Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 170, Ed. 1 Friday, June 5, 2009 Page: 4 of 22
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Viewpoints
Page 4 ■ Friday, June 5, 2009
Sweetwater Reporter
DEDICATED TO PROUDLY DELIVERING LOCAL NEWS SINCE 1881
v Sweetwater.
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Sweetwater, Texas 79556
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Tatiana Rodriguez
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EDITORIAL POLICY
The editorial section of the newspaper is a forum for
expression of a variety of viewpoints. All articles except
those labeled “Editorials" reflect the opinions of the writ-
ers and not those of the Sweetwater Reporter.
mturMiTn
Estrich
Somewhere between bliss and insanity
GUEST COLUMN
Imperfect moments
I have hated graduations for most of my life.
High school was my best, and it wasn't great: I lost out j
as valedictorian by one-tenth of a point, and the guys who
finished third and fourth behind me
both got into Harvard and 1 didn’t. 1 was ]
rd \'J heading off to my last choice college, the
§ ~ -11 one that had given me the big scholar-
ship. Still, I was healthy, and my parents
were both alive and there. I didn't know |
yet that right there, that was enough, I
more than I would ever have again.
1 was raped the night before 1 gradu- ;
ated from college, and then it rained, :
and my father’s new wife was too you- i
ClICQII fill-in-the-blank to let him go without
UUwull her, and I didn't have a ticket for her
for the rain venue, so he didn't come, i
But he did buy me a present, which he j
left in the trunk of his car. But his car j
got stolen, and when he got it back the
present wasn't there, and of course he said he'd make it up
to me at my next graduation.
My father died just months before my law school gradua-
tion. That time, no one went, not even me. I started working j
in Washington the day after my last exam because I literally 1
had no money at all. The idea of flying back to Boston a few
weeks later to graduate made no sense: My mother didn't
care about going, my sister and brother didn't care about
going, and I didn't think I could actually face going. So 1
stayed away. For years, 1 felt bad when I'd see the pictures
my friends had taken of the whole crowd, of everybody with
their families. But then I'd remind myself that it was just
as well that I didn't go, because it would have been worse
in person.
And so when 1 started teaching, even though it's custom-
ary' for professors to go to their students' graduations, 1
always found an excuse. Bad stomach. Out of town. Ah, a
conflict in my schedule. Having skipped my own, broken-
hearted, 1 never attended anyone else's Harvard graduation
for the 10 years 1 taught there.
Still, as the years passed, accommodations were required.
I started getting invited to speak at graduations, by people 1
knew and respected and who sometimes were even offering
money. What do you say? Everyone does graduations. So 1
started going, speaking, putting on a cap and gown once a
year.
And 1 discovered something that I should have known
all along. Graduations are full of joy and celebration, but
they are also full of broken hearts. It is one of those days
when you miss the people you love so much it hurts, when
imperfect families and dashed dreams weigh so heavily
that you begin to think that everyone else is sitting on top
of the world but you.
So here is my message to graduates and their families,
learned the hard way. Life is not about the hand you're
dealt, but how you play it. There will always be people with
better cards. You can curse the fates or do the best with
the ones you have. Life isn't fair, but you can be. The world
isn't just, but you can still live a life of honor. The happiest
people are not the ones with the best cards, but those who
play theirs best - and best doesn't necessarily mean for the
greatest financial reward.
If you look around and assume that all those people smil-
ing around you have everything you don't, you'll be wrong,
and you may miss noticing what it is that >011 do have. Not
everything turns out for the best, but some things do.
Congratulations.
To find out more about Susan Estrich and read features j
by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit
the Creators Syndicate website at www.ereators.com.
Letter to the Editor Policy
The Sweetwater Reporter welcomes Letters to the Editor
for possible publication in the newspaper. A letter must
be original, signed by the writer and bear the address and
phone number of the writer. Only the name and the city j
will be published with the letter, but the phone number
and address are necessary for verification or clarification
of content.
The Sweetwater Reporter reserves the right to edit all
letters. If deemed derogatory, libelous, unclear or for other
reasons determined bv the newspaper to be unwise to
print, it will not be used.
It is the feeling of the newspaper that an unsigned letter
has little meaning, and thus it will not publish anonymous
letters to the editor.
During elections, the Sweetwater Reporter will accept
Letters to the Editor discussing the issues or offering
endorsements. However, the deadline for letters during j
elections will be two weeks prior to election day.
