Top Women of 2011

Women are being left off the page of every best-of-the-year list I have read so far. For starters, you have to be a princess to make it onto TIME's list of runners-up for "Person of the Year." Kate Middleton appears again on People magazine's "Most Intriguing" list and her younger sister, Pippa, is among the women on Barbara Walter's list of "10 Most Fascinating People." The others? Pop icons Katy Perry and the Kardashians, followed by Amanda Knox, who won her appeal in a high profile murder case. Somehow, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is the only woman who ranks for Forbes' top 10 "Most Powerful People in the World" and is one of very few women to be recognized for leadership ability rather than lifestyle and looks in these year-end superlatives lists.

In an age of reality TV, it has become clear that voters expect candidates to entertain and perform. This is potentially dangerous territory for women who have to work harder to prove themselves as "serious" candidates in the first place. "In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms," as Writer/Director Jennifer Siebel Newsom describes in her provocative documentary, "Miss Representation," "the collective message that our young women and men overwhelmingly receive is that a woman's value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality, and not in her capacity as a leader." Let's not dismiss the accomplishments of women; let's celebrate them instead.

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I guess I am not the norm. To me, too many men are mearly two footed bulls, and almost as many women are their partners. What a shame celebrity has become the top value. How shallow can we get and still function at all?

Rs stress values all the time, but their values are dreadful. Money, power, recognition, the very thing that has taken so many people's minds off from true values. Ol' Rupert has managed to put his mark on the world, and people suffer because of it.

Any ideas how we can instill true values into the populace? Considering the Bible is full of people with bad values, is it just hopeless? Is it impossible to fight our genes?

I must admit, there is a man I put way on top of my 'admire' list--Bernie Sanders. But that doesn't mean I don't have great admiration for the many women who fight for truly good things for us all. From the famous to everyday women, (just think of all the women protesters we have), women work day after day to make life more bearable for us all. Having worked at Planned Parenthood, I worked alongside these wonderful people doing whatever they could to help others have better lives.

Isn't it a shame America can't find it in it's heart to include these people in their 'best of the year' lists?