Dear Sarah Palin:

I would like to take this moment to share with you a few of my thoughts…

Generations upon generations have passed down sexism from mother to daughter, Father to son, Grandparents to grandchildren, strangers to strangers, and many of the combinations in between. As women, we stand today in a world that still struggles to take us seriously. We are paid less and in most situations more is expected of us for less than equal amounts to what one expects from a man. That said, we have fought long and hard for what we have achieved and we have come a long way. I have watched you grow since your Vice Presidential nomination during the 2008 Presidential campaign and I, as a woman,am disheartened.

There is a stereotype that haunts women throughout their personal and professional relationships. That stereotype describes a woman who is willingly ignorant, a woman who cries victim as her first defense, a woman who relies on her flirty winks, smiles, and flips of hair to smooth over her lack of substance, a woman who resorts to petty high school politics to achieve what she feels she deserves, A woman who would rather be given achievement rather than to have earned it on her own, and lastly a woman who believes that strength and power are loud and vicious traits. I mention this stereotype because if I were to judge you by the majority of your actions I would say that this stereotype tends to be your default. While I would not imply that you have not or are unable to break the barriers of this description from time to time, I am offended that you so willingly and so often choose these traits as your first line of defense. As a woman, I feel sorrow for all the reasons that you never learned how to be a better person… a better woman. As women, our powers lie within the substance of our persuasions rather than our abilities to manipulate simply because we know we can. As women, we are uniquely talented at recognizing the nuance in any given situation which gives us vast powers of tolerance. You have gained great power of recognition and yet you have nothing to offer the world. You continue to cut and divide the world around you, leaving little space for a better world as the result of your efforts.

I write this these words to you today to let you know that I see you. You are an example of a woman but you are not the best example and you are quite possibly a glaring example of all the worst traits combined. I write you these words to condemn you and the example that you set for the female world that views you. As a whole, we are better than your limited perception have thus far allowed yourself to see.
Sincerely,
Diane DiDonato

Epilogue

It is 2008, as a nation we have: NO economic strategy, NO energy policy, NO exit strategy, No cure for cancer, NO cure for AIDS, and I am not convinced that you, my elected and appointed officials, are working on it. The narrative that you have provided our country is grand and ominous. You must listen to the people; we have your best interests at heart as well. When all the people of America are doing well, it is at that moment, when this union of states achieves fruition of its greatest purpose: the “American dream.”

I ask for what the Constitution, and the “Bill of Rights” affords me as an American citizen and as a human being. What I most love about the founding fathers of this country is not the fruit of what they created together but the fact that, they themselves were imperfect, but what they shared in common was their desire to be better human beings. They so desperately wanted every American to share the “American Dream.” I want most of all, in my heart of hearts, to believe that my government—you, are working for the people rather than against the people because that is the primary principal this country was based upon. Without our government on our side the American Dream is lost.

We, as a country, have never been perfect but, in my lifetime, I have never seen such a blatant disregard for the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the intentions of the founding fathers as I have seen under the current administration. Nor have I seen this country embrace the ideals of torture, imperialism, or capital above compassion so publicly and with such little regard for our place in the international community. I want to once again reside in a country, which has earned the right to consider itself noble.

A day will come when America’s needs will require her allies to aid her so that she may maintain her standing. When that time comes, I hope the world will remember this country in ways that speak to our ability to make mistakes and rise above the shadows to then light the way for progress. In the eyes of the global community, the founding fathers and every past president that has served this country: the path we have carved in recent years is wrong.

If we do not change, we ARE the failed American experiment.

Iran, Israel, Afghanistan, N. Korea, Darfur, Russia, China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia

Iran:

We must develop a new less-threatening relationship with Iran. Not only do we no longer have the military resources to launch attacks on Iran but also the most recent National Intelligence Estimate clearly contradicts the implications made by the current administration when discussing Iran’s nuclear ambitions. It is apparent to me that we are hearing many of the same arguments for going to war with Iran as we did leading up to the Iraqi Liberation/Occupation/War. Decisions of such gravity must be made after assessing facts. Making decisions, such as these, solely to complete an agenda is a mistake. The Pro-American sentiment among the youth of Iran is promising. The Anti-Western theocratic rhetoric is a dying majority. War with Iran is one of our many options when choosing how we will approach their country. Guarded and stern diplomacy is also an option. If America continues to threaten war with Iran, we will lose an entire generation of Iranians that look to western culture for the life they want to mirror. In doing so, we will lose an entire generation of people who believe in Democracy.

Iraqi Liberation/ Occupation /War

The Iraqi Liberation/Occupation/War began in 2003. It is now 2008. Five years of war and counting.

As of June 7, 2008, the number of war American fatalities totaled 4,092. The total number of American war casualties totaled 30,333.

In March of 2008: Jonathan Steele and Suzanne Goldenberg report in the Guardian that, in the five years since the invasion, the civilian Iraqi body count “estimates put the toll at between 100,000 and one million.”

