Entering my final year as a UW-Madison undergraduate, I rest between two career options: writing and law. Living in a hectic time period in a hectic nation, my passion for both occupations is extraordinarily high.
Despite my fervor towards these occupations, Gov. Sarah Palin has managed to make me now cringe when I think of either of my future career plans. You may wonder why someone like me, who seems so set on his two post undergrad options, would get so discouraged in reaction to a single individual. What did she say that could have been so poisonous/demoralizing to bring me grief rather than inspiration when I dream of writing or practicing law?
Well, it all began last week when I heard that, as early as 1996 then-mayor Palin did all that she could to try and ban particular books from the Wasilla Public Library, including harmless titles such as Harry Potter."" As the librarian objected to protect the professionalism of her job - as well as the beloved constitution of our country - her career was threatened by Palin.
This caused me to delve into a pool of depression, because if Palin objects to public access to the ""Harry Potter"" books, there is no telling how she may handle freedom of the press issues as Vice President, or even President. I suspect that if she were reading this article right now, she would have it torched into oblivion. Ray Bradbury's science fiction novel ""Farenheit 451"" is scarily becoming a reality - should the Mcain-Palin ticket prevail.
Within the same 24 hours that I heard this news, I watched Palin speak at the Republican National Convention where she discouraged my aspiring legal career.
Palin claimed ""Al-Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America and [Obama]'s worried that someone won't read them their rights."" Aside from Sen. Barack Obama's, D-Ill., concern that we are being distracted by the true problem of terrorism by detaining the wrong people, Palin is in direct opposition to the sixth amendment of the U.S. Constitution. How can I be so confident in wanting to fight for legal justice if we have a Vice President/President who does not respect an American law as valuable as habeus corpus?
By this point, I realized that I was being somewhat selfish, for I should not be upset at these vocalized injustices because I happen to want to be a writer and/or lawyer, but rather because I am an American. I soon discovered that Palin also disagrees with the 14th amendment, considering that she previously cut funding by 20 percent for The Covenant House, which provides funding for housing for teenage mothers.
Obviously, this amendment does not apply to 17-year-old Bristol Palin, who is fortunate enough to be in an economically and morally sound environment to raise her child. But when it comes to lower-class teenage mothers who cannot afford housing, Palin contradicts the 14th amendment principle to treat all citizens equally under the law.
If our forefathers had not been turning in their graves enough during the past eight years, everything they fought for can and will deteriorate under the McCain-Palin ticket. It is time for the absurd accusation of ""liberals hating their country"" to be recognized as the complete antithesis of the true circumstances. Thus far, Palin has rejected three amendments, and this is only the beginning. Hopefully, come January 2009, you will still see my mug shot every Thursday, assuming that my will to write or publish has not been eliminated along with the civil liberties of every standing American.
Dan Josephson is a senior majoring in political science and legal studies. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
