isn't a straight white male be president? It shouldn't matter if the person is gay, or black, or biracial, or female. Why are these external trappings given more consideration than the person's intellect, abilities and character? When will Americans join the ranks of other countries and decide that someone's abilities are more important than the color of the person's skin, gender or sexual preferences? Given the statistics in the article above, I'd bet we won't see a female president in my lifetime.
So folks, get out and vote for the old white male of your choice!
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