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What we can learn from Sarah Palin
Matthew Birkhold

From a very young age, we in the United States are taught that a normal family consists of two married heterosexual parents and a child or a couple of children.  Despite the fact that more than half of all marriages end in divorce, we continue to think of this nuclear family as the norm.  Hopefully Sarah Palin will lead us to rethink some of that.

When it came out that Palin’s 17 year old daughter, Bristol, was not married and pregnant, I thought that it may very well have been the end for McCain.  Then I rethought that, and decided that it may be appealing to voters because it has the possibility to make McCain’s choice for VP more human in their eyes.  According to most reporters at the RNC, it doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal.  Republican delegates are still excited about the ticket.

This excitement about the ticket is something that progressives should be excited about as well.  Bristol Palin’s pregnancy may give us the chance to redefine families in ways that reflect our reality more closely than what we are told is normal today.

By no means do I think that Bristol Palin’s pregnancy is something to be celebrated.  Quite frankly, babies should not be having babies and when they do it becomes a drain on everyone involved, including the child.  There is nothing worse for children than parents who aren’t ready for kids.  However, because Bristol has decided to have the child and get married, there is no sense in talking about what should have happened.

Should McCain get elected, which I hope doesn’t happen, we will get to see young Bristol raise this child for at least four years.  Because she’s seventeen, pregnant, and getting married only because of the pregnancy, we may also get to see a divorce in the white house.  This is where the potential to redefine families lies.

If the daughter of a socially conservative republican VP can get pregnant, get married, then get divorced while living in the white house, it may shake us of this notion that marriage is always the best environment for raising children.  It may also allow us to see that divorce isn’t always the devil it’s made out to be.

My parents have been married thirty years and not only still love each other, but still like each other.  Off the top of the head, I know very few people who can also say that.  Most of my peers, to the contrary, have parents who have been divorced for several years, have parents who have never been married, or have parents who have recently gotten remarried.  Many of my friends, while recognizing themselves as perfectly normal, think that there was something abnormal, or deviant, about their families.  The numbers of them lead me to believe that it was my family that was abnormal.

Despite that fact that my parents are abnormal, their presence in my life provides me with an example of a healthy relationship to follow.  Because my mother was married once before, I’ve also been given a powerful example of someone leaving a relationship that was not healthy.  Because my mother did that, my brother and sister also learned that there is no reason to stay in an unhealthy relationship and that hope exists beyond the present.  If someone as high-profile of as the VP’s daughter can go through this, perhaps it will allow all of us to gather the strength we need to define ourselves based on reality, not on what the state tells us is normal.

Matt Birkhold is a Binghamton, NY based writer and educator.  He can be reached at birkhold(at)gmail(dot)com.    

McCain Chooses Palin As VP

Republican presidential candidate John McCain has chosen Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. What do you think?

Ivan Prost,
Systems Analyst
“It’s kind of sad watching my racist sexist dad, sitting silently in his recliner and slowly shaking his head.”

Teresa Burkhalter,
Vegetable Picker
“As a woman, I am flattered by this scattershot pandering gesture.”

Scott Wise,
Line Cook
“Finally, somebody who can pull in the Alaskan/pro-life/moose-hunting/woman vote.”