Sam Brownback wants to be our dad. It’s been apparent for some time now, with his efforts to control women’s health care options. He also wants to decide exactly what kind of health care Kansans have access to, and that doesn’t include any care paid for by the federal government. He thinks we all need to be married to ensure we aren’t poor. And of course we shouldn’t marry someone who shares our gender. Just like our dad would want.
Don't be mean to daddy, or he'll punish you. (September 3, 2008 - Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images North America)
But this latest Twitter battle with Emma Sullivan really drives this dad plan home. Have you noticed that everyone who thinks Emma is in the wrong begins their argument with “Well, if she was MY daughter . . . “ and then goes on to describe some imagined penalty ranging from taking her cell phone away to grounding her until she’s 35 – as if the responsible action is to PUNISH this girl? Because, you know, Sam Brownback is her dad and she was disrespectful to him.
I got into a back and forth with a conservative on this topic and he just couldn’t get past this dad defense and refused to see this issue for what I believe it really is – a FREE SPEECH issue. When I brought that up, his reply was that when he pays the bills, his children have no right to free speech, the only free speech that matters is HIS and he’s using it to tell Emma she was wrong.
This all makes sense when you see Brownback as our dad. It fits into Lakoff’s strict father theory which says conservatives’ moral compass causes them to view government (in this situation, Sam Brownback) as a strict father who protects us and helps us develop self-discipline and a strong moral character. And describing this strict father by saying “he blows a lot” is a disrespectful act that needs to be punished.
As much as this is a free speech issue, I believe we need to use it to let Sam Brownback know that he wasn’t elected state dad. He is supposed to be governing, not parenting. My own parents did a fine job. I don’t need Daddy Sam. Do you?
The first Monday after I found out about this fiasco, I called Sam Brownback’s office and the principle of the High School. I expressed my displeasure with how this whole thing was handled. I also asked who was paying the salary of the ‘thought police’ that the governor had spying on us.