In a February 9th interview with CNN’s John King, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum firmly inserted his foot in his mouth when he spoke of his opposition to women fighting in combat in the armed forces. Women are currently in harm’s way as medics and communications soldiers (140 have lost their lives and 800 have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan). Santorum said he had grave “concerns” with women in combat, “placing them in compromising situations where people may naturally not do things in the interest of the mission because of other types of emotions involved.”
Translation: Male soldiers would sacrifice the mission to protect female soldiers if they came under attack.
Santorum then admitted that the same emotion takes hold with the “camaraderie of men in combat.”
This is the same patronizing argument that kept women out of the armed forces for most of our history. Now, in a more enlightened age the armed forces are allowing women to fight for freedom just as men have since the Revolutionary War.
Santorum further muddied the waters when he tried to clarify the controversy he stirred up in an interview the next day with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. Here he said the problem was “emotions of men dealing with women in combat and not focus on the mission.” And he added that women were not as physically capable as men in certain situations.
So, women, back to your homes to raise the kids, clean the house and prepare dinner for your man.
Fortunately the Secretary of the Navy, among many others, disputes Santorum claims. He stated on CNN that women have been serving for a decade now “with great distinction and at great risk.” He scoffed at the notion women can’t fight on the front lines by noting that in Afghanistan there are no front lines. Women currently serving are daily under the same risk as their male counterparts. And, CNN further reported that the Pentagon is considering allowing women to serve in elite units such as special operations, sniper teams and scout teams, positions that many male soldiers are incapable of meeting the required standards.
As a country we have come a long way from our “middle ages” where it was a common perception women needed the protection of men. Television, movies and literature today are filled with strong, heroic females who are the equal of any man in combat. In my own YA series, The Shamra Chronicles, a woman becomes the leader of her country’s resistance after it is attacked and enslaved. Other women emulated her and threw off the chains of subservience that had forced them to be second class citizens. Katniss in The Hunger Games is the equal of any of her male challengers. And Bella in The Twilight Saga . . . well, she’s more of the Santorum model (when in danger turn to your man for help). I guess you can’t win them all.
It’s up to those men in our armed forces who support Santorum’s position to get with the program. If that means retraining them, so be it. Soldiers look out for one another regardless of their gender. The days of men taking a bullet for a women are long gone. Women in the military know the dangers they signed up for. They are looking to be respected as soldiers, not as female soldiers. They don’t want special treatment. They don’t want their male counterparts to sacrifice themselves or the mission to protect them. They wouldn’t want Rick Santorum beside them in combat.
It’s time for Santorum for step into the 21st century where women in the United States are willing to put their lives at risk to protect our freedoms.
A Review of BLOOD WOUNDS by Susan Beth Pfeffer
In Blood Wounds, by prolific author Susan Beth Pfeffer (Harcourt), Willa Coffey is leading a seemingly happy life with her mother, stepfather and two stepsisters when she learns that her biological father, whom she hardly remembers, has gone on a murderous rampage. He had remarried and kills his new wife and three young children and may be on his way to kill Willa and her mother. The book revolves around Willa’s coming to grips with her past which also impacts on her new family.
The difficulty with Blood Wounds is it’s difficult to feel compassion for the great majority of the novel’s characters. Jack, Willa’s stepfather, is intent on recreating a Stepford Wives family. Regardless of their busy schedules the family must get together each Wednesday for dinner. He wants to avoid discord at all costs. But beneath his cool exterior he seems to seethe with hidden rage. The more we learn about him the more we dislike him.
His two biological daughters are both spoiled rotten as well as being extraordinarily talented (is this a real family?). Brooke is gifted in dressage while Alyssa is a tennis prodigy. They’ve both traveled around the world and are beloved by their family. Yet, they are both jealous of Willa for petty reasons.
The cause of much of the discord is Val, Broke and Alyssa’s biological mother. Sadly, we see her solely through the eyes of other characters. Lacking in empathy she uses money to get what she wants. She’s paid the mortgage on Jack’s house as well as the many travels of her daughters. Where is the love? One asks. Since she is the sole character whose point of view we are denied we have no idea why she has such an odd relationship with her children.
Then there is Terri, Willa’s mother who has allowed Jack to rule the roost with Val making all decisions based on the money she brings to the family. She is weak-willed, at best, and not terribly fleshed out.
Willa is the most interesting member of the family and a good deal of the book revolves around her point of view. She shares in the wealth of the family but is denied many of the privileges her sisters enjoy because Val has no use for her (or her mother, Terri). And, yes, she too is gifted, a member of the choir. For some reason she has resorted to cutting (well before the murders take place) to deal with her anger, jealousy and feeling of helplessness. At one point she even considers suicide. Until the murders she’s not terribly troubled so one wonders why she has resorted to cutting.
There is a decent amount of tension as the book unfolds but the novel ends with a thud. In the midst of financial turmoil that could wreak havoc on Willa’s life she inherits money from her father’s second wife. She, too, can live her dreams. It’s a sad lesson for readers that money can seemingly solve all problems. A too-pat ending where Willa’s family all get what they desire.
(2 stars out of 5)