Sunday, December 6, 2009

Half-cocked, perhaps?

An interesting thing happened to me on my way to posting the information below with the title "What can Palin's regurgitation of mythology tell us about contemporary conservatism?": I think I may have gotten all worked-up for nothing! Or, more accurately, I may have gotten all worked up about a topic that deserves discussing, but for the wrong reason.

There's a first time for everything, I suppose.*

What has happened is that I read a post on EotAW about yet another example of Sarah Palin playing loose with the facts in her new book. I'm definitely left-of-center (maybe even a bit left of that, at times), but I do hold as sacrosanct the Golden Rule, as well as the Golden Rule of History -- which is, of course, to let the evidence speak for itself -- so when I hear examples of people trying to manipulate other people through their words and actions, I get all bristly. The EotAW post seemed to me another example of Palin's lies.

However, if you read the comment thread, you'll find that the issue is still in question, but it does seem that the original post may very well be incorrect. I look forward to if and when this question is resolved, and I'll post again here as soon as I get some kind of confirmation, one way or the other.

(I do still find that Jay C's comment I quote below holds a lot of truth, but that's for another post.)

----
* Wink-wink!

========

Here's a fascinating bit of information on Alaskan history that shows another example of how deeply incorrect Sarah Palin can be. I had heard that Alaska was called "Seward's Folly," but I didn't know that this characterization had been de-bunked, until I read the linked post -- then again, I've never been the governor of Alaska, so I need not have known.

As davenoon writes:

"since Sarah Palin’s entire schtick requires an audience that believes the myth — that believes, for example, that we can drill the shit out of the state without wrecking its ecology — I’m not surprised that she believes it as well. It’s certainly not the only bit of nonsense she’s peddling, but it’s a revealing bit at that."

Jay C responds in a comment:

"not only is clinging to the “Seward’s Folly” myth an easy way for Alaskans (of any political persuasion) to retroactively 'justify' their State, and/or residence there; but it is also an easy way for Gov. Palin to evoke one of the fundamental appeals of the modern conservative Movement: i.e., a sense of victimization. Or more precisely, a sense of being unjustifiably victimized for holding ideas that they feel should be mainstream norms (but are actually out on the fringes)."

-

No comments:

Post a Comment