politics

(This entry got a bit hijacked by one of those Palin scandals. The events described take place right after the end of the Democratic Convention.)

I must disclose that this is the first time ever that I've watched any part of a convention. (Yes, I've shirked my political duties, mea culpa.) And, while I'm confessing, I only watched the 'big' speeches of the Democratic convention. But they energized me and gave me enough confidence that I thought I'd try to open a dialogue with my siblings, all of whom vote Republican as far as I know. I thought I'd start by telling them that I wanted to do a blog interview with people who were voting for McCain, to inform all the folks on the 'blue islands' what people in the red areas were thinking. This would give me a chance to really listen and for my siblings to know that they would be heard, which IMLTHO, is the key to any good communication.

So I called one of my siblings (who wishes not to be identified, thus weird pronouns to follow. But I will say that it's a different sibling than the one from this entry, so you'd have a 33% chance of being right if you guessed.) Anyway, I gave shem the spiel and much to my surprise, s/he said, "I don't know if I'm voting for McCain."

So, I've been pondering on this Palin birth buareadh. It's just chock full of issues for me, no matter which way I look at it. Here's the best, most charitable angle from which I can view it: that the baby was indeed Palin's daughter's child, and Palin acted from a (misguided from my perspective) fear that having an illegitimate child would indeed ruin her daughter's life and created the charade pregnancy to save her daughter. (Yes, I know that it would also save her OWN reputation, and there were several degrees of self-interest involved. However, as I said previously, this is the MOST charitable reading I can give this situation.)

How can this be the best of all possible perspectives? Well, as per the title, I have judgement issues regarding Palin's parenting choices. I've had them ever since I heard that she was boasting about going back to work three days after having the baby. I know that economic necessity faced by some moms who indeed MUST return to work prematurely postpartum; I've been at some of their births. And, indeed, most postpartum mothers who have older children return to work prematurely as well, but that gets into a whole 'nuther rant re women and unpaid work. However, when I'm thinking about Palin, it's hard for me to imagine that the state of Alaska medical benefits forced her to return to work that soon. And, considering that our supposed President regularly takes a couple weeks off to go vacation at his ranch, I can't imagine that there would be such pressing matters in Alaska that Gov. Palin couldn't have handled them by doing a little work from home via the phone or with administrative aides shuttling back and forth a bit.

My whirlwind week continued. CHOICE was one of the sponsors who brought Jennifer Block to town, to talk about her book, Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care. (Here's a link to her blog.)

She was mainly preaching to the choir. But I was able to take away this idea: "We have to start saying to our friends that we think their decisions about their births are a bad idea." I have always refrained from that, because I know that women need to give birth where they feel safest. But the current state of obstetrics, as it is practiced in this country, is, in many ways, unsafe. Yet I see and hear of so many competent women, who question authority adroitly, who research and educate themselves tirelessly when making choices, just putting themselves blindly in the hands of their OB. The only thing I've found so far that may partially explain it is this link, which the 'Savant sent me last week. It could be; I've always thought that oxytocin had a pheremonic quality.

Not being able to squirt hormones up the noses of my friends, I have found that it is folly to tell someone else that one thinks they are making a bad choice. Throwing down that gauntlet rarely gets someone to change their mind; instead it usually causes a defensive reaction that intensifies their commitment to the decision in question. But telling a friend "I am worried about your chances of having the birth you want in the hospital." can be a good way to open a discussion and do some educating.

I'll be there, as will my partners (barring a birth of course).

No, not that way, you buncha pervs. It would have been more in the "is this the Rapture?" vein. You see, at around 7:00PM, (EST) my oldest, smarter-than-me-in-several-ways brother conceded that I "was right about Bush." (our supposed commander-in-chief, just in case any lingering double entendre remains) And then later, my oldest sister admitted that chiropractic care had really improved the behavior of her grandson. This may seem like no big deal to you, but in true Paul Harvey fashion, here's the rest of the story: