So when people like Sarah Palin dominate the media and spread ignorance instead of truth, it takes the whole "education of America" movement back a few decades. I know, I'm trying to promote reasonable debate and not personal attacks, but I can't help but feel like Sarah Palin is all that is wrong with American politics. From spreading lies about death panels to inciting violent retaliation against Democrats who voted for healthcare to now rejecting the idea of separating church and state, the woman seems hell-bent on dismantling all that is still holding our country together in a time of crisis. When America needs stability, she offers nothing but chaos.
I can't tell if she is just backwards and delusional or if this is a systematic ploy on her part to achieve massive celebrity status, or even worse, the Presidency. Is she really a misguided moron who through luck, good looks, charm and a few well-placed winks and "you betchas" managed to become Governor of Alaska, climb to the top her her party's socio-political ladder and get on a presidential ticket? Stranger things have happened I guess... But what if it's the opposite? What if she's perfectly aware of the effect of her behavior and actually enjoys dividing the country? If so, she is more dangerous than I thought.
Either way, she needs to stop being taken seriously as a political voice. OK, she's an interesting person, a straight-talkin beauty queen who snipes moose from a helicopter, I get it. But why should she still be relevant in a political sense? She abandoned an important executive office, has made countless factually inaccurate statements and even most Republicans don't want her to run in the future. For someone who claims to want to be involved in politics, she seems to have very little knowledge of what's going on. If she were in any other job she would have been fired by now. And her references would be terrible.
But as long as there are people out there dumb enough to believe Obama is a socialist, there will be support for Sarah Palin and we will see her face on TV. Which is unfortunate, because now is definitely not the time to waste on mindless distractions, no matter how attractive. Solving America's problems as a nation is going to take nothing less than all sides sitting at the the table together and working as equals, not shouting with their ears covered. This will only happen when we have an educated public that truly wants rational political discourse and is willing to listen to and understand all sides of a debate. Sarah Palin is just proof that we aren't there yet.
I know this is a long one but I want to leave with this quote from Time Magazine's Joe Klein, who has had to defend himself against criticism for saying personalities like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck push the boundaries of "seditious" speech. I think it's a good explanation of why we need to make clear the distinction between legitimate and radical opposition:
"Dissent isn't sedition. Questioning an Administration's policies isn't sedition. But questioning an Administration's legitimacy in a manner intended to undermine or overthrow it certainly is.It's not illegal—unless actions are taken to overthrow the government in question—but it is disgraceful and the precise opposite of patriotism in a democracy."
"But as long as there are people out there dumb enough to believe Obama is a socialist, there will be support for Sarah Palin and we will see her face on TV."
ReplyDeleteSo true. This can be said for much of the irrational thinking and support for irrational positions and policies over the decades and centuries.
People do get the government and representation they deserve (vote for).
Michell Bachmann is about to be reelected. Are Minnesotans that dumb?
Some Americans have proven their lack of intellectually by their support for unsupportable politicians, political policies, and the crooks they vote for.
Why do people vote for proven crooks, perverts, and liars?
Why would people support Robertson, Falwell, Swaggert and other religious con men?
Who is responsible? The people in office who commit these acts, or the people whom put them in office again and again?
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
"I can't tell if she is just backwards and delusional..."
ReplyDeleteI can! And she's both.
"...or if this is a systematic ploy on her part to achieve massive celebrity status, or even worse, the Presidency."
Celebrity status she wants, she's got. The presidency? Never. She's too stupid, and has never been put in front of serious journalists to answer unscripted questions. She's very good at rhetoric and demagoguery. And cutesy speeches. But she has never set out any of her ideas for foreign and domestic policies. Why? She doesn't have any.
She's succeeding by being a hegemoron. There will always be people in this country who admire theater with no substance. That's Palin.
She is smart so far as enriching herself goes--quitting the governorship filled her bank account for sure, having her book ghost-written was profitable, charging hundreds of thousand of dollars to give speeches has been very lucrative. Did you read where she's given next to NOTHING to the campaigns of righties she supports?
It's her money and she can spend it as she wishes, but it is interesting how she's spending it all on herself.
She's a grifter--nothing more. This country props up people like her all the time.
Our only consolation is that she'll NEVER be respected by history--she'll always be seen as some sort of abberation on our era.
Well formulated post; I think you picked the right vocation. You know, once upon a time in my youth, we young people refused to accept the repressive status quo and we took it to the streets. The 60s wasn't just sex,drugs and rock & roll - it was also the enacting of civil rights, Miranda, search and seizure and the FOI Act.
ReplyDeleteIt is time for a new generation to stand up and demand attention to what they believe and what they want for their future. It is your turn...
"Her part to achieve massive celebrity status."
ReplyDeleteSums it up pretty well, however I would assume she does have some knowledge of politics. I don't think she is as bad as everyone thinks, but to be serious here, the Republican Party would be mighty foolish to nominate her. If she does get nominated, I don't think she has any chance of winning the election. A lot of things would need to go really really bad for her to win. I don't even see her winning the Republican nomination.
Also...(Rocknyc)...Like what you said in regard to Civil Rights, and especially Miranda/Search and Seizure. Most of the Bill of Rights didn't apply to the states until the Warren Court(53-69) made it that way. Very shocking indeed it took that long.
