America is obsessed with celebrity, with jumping on the bandwagon. Its people are bored, ripe for excitement. It’s why Jerry Springer was such a hit. Our lives are dull at best, so we look to the media for our jollies, for significance, for something to believe in.
It’s for that reason when 101 Dalmations was released every family in America suddenly needed to have a dalmation as a pet. The number of dalmations at shelters increased dramatically shortly afterward as folks didn’t realize the attention this working breed required. They couldn’t handle the reality, so they found a way to give up the responsibility.
It’s also the same reason that a significant spike in fly-fishing occurred after A River Runs Through It was released. The idea of casting a line in the remote wilderness of Montana was more than some could live without, so bunches ran out and bought fly rods. Soon afterwards there was a spike in the sale of fly rods on e-Bay as folks realized that not only was it a lot of work to learn the technique, but Robert Redford and Brad Pitt weren’t around to help out.
And so the Sara Palin infatuation goes. Women are out learning to shoot guns because Sara does it. Yawn. I’m not trying to be mean, but give these women two weeks of nasty weather, gnats, and no moisturizer and they’ll be back in the comfort of their homes sans regrets and sans Sara.
I’ve been an “outdoor woman” since high school (I also was first runner up in the Miss Vermont pageant and have spent years on stage and in front of a camera – that doesn’t qualify me to be Vice President. Hell, I grew up in Vermont – does that mean I understand the foreign policy of Canada?). That reference to outdoorism involves a lot that I won’t try to explain here, but it does require a commitment to some pretty challenging adventures, a growing wisdom from that interaction that our natural resources are not only inspiring but limited, and suspicion for those who think that spending the day at a shooting range qualifies them to either speak intelligently about the wilderness or about moving quietly therein.
I’m not knocking the surge in women connecting with the environment. We have been at the bottom of the Great Chain of Being since before the Renaissance thus closest to the natural world. There’s a reason we are placed there (look at who rules the roost in South American matriarchal cultures), and it has to do with being good stewards of what we’re given. But it doesn’t mean we have to accept a shortfall or anything less than the absolute best that a woman can offer. We can’t afford to compromise if we are to be under intense public scrutiny. Sara Palin is not the best we can offer and its an insult to think we’re willing to accept it because of her plumbing. That's not sexism, it's about not being stupid.
This is the penultimate post I’ll make about Sara because I'm done wasting my time on her. The last will be a list of her “accomplishments” as 1st runner up of the Miss Alaska competition, mayor of a town smaller than my college dorm, and gubenertorial champion of not only a state with a population smaller than Indianapolis, but to a bridge that led to the biggest scam Alaska has seen. Beyond that, I’m giving my attention to a campaign that has been substantive in its message and hope from the get-go. It has never waivered, not changed platforms, nor has it worked the typical Republican combative campaign. It took me a while to get it, but after careful scrutiny of all the candidates, it's the only choice to be made.
This is a change I can believe in and it's not just another slogan in this camp.
No comments:
Post a Comment