On June 18,2008: Jill Lawless of the associated press reports “In 2007, 11.4 million refugees were living outside their countries, compared with 9.9 million in 2006, the UNHCR said in its annual report. A further 26 million were displaced within their own countries, up from 24.2 million the year before. The group said nearly half the world’s refugees are from Afghanistan and Iraq. UNHCR said there are 3 million displaced Afghans, most in neighboring Pakistan and Iran, and 2 million Iraqi refugees, mostly in Syria and Jordan. A further 2.4 million Iraqis are internally displaced, an increase of 600,000 since the start of 2007.”

The Environment

We are a part of the global community and, as such, the global environment is our concern. I hear people make global warming jokes about how “they could use some warmer weather.” I laugh but the reality isn’t really that funny. With warmer weather come warmer oceans. Warmer oceans bring stronger storms. Stronger storms bring floods. Species cease. Arctic land falls into the ocean. Droughts inherit new and unlikely regions to thrive. Water is not costly for now. Lakes dry up and disappear. Weird weather plagues unlikely territories. Tornados happen in NY. California and Arizona catch fire. In my hometown, in North Florida, it now rains at 6pm instead of 3pm. Red tide washes up more frequently and in new stretches of beach. Sharks, liking warm water, begin feeding in warmer waters closer to human beach populations. Boardwalks built over marshes now span across fields of dried, burned, grass because the water that fed the grass no longer exists. Global warming is here, whether you believe that we caused it, or whether you believe it is a natural process. It doesn’t matter. It’s here. Government now needs to chart a new aggressive direction for business and for government to follow, a direction that encourages “green” standards and sets examples for the citizens of the world. It might be in our lifetime but more likely it will be our children that live our legacy of global warming. Either way, a new way of life is ahead of us and we need to be prepared.

First Things First/ International

As someone who votes, In order to better represent the society that we are, I officially request the following issues in American foreign policy be addressed:

International Concerns

On 09/12/2001 the whole world mourned the tragic loss of our fellow Americans. Despite the reality that many countries often see more death on a weekly basis than we experienced during that one tragic attack, every country offered their support and unity. Rather than building on this opportunity, our most recent President chose to taunt other countries like a bully in the schoolyard. As a result, we find ourselves at odds with numerous countries. We now openly condone torture. Some of our soldiers take photos that are similar to travel photos except that in the background the Eiffel Tower has been replaced with scared, hooded, bound, bleeding, frail naked men. We MIGHT have even flushed a copy of our enemy’s most sacred book down the toilet during an interrogation. Anti-American sentiment is at an all time high, regardless of what country you visit. America is increasingly losing ground for remaining relevant in the changes of the world. We must swallow our pride, be willing to learn, admit to our digressions, apologize for our mistakes, and plan our exit from Iraq as well as our entry back into the graces of the world. The world will stand with us once again but we must earn their support.

Interestingly enough, as the current administration of the United States pushes forward it’s aggressive conservative agenda, the rest of the world begins to follow suit. New governments in Canada, Australia, Russia, and France clearly illustrate that we have led a conservative trend amongst governments across the globe. Our foreign policy endeavors will become substantially more difficult for any American president that takes office in 2008. The coming years will not be easy. Change will require eloquent words, intelligent actions, strength in numbers, humility and integrity, intellectual honesty, in-depth research, and an ability to admit to our past transgressions. We have to stop telling the world how great we are. If we show them nothing of our greatness then we give them no reason to trust our empty words. Show them our greatness. Make them believe in us again.

I am not a foreign policy expert. I wouldn’t want to mislead you. The suggestions I put forward are that—suggestions. As such, these suggestions are rooted in my belief that we need to aggressively pursue peaceful solutions to global issues. My belief is that every army consists of multitudes of individuals. The complex dynamics of individuals requires common sense and emotional intelligence. I believe that one can apply the same decision making process necessary to navigate everyday life to the larger landscape of American foreign and domestic policy. As individuals, as parents, and as Americans, we reconcile complex dynamics with common sense solutions each moment of each day by: Choosing not to antagonize crazy, crossing the street when someone walks toward you in dim light, being willing to apologize when you’re wrong, looking both ways before crossing the street, smiling when you want someone to like you, earning the respect of others by conceding only to truth, Recognizing outbursts of insecurity as needs in disguise, admitting that you don’t know while making certain to find out, learning from your past experience, asking questions, being there when it matters, prioritizing tasks, protecting that which you love most, evaluating options, extracting fact from theory, devising a plan, having a back up plan, raising a child to love, clothing a child so that she may live, feeding a child in order that he may endure, inspiring a child toward her destiny, knowing right from wrong, hearing those around you, knowing how to listen, and knowing when to stop talking. We use these truths every day. We navigate our lives through dark street corners, sunny parks, partisan rhetoric, office politics, dingy bars family dysfunction, and the diverse range of human crises. Each of these examples illustrates emotional intelligence and common sense. I believe that this type of intelligence can and should be applied in exponentials across the globe through our foreign policy. I am not a foreign policy expert but logic is not reserved for experts alone.

I believe that we are a great nation capable of great endeavors. I believe that the great hearts and minds of the American people are capable of devising solutions that incorporate our best interests while also understanding the gravity of our decisions on the greater human population. I simply believe that we have more to offer the world than war.