Maternalist Versus Feminist

Sarah Palin is not a feminist and that may be why many women despise her. She is a maternalist. A maternalist is a strong mother figure. A maternalist is not so much concerned with equal rights for women as they are for the rights of their children. Although, Palin does have plenty in common with feminists in that she can balance work and family. Do not discount the political prowess of maternalists. They are not just happy homemakers. They fought for child welfare reform and started groups such as MADD (mothers against drunk drivers). I do not understand why feminist attack Palin like she is evil. What is wrong with a parent putting their kids first? Absolutely nothing! This country needs more strong mothers to raise their kids with good values, intellect, and commonsense. Feminist are strong women, but so are maternalist. Both feminist and maternalist have important roles in our society and have accomplished a great deal in the rights for women and children. However, it is disheartening that they can not unite for a common cause to represent the strong resolve of all women. It is especially disconcerting since the major political divide between feminist and maternalist is abortion. Feminist believe in a women's right to have an abortion and maternalist are against abortion at all cost. Although it seems maternalist and feminist are at odds on abortion, they probably are not that far apart. Even most feminist would not have an abortion with the exception of rape or incest. When you get down to it, not really much separates the feminist and maternalist. I think this country would benefit from a strong mother figure in the White House. The root of all problems in this country can arguably be pointed at education and the moral values that our children will have. Who better understands these issues than a strong mother figure or maternalist? Let’s face it, the future of the United States of America is in the hands of our children and it is the maternalist that shapes their persona, not the feminist. Ironically, feminist attacks on Palin are the same as attacking the mothers that did a good job raising Barack Obama and John McCain. It makes no sense and is hypocritical. I just do not understand why women cannot respect each others opinions and values. If they would unite, they would dominate the political landscape in the United States. After all, there are more women in the United States than men.