The Problem with Palin

I've decided to change gears a bit for this post and focus on politics, since it is election season and all. As you may notice, I've shied away from politics, as I generally try to write about things that few other people are writing about. After all, it's nice to be able to inject a fresh idea into a conversation, and what hasn't already been said about the elections? In any case, anyone who has talked to me recently probably realizes that I am not a huge fan of Sarah Palin. I've heard that in elections people base their decision more off their ability to identify with that person than anything else. For high offices, we generally try to chose people who exemplify the best values of our country, however, those values are extremely subjective. Palin was clearly chosen, in a deeply cynical move, to capitalize on this identity factor. The issue with Palin, however, is what she represents and how she is being used as a divisive force in American politics.

Sarah Palin epitomizes many of the ideals that conservative Middle-Americans hold dear. She is militantly pro-life. She places an enormous amount of faith in some fairly wacky offshoots of Christianity. But more than anything else, to Middle-Americans, she is "One of us," a typical Middle-American working mother. Like most of the American base, Palin is not some high fulutin' Ivy-League grad, and like most of the American base, her grasp of the issues is at best tenuous. Palin's ignorance prevents her from being able to make insightful comments on issues of foreign policy or the economy, argueably the two biggest challenges the next American president is going to face. Instead she falls back on cheap, but quaint sound bites. While Obama's nuanced understanding of the problems America is facing is at best unappreciated and at worst resented by the average American, Palin relies on language that every American can understand, employing feel good rhetoric about jobs, the American dream and the evils of terrorists and Wall St. In short, the average American is reassured by Palin's ignorance.

America is currently in a very difficult place in the world. Our entire financial system is on the verge of insolvency, world opinion has turned drastically against us, due to the bullying, unilateral nature of our foreign policy, and our government deficit is expanding, threatening the dollar and the American way of life. These are all very complex problems that require intelligent and pragmatic solutions. Many Americans feel left out of political process, due to the complexity of these issues. It takes years of study to develop an informed opinion about the issues facing their country, and most Americans plain and simply can't be bothered. Understandably, people have jobs, families, friends, which are more important to them than trying to figure out the nuances of America's relations with Saudi Arabia. Also, for a person to be interested in a subject, there often times has to be a degree of relevance, and most people simply can't see how what happens 10,000 miles away is relevant to their daily lives. To many of them, the score of the OU football game is more important in their daily lives, and the explanation that, "The terrorists hate us because of our freedom," suffices. Palin was chosen specifically to appeal to this uninformed and uninterested element of the United States' electorate.

While living in Oklahoma, one of the first things I noticed was a deep-rooted resentment towards intellectualism. As my boss put it, once you get 100 miles away from the coast, people stop caring about foreign policy and all that. Rather, in Middle-American society, there is a greater focus on traditional moral values, like religion and family, and an education merely serves as an agent or moral confusion. Many Middle-Americans view the coastalites as overly intellectual, sacrificing core values and hard work for cushy jobs. There is also a degree of resentment and jealousy inherent in Middle-Americanism, directed towards the educated, elite establishment in New York and Washington. To these people, Palin represents the great white hope. As she has not allowed education to interfere with her core values.

Palin was selected to stand in direct opposition to Obama and Biden. By selecting her, the Republican party has effectively politicized the issue of intellectualism, setting a very dangerous precedent for America. At a time when America needs prudent, pragmatic and intelligent leadership to help undo the damage of the disastrous Bush administration, intelect, the very tool necessary to dig us out of this mess, is under assault. Palin's candidacy is dangerous, because she is purely a divisive force and an instrument of class warfare. At a time when Americans need to work together, she is creating a gulf over issues of class, education, race and religion, all in a cynical play for power. While Sarah Palin may be an idiot, I can't necessarily fault her for that. I do however fault the Republican party for using such an cynical tool to discredit one of the core values necessary for a president.