Palin

I have this instinct that I believe only an Alaskan can truly understand to duck my head whenever Sarah Palin's mug hits the boob tube. I understand exactly the way she speaks, the way she thinks. She plays the archetypal Alaskan independent, conservative, self righteous role perfectly. You see, a lot Alaskans believe they are pretty special and unique folks; and I get it, I really do. Alaska is a special place. We have more square miles of uninhabitable permafrost laden tundra than just about anywhere; which is in itself something to be exceptionally proud of. We also have a shit-load of moose and drunk natives which taste kind of like bland, mediocre beef (the moose, probably not the natives).

But the reason I duck is because of this weird lizard brain response I have that her words will somehow paint me within her camp. The cheapest trick available to a politician is the populist appeal; speaking in meaningless generalities, "we freedom loving Americans, unique independent minded Alaskans". I don't have a desire to be caught within that driftnet, not because I hate freedom but because I am embarrassed by her strident anti-intellectual stance on so many issues.

I don't think Sarah Palin is stupid; saying so would really be a dumb thing to claim. Clearly she is very talented, a great speaker, and has a way with people that most of us never will have. She knows how to play politics and achieve her goals. She is not stupid at all.

However... I fault her for her anti-intellectualism and reliance on blind faith to guide her opinions. Anti-intellectualism exhibits itself as a bias against learned opinions; a distrust of someone or some idea that has resulted from study and learning. It is an inherently reactionary position to take; a defensive mindset. Anti-intellectuals believe answers to political and philosophical questions are actually very simple and usually found in things like bibles or 'real world experience'. Anyone who has grown up in Alaska has encountered this mindset; it is what I like to think of as uninformed skepticism. They got the spirit of distrust right, but they missed out on the part where reason and logic help determine where the skepticism should be applied.

But... Palin is done now, she quit her day job. Maybe she'll go back to doing Mom stuff. She has a lot of kids I heard.