thoughts on the news of the day: candor

hmmm…..

            Former First Lady, Betty Ford passed away yesterday.  She was 93 years old.  When I think of her, the qualities of honesty and candor come to mind.  She thought and spoke about things that even today would not be popular for a woman in politics to say.  She advocated women’s rights, including the right to choose whether or not to give birth.  She believed that women should be drafted, if men were. She was honest and forthcoming about her breast cancer and her addiction to alcohol and drugs.  All political no-no’s in today’s conservative political climate. 

            You don’t find much candor in today’s political scene.  Most of what is said and done is measured and planned, and not very spontaneous.  Even the slightest misstep or misunderstood word is scrutinized, judged and critiqued. Because of the easy access to so much of a politician’s personal life, we make mountains out of molehills on a regular basis.

            Whether you are a very conservative voter or tend to lean toward a liberal view, you have to admit that political scrutiny has probably gone too far.  Politicians and their families have a right to their own lives, and our insistence on the right to know has deprived them of the luxury of personal space. 

            Betty Ford paved the way for women to speak out politically in America, let’s not take a step backward.  Let’s give women, and while we are at it, men, the freedom to say things with candor and honesty in the style that Mrs. Ford did.  We will all be better for it.

            hmmm…..