Where's the power?

A friend sent me an email today suggesting I add my voice to womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com. I sent a couple sentences.

The return email said "The response has been immense! We've heard from women of all ages from all over the US and internationally. It's incredibly inspiring to read so many intelligent, wise, and impassioned opinions. We are working hard to post everyone's message, but please be patient. There are tens of thousands coming in every day!"

On the one hand, I was glad to hear there's been that kind of response about the pretender to the throne. The more I thought about it, though, the more uncomfortable I became. So I sent another email:

"I appreciate what you all are trying to do. I sent you a comment earlier with misgivings and the more I sit with this, the more uncomfortable I am.

Sarah Palin has already garnered too much press. I don't care about Sarah Palin. I care about health care for poor Americans, and getting out of Iraq, and not selling the environment to the highest bidder. Whenever we get pulled into fighting against something the Republicans do, we are giving them our power. Let's move on. Instead of dedicating a site to trashing Sarah Palin, let's just ignore her and focus on the real issues. She has been a brilliant distraction from the real issues, but that will only work if we let it. Instead of staying in conflict, let's refocus the attention on what WE want to focus on."

I do understand the limitations of this. John Kerry responded to the Swift Boat thing by ignoring it (not dignifying it with a response) and that was a big, big mistake. We need to find a balance - respond quickly, decisively, and strongly - and then move on.

For awhile now I've thought about starting an organization called Rational Americans for Fairness. No flaming or drama allowed, and everyone has to invoke the 24 hour rule before responding to anyone who disagrees with us. Anyone could join regardless of religion or lack thereof, as long as they support women's right to control our own bodies and they believe that I should have the same rights as straight people.

Wouldn't it nice if participating in the revolution were as easy as simply talking about the real issues? Being reasonable doesn't create enough drama, though, to get much press coverage. But maybe that would be a blessing....