Sophomoric Palinism

Palinites have derided Barack Obama's middle name. They have talked about him being Arab. They have said he is a Muslim and have associated Obama with being other, different, not like us, and not quite American. The Palinites who chant "USA" have a very small idea of what it is to be American...One should ask them what they think being American is? Is it being of a certain sect or religion? Is it being part of a certain ethnic group? Is it having a name like John or Sarah? Does one have to stay in a small town and not travel? Does one have to be considered a joe-six pack?Is the creed of America limited to being a small town white-christianist who does not like introspection or world cultures?

When one thinks of the views and writings of Jefferson and Paine, the thoughtfulness and courage of Lincoln, the civil rights giants from MLK to Malcolm X, and the diversity of thought and experiences in American society through the centuries I highly doubt Sarah Palin and her faction have a claim to it in totality. The immigrant experience is much closer to American history and tradition than being an isolationist who represents a faction that scorns and fears the life of others they deem different from them. Being American is about the Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the United States. Period. Any type of person, culture, religion, or names for that matter can and have been a part of the American experience.

America is an idea based on the pillars of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and that is the only thing that makes one American. So next time you hear the chants USA coming from the Palinites think of the broad and diverse history of immigrants that came to this country and the African slaves who were forced across the ocean, and the many different names and cultures that have lived and died and suffered for the American ideal of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

We are all immigrants:



Becker wrote,

“The last thing man can admit to himself is that his life-ways are arbitrary: this is one of the reasons that people often show derisive glee and scorn over the ‘strange’ customs of other lands—it is a defense against the awareness that his own way of life may be just as fundamentally contrived as any other. One culture is always a potential menace to another because it is a living example that life can go on heroically without a value framework totally alien to one’s own.”

I think Becker's observation is quite relevant to the Palin mob mentality that chants USA and spews out hate toward Obama's perceived otherness as if they represented what it is to be American absolutely. It is a reaction and a defense formed from their own insecurities and weak egos. Palinism, racism and xenophobia is against the spirit and the letter of the Constitution of the United States. Sadly these factions are a part of US history but in the context of the US Constitution and American diversity it is anti-american in its spirit and perspective. Palinism is intellectually bankrupt, dishonorable, and lacks the credibility to lead America into the new century in the era of global interconnectedness.