To Whom Much is Given, Much is Expected: Letterman Lets Women Down Again

This week I have taken much time thinking about the whole Sarah Palin/David Letterman controversy. Any of you who follow me on twitter @conservativefem can see the articles I posted throughout the week about this. While I am obviously biased due to my great respect and admiration for Sarah Palin, I wanted to give David Letterman the benefit of the doubt, so I listened to his apology on youtube. I tried to see his side of the story: that he is a comedian who tells jokes to get cheap laughs and would never make jokes with malicious intent. I could kind of see this argument, but I still don't feel right about it.

The major contentions I have with Letterman's comments revolve around the way we talk about women in society, which directly correlates with the value we give to them. First, I take issue with his comment about Sarah Palin looking "like a slutty flight attendant." Sarah Palin was a candidate for Vice President; the first ever woman on a GOP presidential ticket and the second ever in American history. Because of that we owe her great respect, not just for her own sake but to honor women's history and plight in achieving access to positions of great leadership in our country and the world. The women's movement and feminists in America have long worked to stop society from dismissing women by turning them into sex objects and instead look past their gender and view them as equals. As the Governor of Alaska and VP Candidate, no one can argue that Sarah Palin has achieved a great deal for women in America and is someone to be honored and idolized.

However, David Letterman chose to perpetuate the left's constant ad campaign to turn Sarah Palin into a sex object in their attempt to dismiss her as a legitimate person with legitimate ideas simply because they are threatened by those ideas, which they do not agree with. The left's attempt to tear Sarah Palin down is truly a tragedy for women in America. Imagine if celebrities and comedians made jokes about Barack Obama looking like a slave or something equally demeaning. It would draw outrage from everyone in the country. But that kind of demeaning language is being used against Sarah Palin and it's being legitimized and excused because it's "just a joke."

This week I have heard this excuse several times. On twitter, facebook, the news, and in opinion journalism, many people ask "why do people care so much what Letterman said?" and "he's just a comedian, that's his job, his jokes were funny." David Letterman may be a driving force behind the left's ad campaign to devalue Sarah Palin in order to dismiss her from being a legitimate public voice, or he may simply be a reflection of the society we are living in today. Either way, when we continue to excuse comments like these we legitimize them, which in turn legitimizes the way we allow women to be treated and viewed in America.

Again, the way we talk about women in society directly correlates with the way society then views them. I don't think any woman would appreciate being called "slutty" for any reason, and by viewing them in that way we are dismissing them as legitimate parts of society. Sarah Palin certainly isn't slutty (I don't even need to go into why). So why are we allowing society to call her that? Why are we thinking it's funny when late night talk show hosts call an upstanding Governor and former VP Candidate a "slutty flight attendant?" People who get satisfaction from such comments do so simply because they are either threatened by or scared of the immense power Sarah Palin does have, and thus need to find any way to debase her. One thing is certain: their fears stem from the fact that she is a powerful woman, or the fact that she's a powerful conservative, or both.

Finally I must address Letterman's comments about her daughter - that she "got knocked up by Alex Rodriguez while watching a Yankees game during her trip to New York." Letterman insists he was referring to her 18-year old (Bristol) but her 14 year-old (Willow) was the only one on the trip with her that day. Quite frankly, Sarah Palin has every right to denounce this in the strongest language possible. Even though he apparently meant to make the joke about Bristol (I don't think he even thought it through before he spoke), the joke really had to refer to Willow and thus is inciting statutory rape. That's not funny on any level. Secondly, after the horrible stories about Palin and Bristol in US Weekly that came out last September (around the time of the Republican National Convention) - filled with cruel lies and accusations that were not true, I think anyone with a brain knows NOT to attack children. If Letterman made that joke about Obama's girls there would be absolute public outrage. But again, it devalues Palin herself to make a joke about her daughter getting pregnant.

Furthermore, the terminology used is very negative and displays the public shame thrust onto any young girl who becomes pregnant outside of wedlock in society today. The term "knocked up" implies that the individual is somehow broken, and for everyone to laugh at the idea implies that someone in this situation would be laughed at. This negativity and shame makes young girls susceptible to abortions out of fear of bearing a theoretical scarlet letter for the rest of their lives. And as we all know (or should know) giving young women easy access to abortions is one of worst ways in which society harms them.

Which brings me to one of my favorite quotes: "to whom much is given, much is expected." David Letterman is a famous comedian in America. He has the responsibility to be a good steward of his talent and use it to benefit - rather than throw mud on - society. Sure, it's his job to "get cheap laughs." But to do so by continuing to perpetuate vulgar lies and throw trashy labels on an honorable female leader in society so the Left will finally feel comfortable (and Letterman will get some laughs) is doing an injustice to women everywhere. If David Letterman had real talent for comedy, he wouldn't have to sink to this level. He owes it to all of us to do better than this.