Did you vote Tuesday?

I happen to catch about five minutes of "Entertainment Tonight" yesterday evening. The big scoop was about Bristol Palin admitting to not voting this year. Apparently she didn’t have time. Needless to say, I was a little pissed off . . . for a couple of reasons. #1 - She’s Sara Palin’s daughter, that’s enough to piss me off alone. #2 - If you are a woman and you tell me "you don’t have time to vote" – you’d better be prepared for a history lesson.

Let me tell you a little story about two women named Alice Paul and Lucy Burns. Takes place around 1912. Believe it or not, women were not allowed to vote. Women were second class citizens. Do you understand what that means? Women did not have the same basic rights in this country that men had. I find it hard to imagine being discriminated against solely on the basis of your gender. Paul and Burns were young women (suffragettes) that wanted to change that. They faced beatings, imprisonment and risked their lives. Just so women could vote. On August 26, 1920 the Susan B. Anthony Amendment became law and 20 million American won the right to vote.

It didn’t happen that long ago. My grandmother was born about 1900. She was about 20 years old when she won the right to vote. She didn’t grow up taking for granted that when she became of age, she would be able to vote. It was a right that many courageous women had to fight for. They took the time to risk everything they had including their lives just so women could vote. They did that for my grandma, they did that for my sisters, and they did that for me.

Bristol Palin turned 20 on Tuesday, November 2nd. Maybe I’ll send her a copy of the movie "Iron Jawed Angels" (http://iron-jawed-angels.com) for her birthday.