Like the rest of us?

I was driving around today, getting son #1 to school and listening to a radio program, when I heard someone say that Sarah Palin is so wonderful because she is "just like the rest of us". Now, I know she projects that image (as she is supposed to), but I think I'm offended at the notion that she is just like me. Here's why:

1. I have never been under investigation for misuse of ANYTHING - let alone misuse of the power that comes with a public office. Sarah Palin is not undergoing just one investigation, however. She is in the middle of TWO. Concurrently. Unless I'm missing something, that certainly does NOT make her like the majority of Americans.

2. I have never endorsed the gunning down of any animals as a sport, let alone when it's done by airplane. In my mind, that kind of takes away any sport that might have been involved in the first place. Now, don't get me wrong - my family hunts deer and elk. I grew up hunting. But...it is not done for sport. We eat the animals as part of our food for winter, and we go into it with a profound sense of thankfulness for what we have.

Last I checked, wolves are not eaten for food. Not by humans, anyway. And even if they were - following a wolf pack in a plane and shooting animals down without AT LEAST taking the time and making the effort to track them down yourselves marks a hunter as less than honest and extremely lazy. In fact, I hesitate to use the term "hunter" for something like this.

Here's where we get back to Sarah Palin - as Governor of Alaska, she has not only allowed this travesty to occur, but she has openly ENDORSED it! I refuse to believe that I am "just like" her.

3. I believe in a woman's right to choose. Period. The driving force in the camp trying to remove this choice is that "it is a sin". Well, maybe it is. But I believe that sin is between a woman and whatever God she chooses to believe (or not) in. And the cornerstone of almost every religion is that 'true salvation' comes when a person CHOOSES to believe and repent - not when that choice is made for them by someone else. My body + My soul = My choice.

Having said that, I'm sure people would wonder - and the answer is no. I have not had one. I don't know if I know anyone who has. I'm not even sure that I would be able to convince myself to have one, regardless of circumstances. But that does not take away from the fact that I should be able to make the choice of what goes on with my body.

I'm sure it's obvious where Sarah Palin comes into play regarding this, but...if she has her way, the right to choose will no longer exist. Roe vs. Wade will go the way of the wolves in Alaska. Terminated from on high by someone who feels they have the right to play God.

So - am I "like" Sarah Palin? No. And I hope that I never become like her, for the sake of my daughter's freedom, the wolves' lives, and the existence of honesty in public office.