- By Ian Ransom
With the Winfrey and Walters interviews in the proverbial bag, we may be witnessing a few subtle shifts in the tectonic plate of Palin-hatred, but much remains to be done, though not necessarily for Sarah Palin herself; she's doing just fine. It is America that she and her admirers are most concerned about, not Palin and Family. This is why Palin's representative value as a leader must, more than ever, be crucially comprehended, and why it must be sharply distinguished from the wholly appositional, cultish appeal of Obama for liberals.
Within the framework of Winfrey's and Walters' "strictly business" curiosities, we may detect a slight (and new) sliver of expressed respect for Palin, if only a begrudging respect. When Walters publicly attaches words like "confident" and "appealing" and "smart girl" to Palin--this is not some breakthrough, but it also not negligible, particularly given the bulk of past descriptions from similar sources and especially now that Sarah is (let's face it) positioning herself as a potential 2012 presidential candidate who can be acknowledged with at least basic respect by the mainstream.
Right now, that "basic" respect--the innate, detached respect you'd give to some stranger in a grocery checkout line--still does not exist for Palin. That is due to this truly perverted hatred embraced by so many liberal citizens in her regard. We've all read the comments sections on the mainstream sites where clips like the one from the Walters interview are shown. The outright obscenities routinely directed to the good, accomplished, and upstanding Sarah Palin in these forums are more than disturbing. Yet, this rabid and completely irrational "Palin Hatred" is fairly symptomatic of the pervasive moral sickness of a huge cross-section of the American citizenry. It is perhaps in this respect that the ethical/moral relativism of the progressive mindset most keenly reveals liberalism to be a particularly virulent "social disease."
Sarah Palin, in this context, represents something of a "sword of discernment," as it were--not at all for her own sake, in the aforementioned cult-like way (after the manner of Obama) but because she exudes solidity of belief in a time when so many believe nothing of substance. She demonstrates definitive character in a time when it's far more convenient for individuals to mix-and-match a few loose characteristics, wear those like garment-scraps in public, and "pretend" that they have substance. It's an insidious form of camouflage.
As Limbaugh astutely noted, Palin does not waste time self-analyzing or "navel-gazing"; rather, she accomplishes, and she explains the route to accomplishment with little adornment, without the window-dressing of florid swoops, obsequious bows, and intentional distractions. This media-saturated and socially networked-to-death culture is so mired in the soul-drain of illusion, petty deception, and the endless susurrus of inconsequential chit-chat...that a real person is practically unrecognizable.
Most dangerously, the contemporary Hollywood/Madison Avenue/Beltway 'Thought-Instilling Machine' is actively seeking to marginalize the nation's Christians and portray us as buffoons, as brainless bumpkins whose values are not only incompatible with the present, selective view of modernity, but as truly immoral within its context! Christian precepts--amazingly, scandalously--are being demonized by this media power so successfully masquerading as "mainstream culture." Nowhere is this phenomenon more evident than in the ongoing vilification of Palin by the above-mentioned machine and those millions who are now plugged into it.
Make no mistake: it is not merely because Palin is a woman, or that she's "rural," or that she didn't go to Harvard that she's reviled. Beneath the more obvious trimmings of contempt for her there fumes a rage, a near-bloodlust, against traditional Christianity and its values. The sooner that we Christians stop sniffing the vapors of this paralyzing political correctness and start being very bold about voting according to the values of our faith, the sooner we can zip a lot of America-destroying liberal lips. The Tea Party movement and other grassroots efforts are admirably involved with leading many aspects of this particular charge at the moment, but "charging" won't be enough.
To be certain, one gets the distinct sense that this is the Moment of Truth for America's very identity, in a way that has not been so pronounced or determinative since the Civil War. Palin is one of many prominent conservatives--but in many respects the conservative--who most handily wields the sword that has (and will continue) to lay bare the true thoughts of many hearts in this land. Country-club, Beltway, and Independent "conservatives" can no longer afford to take a morally ambiguous approach to the destiny of the nation.
This may be our last chance, and Palin--beleaguered but braving the tempest--does indeed appear to represent the gravity and ferocity of the struggle for America's very soul. No matter what her leadership aspirations may be, or what they may become, we are doomed if we forget what she is trying to accomplish right now.
- Ian
I agree with you, Ian.
ReplyDelete