I have never considered myself a very political person until I witnessed along with the world, a woman with passion, strong convictions, and a voice that was uninhibited by the naysayers of America: Sarah Palin. Ever since her speech during the 2008 McCain-Palin presidential campaign I was a believer. I admire Sarah’s drive, her vision, her spiritual beliefs and her strong convictions. I have always been drawn to women who are not afraid to believe in themselves and are not afraid to speak out. I admire their passion and drive and the inner strength that they posses. Like myself, I especially love the fact that when others look at you and say, “You can’t do that!” It adds fuel to my passion and makes me strive for it all the more!
This happened to me years ago while living and raising our children in Arizona. I witnessed a special on TV regarding school buses and seat belts and what happens to our children when there are no seat belts especially during a collision or rollover. Something inside of me that day said, “Something must be done about this!” So I became the advocate in our school district at the time to approach the school board about this issue. I learned then the power of passion, the power of speech, the strength to not back down especially when the superintendent called me on the phone literally screaming at me, “What are you doing!” I was amazed at how much resistance there was, mainly because schools did not want to publicly admit that their buses were “not safe” along with cost of retrofitting the existing school buses. It took me almost two years to convince the all woman panel to agree on piloting 10 new school buses with seat belts. I learned how to stand my ground no matter what! I also remember feeling the pressure to quit from the “good ol’ boys” superintendent and vice-superintendent at the time. I was told by one woman who worked with the school board that she was told, “women are to be barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen” can you believe that?! I knew right then what I was up against. So what kept me from throwing in the towel? God. I remember crying and thinking, “this is too hard, I can’t do this anymore” right then I heard a still small voice that told me to not give up and that I would learn from this experience. Like Sarah, I drew from that inner strength and months later stood before the school board and witnessed the victory with my own eyes! Every single member (all women) on the board voted in favor of piloting 10 new school buses with seat belts.
So if some of you are wondering, “Why do you believe in Sarah?” My answer is: She holds strongly to her convictions and backs down to no one. I can get behind a woman like that and I am so thankful that I have the freedom to believe in and support anyone I choose, that’s “The Beauty of America!”
http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/sarah-palin-alaska/?mkcpgn=semtlc2
