A Crash Course in Palin Politics

First published in The Daily Sentinel, Friday September 5, 2008


A week ago hardly anyone had heard of Alaska governor Sarah Palin. Then suddenly her name is on the lips of every person interested in presidential politics. I am even more behind the times than most. I didn’t know anything at all about her – not even that Republican candidate John McCain had named her as his running mate – until the same day she gave her speech to the Republican Party Convention last Wednesday night.

My preparations for her speech included a crash course in the media coverage leading up to Wednesday night. And I am amazed at one aspect of the reporting: Sarah Palin is being accused of seeking office to the detriment of her family by some of the same people who have screamed the most loudly that women can take on any role and be just as good as a man. Now that they’re confronted with the reality of a woman who might just take that idea seriously enough to prove it, they suddenly think she has no business being governor of Alaska – let alone potentially the Vice President of the United States of America – when she’s got five kids, including a four-month-old son with Down’s Syndrome.

Why is that? What makes Palin unacceptable as the Republican VP candidate when we almost had Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential candidate? Is it that Clinton’s one daughter is grown and Palin’s two daughters are still young? Is it because Chelsea Clinton has not become pregnant out of wedlock and Palin’s 17 year-old-daughter Bristol is? Or is it that only Democrats should lead the way to women’s breaking of the political glass ceiling in America?

I am not at the point where I am ready to declare my vote, but I am at the point when I can declare my dislike for how this election has been covered. I am ready to stand up for unbiased reporting in the media. And I am ready to stand up for the truth that women CAN be both great mothers and great career people – no matter what career that may be.

Of course, sacrifices must be made when one is striving to both raise a family and make a difference in the world. That’s true for both mothers and fathers. Several times in my family, my wife chose to give up career-enhancing activities and opportunities in order to meet family obligations. And I’ve been Mr. Mom – devoting myself full-time to raising my kids rather than building my career.

Jesus recognized that family obligations and other obligations can often come into conflict. Here’s what he said in Matthew 10:34-37: "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law – a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”

Some people have interpreted that passage to mean that family doesn’t matter to Jesus. But that’s not what Jesus is saying. Rather, he emphasized the choices that must be made when one is truly committing him or herself to a cause – in this case the cause of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus calls us to action, we are expected to respond – even if Mom, Dad, or other family members disapprove. Love God first – then you have the right resource to love family.

So does Sarah Palin love her family? Watching them on TV Wednesday night, I would say, “yes.” Does she love them more than politics? That’s impossible for me to decide. If God has called her into politics (including becoming candidate for Vice President), then responding to that call DOES become more important than family. It’s a tough decision – and only Palin can make it. Voters can affirm it or reject it; but they cannot decide it. Nor can the media – as much as they may want to try.

God called me into ministry, and I thank God every day that my family was behind me and supported me in becoming a pastor – even though it meant giving up so many things and accepting so many changes in their lives. Others who have been called into ministry tell a different story. A spouse or child cannot handle the change; relationships break down. Divorce ends the marriage. Estrangement ends the parenting. But those called by God must be willing to accept that loss and have faith that God will use the loss to bring a greater good in its place.

Maybe we need a VP candidate who causes us to think about these things. We certainly have a Savior who does.