Role Model or Just Lucky?

Bristol Palin earned $262,500.00 last year as a spokesperson for teen pregnancy prevention. Let me put this another way. Bristol Palin earned as much money last year as six first year teachers earned in combined salary in my school district and she has nothing more than a high school education. It helps she has a mother who may one day become president of the United States, although if that happens by popular vote, I swear I will move to Honduras. I am not going to bash Bristol because she is making bank that I am not making. No, I am going to bash the people who think Bristol serves as a role model to the teenage girls who do not have a famous mother or get to appear on reality television shows. You know, the ones who all too often end up collecting welfare while hard working tax payers like us flip the bill to raise their kids. When Bristol says, "I wasn't prepared at all" for motherhood and all the hard work that it entails, I believe her. However, when you have a famous parent willing to use her daughter's plight to heighten her own public image, then mommy dearest is going to help you profit. Bristol was given a team to schedule her days and ease her parenting load while helping her to profit from her adolescent error in judgement. I would guess that 99.9 percent of all pregnant teens in our country are not given the tools that were given to Bristol and are left to really struggle with raising a child while they decide whether or not to watch Sesame Street or Jersey Shore. And remember, $262,500.00 was her earnings. This came after writing off business expenses for travel, food, lodging, and clothing. Don't forget, the Palins love their clothing. It only cost the republican party 150 G's to clothe Sarah and her clan for the three month presidential campaign in 2008. If the people who hired Bristol to speak to teens about the challenges of motherhood really wanted to make a difference, they could have gone into any town in America and found someone who could really relate to high school girls. Bristol Palin represents the greed of other Americans who find ways to profit off of the deeds, or misdeeds, of others. Remember, not every teen mother gets to sign a book deal, tour the country, appear on television shows and become rich in the process. Most are left with the stark realization that their lives will be forever changed and challenged in a way they never planned or hoped for and are ill prepared for the task. If Bristol Palin lacked the brains to use birth control, I am certain she lacked them to figure out how to profit from her plight. But then, you don't have to when your mother does.