Are we ready?
Nick Kosmider
“Is America ready for a female president?” This has been the question that’s made people flush and stumble ever since former first lady Hillary Clinton announced her intent to run for presidency in 2007.
But the question is: has America really progressed to the full-blown equal rights, equal opportunity nation that we say we are?
Or will the polls reveal our true feelings?
It’s undeniable to consider that this nation’s obsession with sex and power may be the very thing that is pushing Hillary’s hype-fueled campaign forward.
It’s also the very thing that may be keeping her from attaining the highest political position in the world.
America’s sentiment and genuine curiosity toward a female presidential candidate is endearing.
But when America casts her ballots, we might have to fess up to being less gender blind than we thought we were.
While this is an extreme case, the single audience member in Salem, N.H., who shouted, “Iron my shirt!” to Clinton at one of her campaign speeches, voiced the unspoken opinion of a much larger portion of society.
We all know that this “heckler” is not the only one who has ever said or thought something demeaning about Hillary Clinton or any other female figure of authority for that matter.
Let’s back track for just a moment and take a look at the initial question, “Is America ready for a female president?”
What is this question really asking?
The key word here is “ready.”
This single word suggests that somewhere, there’s a beginning.
The phrase indirectly implies that man has had the right to freedom of choice and freedom to think since the beginning of time.
While women on the other hand, have only been granted that right between the 1920s and 1960s.
The use of the phrase “are we ready” in and of itself answers its own question.
It exposes the underlying realization that the people of this country have some hang-ups.
These hang-ups keep society from letting go of gender bias, gender roles or sexism, whichever you prefer.
The truth is, America will only be “ready” for a female president when we no longer have to ask.
