Friday night I was sitting with a very interesting group of girl friends, all ages, shapes and sizes and we were discussing everything from kids, jobs, “scoop” and then the talk turned to politics.
Each of us had different opinions, different views on who we were voting for, yet all of us had questions about events going on in our country and how they would affect us, our families, our economic security.
I think this is important, to be able to have discussions with your friends and share ideas, even if we don’t all agree.
I mean, how boring it would be to only ever talk to people who thought exactly like you did, like Stepford friends? How important, especially for women, to listen to opposite opinions from our own and gain insight into the forming of those opinions.
How powerful to be able to express your own views and know that your friends, even if they don’t agree, hear you and will still be your friends.
Ladies, if you don’t have a group of friends like that, if you feel like you can’t open your mouth around them when you don’t agree, then maybe you should look into getting new friends.
Likewise, if you are in a relationship with a man who does not “allow” you to have an opinion that is different from his, that is not normal and it is not okay.
If you won’t think of yourself, think of what kind of a role model you are being to young girls who see you trapped in such a relationship.
I learned a great deal about how my friends felt about the issues and found it fascinating to listen to their take. Women make up 50 percent of the people in this country. It’s more important than ever for us to make our voices heard.
Let’s face it, no matter who gets elected president, that person will never have all the answers. They will not singlehandedly be able to fix the economy. It’s time for the two parties to listen and learn from each other.
I heard a spot on the news about the “Sweet 16” female members of the Senate. The oldest is 72, the youngest is 46.
Senator Olympia Snowe, R-Maine said they are 16 women who decided to try a kind of political experiment, leaving partisanship at the door to seek legislation.
“Well, what we did decide is to be a zone of civility,” Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md. told “Good Morning America” anchor Diane Sawyer. “That within an institution that got increasingly prickly, increasingly partisan, that we could disagree without being disagreeable.”
“When we have come together, ever since I’ve been here, when the women have come together on an issue, we have won,” said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.
This collaboration was one of the most uplifting things I have heard on the news in quite some time. It made me hopeful for the future. Maybe the males of the Senate and Congress should take a few notes.
It seems perfectly normal to me for people to be able to discuss their different political views in a loving, respectful way because I’m used to it. I have always had the very best role models I could ever have had.
My parents have been married for over 50 years and have cancelled out each other’s votes for at least 40 of those 50 years. So I am used to the idea that people can still be friends, still love each other and not share the same exact “clone” thoughts.
My Mom has not disrespected my Dad for voting for his choice and my Dad never belittled her for cancelling his vote or tried to make her feel stupid for feeling the way she does. Never said things like “now don’t worry your purty little head with things like politics.”
You know, now that I think about it, I kind of wish he would have said that once in a while so we could have watched the fireworks. We could have pulled up chairs, sold bumper stickers, popcorn and boxes of Butterfingers. But I digress....
We are all smart, witty, beautiful, strong women. We may work in construction, we may be attorneys or doctors, or work at Brookshire Bros. or be stay-at-home moms. Our ideas are important.
We are all significant role models to some young girl, a daughter, granddaughter, niece, student, daughter of a friend.
To see and hear us being able to have a discussion about current events, not in unison, but respectfully listening to all ideas and learning from them, we can teach these young girls that when they grow up, their opinions really do matter. And so do the views of others, even if you don’t agree with them.
The most important issue facing women today is not whether we all agree. It’s not even who we are going to vote for. It’s that we have an opinion and are encouraged to share it.
If you haven’t registered to vote, you have until Monday, Oct. 6. Please do so.
Just vote. Make your voice heard.
