From the time I was a little girl, my father told me I could be anything I wanted to be.  I never doubted him.  While my mom backed him up, I knew the words from him meant even more.  I realize today how important his words truly were and what an amazing alley I had from the opposite sex in the family.

Under the freedoms bestowed upon our nation I knew I wasn't alone in the manner in which I was being raised.  Little girls everywhere in the United Stases have been told the same thing from their fathers as I was told twenty years ago.  In the past, it was true.  We could work hard, go to college and move forward in whatever academic field we liked.

Like many other fathers, my dad never lied to me.  He made it clear that if I decided to marry and have babies, life would change. He claimed it was always amazing to have a career but no shame should ever be felt in simply being a woman and raising offspring.   It would be hard to juggle them both, He was correct again. 

He told me there would be jerks along the way, too as I tried to advance my career.  They would be both man and woman.  That is what I always respected about my dad.  He was able to see both sides.  I have had adversaries in both sexes.  He also saw the difference between the career woman and the stay home mom.  Possibly, walking the streets of New York as a city cop gave him his opinions.  I never heard the man speak a curse word or put another down.  Amazing that one could retain such faith in people after working the streets of NYC.

Today, it all appears different to me. I wish I had his optimism. Women in the United States are now portrayed as victims.   Silly girls such as Sandra Fluke are able to obtain a platform with the government to speak about a free or low cost pill.  Code Pink marches naked through the streets for whatever tickles their fancy this week while ignoring women being raped and maimed under the name of Islam.  Maybe they have no guts to stand for women's true rights? 

Back when I was a kid, if you tried to walk out of the house dressed inappropriately only one look or demand would march you back up the stairs to change.......no killing necessary....

I believe in freedom.  I believe if I want something, I will work for it, thank you very much.  I do not need a federal law to help me obtain my goals. I do not need the UN to tell me I am worth something. I was not raised to be a victim.  I was raised by my father to be an American Woman.  No excuses necessary.