Thanks, But No Thanks, Secretary of State Todd Rokita!

First of all---It's been way too long since this blog has had some action.

Having said that, here's what I noticed today...

So this afternoon, I graduated with my master's. Secretary of State, Todd Rokita was the speaker at the SPEA (School of Public and Environmental Affairs) graduation. Republican Secretary of State, Todd Rokita.

It's no secret that I wasn't too happy as Mr. Rokita took the stage. But I gave him a chance...I mean, surely he wouldn't make it a political thing, right?

HAHA! Was I ever wrong. The first part of the speech was totally tame, and I was pulled in, actually paying attention. But then, he hit me with a one-two punch.

1) He kept saying things about how if you view the government they way he does, which is "the way everyone should" then you should believe that as public servants it is our job to put ourselves out of work. You know, the whole same small government rhetoric that the republican party spouts off without any consideration about how *impossible* that actually is. Whatever, fine. I disagree...but to each her or his own. But this statement wasn't good enough. He actually said, at SPEA's graduation, that his goal is a world where there are less SPEA grads. It was some thing about how the government should ultimately not need them anymore. But it was just weird and awkward and not fitting. Plus, SPEA is a blanket for many other programs, like nonprofit management! And if you really want smaller government then, you're going to have a larger nonprofit sector...which actually means *more* SPEA grads, just of a different type. It was like he didn't really do his homework about the program.

2) SEXIST LANGUAGE OH DIOS MIO! In the government section he said something about how a small government is what our "fathers" have intended. And he used "he" as his only chosen pronoun over and over. There were a few other very specific examples...It was almost too much to take. Seriously! When he went off on this politically charged tangent, I started to zone out, but again and again the language kept popping out to me.

You'd think SPEA would pick someone who would represent more people's opinions and who is more inclusive.

I'm really happy I'm done. I'm proud of me, damnit! But I'm not going to look back at my graduation ceremony its self fondly.