Meet the Proles

Public Domain image by Pearson Scott Foreman

One thing that never ceases to shock me is the tendency of the electorate to hold on to oft repeated lies, even resfuse to hear statements to the contrary of them, and with no candidate has this been more true then Sarah Palin. What do people get out of speaking venom and lies against her? What is it about Palin that makes people not only swallow the lies about her hook, line and sniker, but then dismiss any challenge to those lies as unworthy of their hearing?

In "1984", there were some, shall we say, non-characters called the Proles. They are humans who are non-people, are so lost in their hate, anger, fear and willful ignorance that they will simply hate upon without question whoever the small elite decides as a target, not even quoting their own memories against it. They can be controlled by a single broadcast of the radio.

I don't know what brought America to the brink of becoming Oceania, but something did. Something made us so thoroughly lose ourselves in hate, anger and political parties that we will ignore all reasoning thereafter. Something made us that lazy, that cowardly, that inhuman. I'll leave you to figure out what it was, but when was the last time that someone attacking Sarah Palin gave a good reason why?

Any particular lies you would like addressed will be handled in the comment section.

UPDATE 10/5/2011: Sarah Palin will not be seeking the highest office in the land. She announced that family concerns have simply become too great. The only person in the world who can defeat Sarahcuda is her own daughter, and it seems that she has proved this adage once again.

Thatcher the Wrong Comparison for Palin

Eva Peron at the Casa Rosada Expired copyright, source unknown.

One was known for her mastery of statistics and facts, the other for her combativeness and passion. One was the "Iron Lady", the other the symbol of her nation at a time when it was losing itself. One rose at a time of practical problems, declining economies, overweened labor unions and eminent possible wars (one of which could not in the end be prevented) with Argentina (sic) and the USSR. The other at a time when her nation, let alone its practical issues, didn't even know who it was any more. So why do we always compare Palin to the wrong great leader?

Thatcher is one of my heroes, and indeed, she is the hero of many. So is Evita. They are totally different people, and when one considers who these great leaders really were, one realizes who really is the model for Palin.

Let's think about what Palin has done well: she put fear in to lawless oil companies sufficient to get them to actually keep their contracts with Alaska, she cleaned house in Juneau of great corruption (something that, in many places like Chicago, never occurs) in a very short amount of time, she inspires people even now with her life story and the very kind of person she is, and it is through her EMOTIONAL actions, her pointing to values, illustrating grotesqueness of character and thought rather then particular points of policy, that she takes power to the degree she does. Palin is all heart, and all America. She would not govern by bullet points and statistics - higher values suit her better. And just as the European elegance of Evita suited Argentina at a terrifying moment of decline, Palins rugged indivdiualism, honor, antielite anger and religious fervor represent America at a time when, for every reason imaginable, America is losing its very identity.

The fact that Evita was on the left-wing while Thatcher was on the right probably doesn't help, but nonetheless, the most talented political citizen of the United States today has much to offer, and it's not exceptionally like Thatcher.

This one's for you, Sarah

Image Courtesy of Ben Aveling and Tyler Warren, distributed by Wikimedia Commons, terms Creative Commons SA 3.0

It's almost cliche to talk of politicians as having no heart. In between their sleazy beltway dealings, their constant lies and unprincipled chatter, and tendency to cave at the slightest show of force, perhaps it is even appropriate to call many scum. But there are a few out there who genuinely have heart, principles, and a love of their people, and their names echo through history forever, promoted to a higher status then the Robert Kings and Martin Van Burens of yesteryear or the various, unnamed, hypocrites of today, remembered fondly for all they accomplished in their careers and lives and the vision they showed a nation.

From what I know, Sarah Palin seems the genuine article. As governor of Alaska, she took a corrupt state and raised hell against Exxon when they were cheating the Alaskan people of royalties, eliminated bribery and bribe-taking officials, and undertook a controversial action that could've cost her political career (sending biplanes with machine guns after wolves) in order to protect the way of life of a people too often deprived of what was theirs (the Inuit.) She kept a state budget balanced when almost everyone else had emptied the piggy bank, and cleaned the filthy blood of a corrupt Ted Stevens based Republican party of Alaska. And her positive stand for antidiscrimination law and women in the workplace has proved once and for all that, indeed, you can be a conservative and still advance Civil Rights. And she tells it like it is too, pointing out the "Death Panels" of Barrack Obama (arguably the single most effective argument of the debate) and the truth of liberty and tradition at the 2008 Republican Convention, re-energizing the GOP again and again and again.

Palin is the classic Western woman. She is strong, dutiful, risk-taking, and independent. She doesn't take no for an answer and doesn't respect you just because someone tells her too. She looks out for her children and those who she is attached to, and doesn't mind fighting a good brawl when the occasion permits and the principles are worth it. Her sense of honor is strong, and guides her. And though she has principles, she does not impose or judge, or ninny-nanny or busy-body, but simply guides forward, as we could see with her pregnant daughter. She doesn't see herself as anybody's lesser. Most of all, she's not scared, and she has the sheer brass stubbornness to not give up on pursuing an idea until it's finished and realized before her.

I will admit that she was a little undereducated, but she had great common sense and wisdom beyond this, intelligence, leadership, an understanding of humanity, and a truly beautiful heart. Education can be taught, but all but one of these things cannot be. They are priceless, while education indeed has price.

I hope we will see more of you in the future, Sarah, and now that Sanford has found his Maria, I guess we just might. I hope you are using these next couple years to even out your rough edges, and you can show up sparkling and blow the dome off the white house when you return. When you come, show all aspects of your character - the more people see of you, I believe, the more they will want you for President.