The publishing of Letters to the Editor are offered by the
newspaper to the community for expression of personal
views on matters of concern. Residents are encouraged
to use the column in a constructive manner, sharing their
views on subjects of interest with the newspaper's readers.
During the first few days
of summer break from
school, I have dis-
covered extremes in
parenting two chil-
dren.
I have always
loved summer, and
since my son started
school, have always
looked forward to
summer days where
I can spend more
time with my kids,
where I can have
them to myself
again. Since I work
at home, I enjoy not
having anywhere to
go most mornings during
summer break.
1 also love the longer and
warmer days.
I lowever, summers aren't
all bliss.
Now that my son and
daughter are a little older
7 and 4 - they have devel-
oped their own personali-
ties and likes and dislikes,
as well as the ability to
argue and fight. After our
first full day of summer was
over, I thought that 1 would
never make it through the
entire summer working
at home with my children
afoot without going insane.
n
Kimberty
Gray
It seemed that every time
1 picked up the phone to
make an impor-
tant call or was
nearing a dead-
line, someone
would come cry-
ing or tattling to
me, or I would
hear screams
from the other
room.
S 0 m e t i m e s
working at home
is harder than
any work I’ve
done outside the
home. It seems
no matter how
many times I tell my kids
they are not to interrupt
me while I'm on the phone
or hurriedly trying to meet
a deadline, unless there is
an emergency or someone
is bleeding, they will come
to me to whine for milk or
tattle on the other one.
I was beginning to think
1 had gotten through the
hardest part of working at
home with my kids because
they are now old enough
to entertain themselves for
the most part. They don't
need my complete atten-
tion like they did when I
first started doing this and
Dustin was three and Kylie
was an infant.
But I was wrong. Now
that they’re bigger, they’ve
gotten louder and more
opinionated. Their prob-
lems have gotten more
complicated. They also get
bored more easily, espe-
cially since Dustin is used
to being kept busy all at
school. In his boredness he
takes delight in making his
little sister scream.
My brain was completely
fried after that first full sum-
mer break day was over. I
never felt so free than when
my husband came home
from work and stayed with
the kids while l went to
buy groceries. Who knew
such a simple and dull out-
ing could be so enjoyable?
There’s something about
being able to get through
the grocery store in less
than an hour and with a
smaller bill because I don’t
have any beggars with me.
There’s something about
the quiet in the car when
it’s just the radio and me.
While I see that the sum-
mer is going to be diffi-
cult some days, I have also
experienced the great times
of summer with my kids
already as well. Only in the
summer can you stay up
late on a Monday night to
watch a Star Wars movie
(Dustin and 1 are huge
fans) and eat popcorn for
supper. Only in the sum-
mer can you spend a week-
day going to a museum, out
for ice cream and to the
park. And the kids didn’t
fight one bit.
I suppose my kids are
seeing both sides as well.
They either get the wrath
of their Mama or her com-
plete and undivided atten-
tion doing fun things.
I know they enjoy their
fu,' lama more than their
hard-working, irritable
Mama, but I think they’re
learning what life is all
about. Sometimes you have
to work, and sometimes
you get to play.
They are also learning to
get along with one another.
They must, or the wrath
will come.
Kimberly Cray is a cor-
responding reporter for
the Sweetwater Reporter.
Comments about this col-
umn may be e-mailed to
editor(n sweetwaterreport-
er.com.
WmoCPaT- GAZt Trt © w 7 ciua Tor?s *chdmk..
M . /
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GUEST COLUMN
Judge Sotomayor and the diversity crowd
The diversity crowd
doesn’t really believe in
diversity. In fact, what
they're really aiming for is
conformity of opinion. They
expect that members of
racial and ethnic groups will
adhere to liberal orthodoxy,
and woe to those
who don't fall into
line. If Judge
Sotomayor were
a conservative or
the nominee of a
Republican presi-
dent, we'd be hear-
ing that she wasn't
an "authentic"
Latina at all.
I recall similar
arguments used by
my critics when I
was the fu st Latina
nominated to a
U.S. Cabinet back
in 2001. You're only cel-
ebrated as the "first" by the
diversity crowd when you're
the first Democrat. Just ask
Colin Powell, Condoleezza
Rice, Spencer Abraham,
Elaine Chao, Bobby Jindal,
or Michael Steele.
