Shortly before I moved to Washington DC, I had a conversation with my church leader about my aspirations for a career in government service. It was on my mind to run for office at some point, and he said what we need in the American political system is more non-angry political women. Political women who are angry are typically shrill and abrasive in their presentation, and that hurts rather than helps their cause and the positions of all women in government.
I was in the middle of my second session in the Chief Clerk's office of the Oregon House of Representatives. I knew exactly what he meant by "shrill." Part of my job was to sit at the rostrum during all floor sessions and maintain the minutes, and I could see the computer screen showing the list of Members who had logged in to speak to a bill. (They pushed a button on their desk; their names appeared on our screen.) When I saw a few specific names show up, I cringed. If a cringe-worthy speaker was female, we were guaranteed a lengthy diatribe in a tone that was like fingernails on a chalkboard. Did you know that there is actually an audible pitch that changes in a woman's voice when she's being shrill? There is. It's physically painful.
I certainly don't want to be like that. My church leader had some specifics of what it means to be a non-angry political woman ...
1. Knowledge of personal divinity as a child of God and a solid personal relationship with Diety. This is the source of self-confidence and strength without being abrasive.
2. Promoting of family values in policies.
3. Prioritization using gospel principles.
4. Skills in negotiation and compromise without sacrificing principles. Part of the problem with today's politics is that it's a one-or-the-other proposition. People hold so tightly to one or two principles without compromise that they bring the whole thing to a screeching halt.
5. Knowledge of the political process and parliamentary procedures, and how to use them effectively.
I don't know that I'll ever run for office at any level - local or national. I'm certainly not following the advice received by both John Roberts and Barack Obama to keep my mouth shut by starting this blog. But whatever I do, I hope that I can be a non-angry political woman and actually affect some change rather than just screeching into the wind.
Thanks for the advice, Bishop Forrey.
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6 opinions:
Hey Treen, Sorry I didn't read this post before I commented on your latest. I think this puts your comments in a better perspective. I will say though that I didn't get the whole "shrill" vibe from Sarah Palin's speech. Again, I didn't get the whole thing so maybe I missed something. But I heard most of the passages discussed, so...
But besides that, I think it's commendable that you are creating a political blog and being outspoken about your opinions. Frankly, I don't know how you kept yourself from doing it a long time ago. (I have a suspiscion you've been posting comments on other political blogs for a while now...)
Anyhow, good luck! I'll add this to my list of blogs to watch and make sure I contradict you no matter what you write because that's my job.
Love ya!
And Eric, ladies and gentleman, is my dear brother who can be given most of the credit (or blame?) of getting me to pay attention to politics and government in the first place.
I didn't do a blog before because I didn't feel like taking the time. Now I have something interesting to talk about.
So this is where we're invited to argue? Well, I'll leave one comment here, but that'll probably be it. I do not have any opinions on any of the candidates this year. I have carefully avoided all the speechifying because it is, as you said, empty fluff. That's never going to change. I really don't know who I'm going to vote for, and I don't think it'll matter who gets elected. My political opinion is that the entire political party system is a sham and never should have been invented. I'm not a "Republican", and I'm not a "Democrat", and nothing will ever change that.
phooey on you, you independent.
Independent, as in, nobody does my thinking for me? In that case, yes, thank you.
Treen - Thank you for posting on politics, you're a brave woman :). I've been a Rep. since I was 18, my whole family seems to be (mostly), so I just thought it to be natural I was too.
There are many things in government that I would have liked to seen accomplished differently. Where I'm at right now, depending on issues (or bills) being presented, would probably more accurately show my true "political stance", whatever that really means. I only tend to follow politics when they speak on issues I truly care about, otherwise, as someone previously said, it's all fluff, so I don't follow it.
But thank you for taking your time to post, to "give it to us straight". It's hard to find someone with knowledge in Politics that you can really trust to give you the facts. So thank you for your posts, and God Bless.
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