I live in a really great town. Small enough to always see someone you know, big enough to have both a McDonalds and a Taco Bell. Those us us who live "in town" can walk pretty much everywhere we want to go. There are also a few big cities nearby, so we can keep up with the rest of the world, too. But even sleepy little towns sometimes have some drama. Lately ours has been political. A local leader has been accused of some not so honest business dealings. Of course, me being me, I can't just sit idly by and watch. I have to "use my words" and share my opinions. Which is cool and all, and I don't expect others to agree with my opinions always. Or ever. But in this instance, someone who does not agree with me called the situation a party wide conspiracy. (What? I don't party! Even when I was young and could party I really sucked at it!) Then she said it was obviously a Republican attempt to oust someone!
I have been called a lot of things in my life. Mom, sister, daughter, co worker, bitch, friend, hot, (just seeing if I could sneak that in there without anyone noticing), even by some awesome. But I have never been called a Republican! Other people's opinions normally don't bother me. But for some unknown reason, this complete stranger spreading this rumor about me has me upset! So my neighbor asked, OK what am I then? The truth is, I won't pick a party because I don't trust any of them. When I vote, and I do vote every time I can, I don't look at the letter behind a name. I vote with my conscience, my brain, my gut, and yes sometimes my uterus.
Let me first tell you why I personally feel the need to vote. Do you remember the miniseries "Roots?" We all saw it as kids, and sometimes the History Channel will show it again so we can watch it as adults. In the show, as I'm sure in real life, the owners seem to think they were doing their slaves a favor by allowing them to be here and work. They actually compare the slaves to livestock. Read this again. They see the human beings they bought and own as nothing more than an ox or cow. Something to do what you need done, then disposed of however you see fit. Yet these men had the right to vote a full 50 years before any women could. Fifty years our country allowed livestock to vote rather than their own mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters. Now don't misunderstand: I'm not condoning the treatment of people like livestock. (Although being treated like most family pets in America today would actually be a pretty good life). I am making the point here that we thought of our livestock better than we thought of our women. So, being a woman, I vote.
That's not to say everybody should vote. Yes, everybody should have the right to vote, but really, not everybody should excercise the right. Despite Puff Daddy or P Diddy or whatever the hell his name is this week telling everybody to vote or die, some people should just stay home. Who? The ones who don't do their homework. The ones who are voting for a person because their spouse, parent, employer, etc. told them to. The ones who vote based on lawn signs. Or commercials. Or what little letter is behind someone's name. These are the dangerous voters. The ones who are doing someone else's bidding because they don't know any better. The ones who blindly follow someone else because they don't know what's going on. The ones who believe what these idiots are saying!
My least favorite part of fall (and lately the summer, too) is the election propaganda. We have more than a month left before the election, and I still think I might scream if I hear the words "and I approve this message" on TV one more time! The mud slinging, the half truths and outright lies. The famous people talking like their opinion is supposed to mean something to me. It bites. All of it. I just want the bare bones minimum "what are you going to do" questions answered. To get there, we have to dig through 20 tons of bullshit, and it really isn't fair. It does make uneducated people think they know more than they do. It puts people in positions they should not hold. It makes us all weaker. And maybe just a little bit more ignorant. Certainly more confused.
I don't care how legitimate a rape is, my ovaries are not capable of shutting down just because I want them to. If this were the case, there would be no unwanted pregnancies. Ever. Obviously, there are. Every day. And how a woman deals with one is her business. Not mine, not the government's, and certainly not some uninformed men who don't know the basic workings of the human body. Hey, I'm not all up in your sperm, let's agree for you to stay out of my uterus! And really, you can think I'm a slut all day without ever having met me. That's fine. In your mind, I probably am. But don't let that opinion affect what healthcare I am entitled to. Or I might bring up the fact that some slut callers out there are actually drug addicts. Should that fact make you ineligible for treatment? I don't think so, but I'm just a woman. And a slut. And let me float this: if wanting safe and reliable birth control to be available to all who want it (you know, until we perfect that ovary shut down thing) makes me a slut, then this country is full of sluts. Your daughter, your sister, your mother, maybe even your grandmother. Sluts everywhere! Of all ages, colors, and creeds.
So I say Sluts Unite! Educate yourselves, vote, and stand up for what's right! Let's get these men out of our uterus! Unless you're stupid. Then just stay home.
I'm Jill Brown, and I approve this message.
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