As someone whose pro-
fession entails having opin-
ions, perhaps 1 shouldn't
be surprised by how often
I've been asked what I
think about Judge Sonia
Sotomayor's nomination to
the Supreme Court. What is
surprising, however, is that
many of those asking the
question seemed less inter-
ested in my analysis of the
judge's judicial record than
in whether I felt any special
pride in her appointment
because of our shared eth-
nicity.
1 could see their puzzle-
ment as I recounted some of
Judge Sotomayor's rulings.
I was clearly missing the
point of their inquiry: She's
an Hispanic woman; I'm an
Hispanic woman. We both
grew up in disadvantaged
circumstances but managed
to overcome our humble
beginnings. We must be
simpatieo right? Wrong.
Linda
Chavez
Apparently it comes as
a surprise to some people,
but not all Hispanics (or
women) think alike. Why
should race, ethnicity, gen-
der, or even class determine
one's point of view on politi-
cal or legal issues? What's
more, when it
comes to Hispanics,
there is often not
even a single,
shared culture that
might create a com-
mon bond.
As L.A. Times
columnist Gregory
Rodriguez recent-
ly pointed out,
most of the peo-
ple described as
Hispanics — or
Latinos, the term
Rodriquez, prefers
don't identify
with the catch-all term, but
think of themselves in terms
of their national origin
(Mexican, El Salvadoran,
Puerto Rican, etc.). Not sur-
prisingly, most immigrants
regard their country of ori-
gin as important in their
identity.
But for most Hispanics
who were born in the U.S.,
our primary identity is as
Americans. In the largest
poll of its kind in 2002,
nearly bo percent of third-
generation Hispanics used
the term "American" as
either the only or first term
to describe themselves, and
97 percent said they use
American to identify them-
selves at least some of the
time.
Still, the media and most
politicians seem to think
Sotomayor's ethnic heritage
and gender are relevant to
the story of her Supreme
Court nomination. She's the
first female Hispanic to be
named to the highest court
in the land, and that must
mean something, the think-
ing goes. But what? Frankly,
it was only a matter of time
before an Hispanic reached
the Court. True barriers -
meaning disqualifications
based on race, ethnicity or
gender — simply don't exist
anymore.
Most ordinary Americans
seem to have caught on to
this phenomenon fasterthan
elites, which may be why
they are becoming increas-
ingly skeptical of the idea
that we need government
policies to enforce "diver-
sity." A new Quinnipiac
University poll taken after
the Sotomayor nomina-
tion shows that 70 percent
of Americans are opposed
to granting preferences to
minorities or women in
hiring in order to promote
diversity. Even members of
some of the groups grant-
ed such preferential treat-
ment seem unenthusiastic
about it. Hispanics. for
example, 0 ve rwh e 1 m i ngly
oppose preferential treat-
ment in government hiring
in order to promote diver-
sity, 58 to 38 percent. But
they split more evenly when
the question is phrased in
the more nebulous terms of
"affirmative action" in hir-
ing, promotions, or college
admissions, with 48 percent
opposing and 47 percent
favoring affirmative action
for Hispanics.
Which brings me back to
Judge Sotomayor's nomina-
tion and my reaction to it.
1 doubt that those clamor-
ing for more diversity on
the Court would be thrilled
if the nominee were an
Hispanic (or Asian or black
or Muslim or gay) woman
whose views were closer
to Justice Antonin Scalia's
than Ruth BaderGinsburg's.
I don't remember many
diversity devotees cheering
Clarence Thomas' appoint-
ment - even though his life
story trumps Sotomayor's
in the overcoming hardship
category.
The next time someone
asks me what I think about
the Sotomayor pick, I'll say:
It's not about a black presi-
dent picking an Hispanic
woman to replace a white
man on the court. It's about
a liberal president choosing
a liberal jurist to replace a
retiring liberal justice. It's
not diversity; it's more of
the same.
Undo Chavez, is the
author of "An Unlikely
Conservative: The
'Transformation of an
Ex-Liberal." To find out
more about Linda Chavez,
visit the Creators Syndicate
web page at www.creators.
com.
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Rodriguez, Tatiana. Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 170, Ed. 1 Friday, June 5, 2009, newspaper, June 5, 2009; Sweetwater, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth559782/m1/4/?q=%22~1~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sweetwater/Nolan County City-County Library.