Now wait a minute.....

I am not a political person.  I vote. I am patriotic.  But I will not discuss politics with too many people.

This week I heard a statement that as a woman, I had to check with my husband first and he told me whom to vote for in, specifically, the Presidential election.

Now for one thing.....  No one tells me what to do, let alone how to vote.

My dad raised both Greta and me to think for ourselves. to be independent, and to be sure that we could take care of ourselves, not depend on anyone else to do so for us.

That is why I was determined to earn my college degree and seek a profession where I could make my own money and be able to care for myself and my family if needed.

That is why, when Gary and I were married, I was sure that the word 'obey' was not in the marriage vows.  I did not want to vow to 'obey' anyone, for I believed, and Gary did too, that our marriage was a partnership, give and take, and one in which we would talk about decisions affecting us and our family.

Where voting was concerned, Dad always stressed that we research the person, the issue, the platform, and make our choices based on those which aligned the best with our beliefs.  Sometimes our vote would be for a Republican, sometimes for a Democrat, and sometimes for an Independent. But we needed to vote for the person, not the party itself.  Never had he ever voted a straight ticket and he encouraged us to do the same.

He also stressed how important it was for us TO vote in each election, even the primary which may be largely empty of contested races.  It was still our duty, our right, our obligation to vote every time we had the opportunity because we would never want that right to be taken away from us.

These are some of the reasons why I am furious that anyone would say that I had to check with Gary first before I voted or, even worse, that I would allow him to TELL me whom I must vote for.

Furthermore for someone who is supposed to be an advocate of women, who is supposed to be a forerunner in politics to the point of running for the highest office in the land, to make such statements fills me with anger.

I can vote for myself.  I can make up my own mind.