Thought du jour

It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again;who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

- Theodore Roosevelt

I was impressed with this message that I happened to stumble across today. It got me thinking about the need for more individuals in this country to get involved, particularly in the political arena. It just seems to me that it is always the same familiar faces and names whom I read about, both locally and nationally. What is most blatantly missing are women. Why is that?

My feeling is that the idea of an "arena" where one is "marred by dust sweat and blood " just isn't too inviting. Who wants to jump into such a place, knowing that one's ideas, reputation, personality, and actions will forever be under a media microscope? Who wants to be fodder for the evening news, when the attention wouldn't be on ones intelligent opinions but rather on the fact that you had a run in your nylons or that your hair just wasn't as flattering as it could be. Who needs it?

And yet...........the voices and perspectives of all kinds of women needs to be shared. Would this happen if the arena was renovated? Where's Debbie Travis when you need her?