Aunt Enid and Cousin Erin on Sarah Palin as Vice President

The following is an exchange from the Borgmann Family List-serve from my Aunt Enid, living in Grand Island, Nebraska, and her daughter, my cousin Erin Cederlind, living in Tripoli, Libya. They are both incredibly articulate and thoughtful relatives whose perspective on issues I'm grateful to read and receive. You might note Erin's self-described "feistiness," as well. This exchange fueled a whole host of exchanges then on the topic of sexual education in our classrooms, which I will also be excerpting and posting.

Please note: these were written before Governor Palin spoke at the Republican National Convention. Enjoy! -- Melissa

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Aunt Enid:

My 2-cents Worth [On Sarah Palin's nomination]:

The choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate for John McCain just shocked me to no end. She pretty much stands FOR everything that I am AGAINST . How can anyone in Alaska not be aware of the precarious condition of the lands that have been protected for years and years, and yet she wants to drill for oil on them. Drilling for oil there is not a permanent solution, and yet she is willing to destroy the area for a temporary fix instead of trying to come up with a better way to generate energy. She's for abstinence and removing sex education in schools, and apparently doesn't see that that doesn't work. What in the heck does anyone need to have anything to do with shooting a fully automatic machine gun?? I don't think that her being a woman and mother has anything to do with the fact that she has no experience with foreign affairs either, and the fact that she would truly be a heartbeat away from being our president scares the crap out of me! --Enid

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Erin's Response:

True dat!

Not having sex education in schools drives me crazy. I understand that no matter what things will happen sometimes, and I don't think we should go back to the time of locking up pregnant teens in a room until they give birth and get married. But the idea that teaching people about sex will make them go out and do it- baloney. Generally the opposite is true. I know that my sex-ed classes, as brief and awkward as they were, basically scared the crap out of me and made me think long and hard about what I was and was not ready for. I am a firm believer that education of any kind is never a bad thing. Again... not that we should shun her because of her daughter, or shun her daughter... but you'd think an example that personal would make her realize that a lack of education does not equal a lack of sex!

But we absolutely CAN shun her for her pro-drilling stance. Argh that makes me crazy!! Why do people think the earth is disposable??

I'm in a feisty mood today, huh? :)

--Erin