America can really be divided into eras. Colonial, Revolution/Founding, Jeffersonian/Jacksonian Democracies, Antebellum period, Civil War/Reconstruction, Industrial Age, Rise of Empire/WWI, Depression, WWII, Cold War. Now in this modern age, I don't feel the young adults have that era that can define them yet. Nothing has dominated the era yet in my opinion. One could argue the war on terror era, but that really isn't an era in my opinion. So maybe this is where the stand will take place to define this generation of Americans. I don't feel the torch has been passed yet to this new generation of Americans. But I believe it's on the way.
And added to that...the generation today around my age(24) wants everything handed to them for nothing. Most of them are lazy and ignorant of the sacrifices and hard work of our ancestors. The status quo is very good compared to what our ancestors had to deal with in the past. While it isn't great, it isn't horrible by a long shot. The majority of this generation has had everything given to them, and most of them have no idea what it is like to actually work for things and save. Most just like to complain. I would dare anyone in this generation if given the chance including myself to even step into our grandparent's footsteps and live a week during the Depression, and then go off to war and fight the Japanese in the Pacific or the Germans/Italians in Europe/North Africa/Italy. It goes back to my argument about voting. Obviously some suffer greatly in my generation and that is a horrible horrible thing, but the majority of this generation has no idea what sacrifice and hardship is. While that is a good thing, to be it just comes down to as mentioned earlier civic virtue/and knowing where our country has been. If more and more people realized what our forebears had gone through, I think this country would be a lot better off.
ReplyDeleteThis may be a simplistic answer as to how and why Sarah Palin is what she is, and how she get's away with it.
ReplyDeleteJust look to the wisdom of George Carlin....
"Think about how stupid the average person is- and half the people are even stupider than that!"
Yes, I know it sounds like an elitist statememnt...but how many times a day do we look at even our friends and family and ask- "What were you thinking?" when they do something idiotic?
I have people close to me, some very successful, who are drinking the Palin Kool-Aide.....and in my eyes, that's what's really scary.
Linked over from Truth101,
ReplyDeleteExcellent post,couldn't agree more.Thank you.
"I appeal to you again to constantly bear in mind that with you, and not with politicians, not with Presidents, not with office-seekers, but with you, is the question, 'Shall the Union and shall the liberties of this country be preserved to the latest generation?'" -Abraham Lincoln
ReplyDeleteGreat blog heading. It is just to damn bad that America has placed so much faith in the exact people Lincoln cautioned against.
There will always be small minded and backward thinking people among us. People who think intelligence, creativity and desire to improve themselves and Nation are insidious. These people will create bogeymen and call them pinkos or socialists. They will also find like minded, deluded backward thinking fools like themselves to make heroes of. Palin is all things to these people. She's "one of us." "She gets it,"
ReplyDeleteThese people are easily swayed by an angry voice telling them crap they want to hear.
Of course sarah won't win any elections but her dangerousness comes from the spreading of hate and ridiculous suspicion. She says nothing about Wall Street excess and near destruction of the financial system. But she will rail against the very government that had to act to keep us out of depression and real calamity. She will rail for freedom and gun rights but say nothing when teenagers buy guns at unregulated gun shows and kill other kids.
It's ironic that a wing nut like Palin who will cry out for free speech benefits the most from our free speech rights to make money stirring up fellow nuts.
Hear, hear, Truth! Hate, suspicion and intolerance seems to be the MO of those who would like to return to some puritanical past complete with buckled shoes and scarlet letters!
ReplyDeleteThe Palins are grifters as Shaw pointed out. I personally would like to see them fleece the wingnuts for as many of their hard earned dollars as possible. Every dollar that goes to them is a dollar not going to a candidate that has a chance to win.
ReplyDeletePossible bonus points for the depression that descends on the right wing hoi polloi when they realize their hero has feet of clay.
Barnwell- It's a shame how much of our history goes overlooked in an era when you can basically learn anything at any time. Yet another reason to get Sarah Palin off the frikkin TV, but I digress. I think our generation has a better understanding of how our country operates and what needs to change than any generation since the 1960s. And we have the experiences, successes and failures of that generation to look back on and learn from. Add the internet to that and we have all the tools we need to need to get America back on the right track. But I do agree that our generation is inherently distracted and unaware of exactly how much we take for granted on a daily basis. I guess that's the difference between the greatest and latest generations.
ReplyDeleteTruth-I'm a superstitious guy, so I'm gonna go ahead and knock on wood for that Palin not winning any elections comment...
Tom- Exactly why we need to change our standards of what to expect from politicians.
99% of people commenting on Palin try to come to terms with her as if she were a "normal person" (albeit of low intelligence, or money-grubbing or whatever else she certainly is).
ReplyDeleteIt needs badly to be entertained that Sarah Palin is quite obviously seriously mentally ill. She has some kind of personality disorder.
The word you used in your post that hit the nail on the head, however, is "chaos". People with personality disorders are constant generators of endless, degenerative and corrosive chaos within their families and workplaces. (Psychopaths and sociopaths are estimated to be about 1% of the population; they're not just the rare serial-killer.)