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Thread: Palin Indulges Republicans' Basest Instincts

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    Default Palin Indulges Republicans' Basest Instincts

    Obama and The Palin Effect

    From: Deepak Chopra | Posted: Friday, September 5th, 2008

    Sometimes politics has the uncanny effect of mirroring the national psyche> even when nobody intended to do that. This is perfectly illustrated by the
    rousing effect that Gov. Sarah Palin had on the Republican convention in
    Minneapolis this week. On the surface, she outdoes former Vice President
    Dan Quayle as an unlikely choice, given her negligent parochial expertise
    in the complex affairs of governing. Her state of Alaska has less than
    700,000 residents, which reduces the job of governor to the scale of
    running one-tenth of New York City. By comparison, Rudy Giuliani is a
    towering international figure. Palin's pluck has been admired, and her
    forthrightness, but her real appeal goes deeper.

    She is the reverse of Barack Obama, in essence his shadow, deriding his
    idealism and exhorting people to obey their worst impulses. In
    psychological terms the shadow is that part of the psyche that hides out
    of sight, countering our aspirations, virtue, and vision with qualities we
    are ashamed to face: anger, fear, revenge, violence, selfishness, and
    suspicion of "the other." For millions of Americans, Obama triggers those
    feelings, but they don't want to express them. He is calling for us to
    reach for our higher selves, and frankly, that stirs up hidden reactions
    of an unsavory kind. (Just to be perfectly clear, I am not making a verbal
    play out of the fact that Sen. Obama is black. The shadow is a metaphor
    widely in use before his arrival on the scene.)

    I recognize that psychological analysis of politics is usually not welcome
    by the public, but I believe such a perspective can be helpful here to
    understand Palins message. In her acceptance speech Gov. Palin sent a
    rousing call to those who want to celebrate their resistance to change and
    a higher vision.

    Look at what she stands for:

    --Small town values -- a denial of America's global role, a return to
    petty, small-minded parochialism.

    --Ignorance of world affairs -- a repudiation of the need to repair
    America's image abroad.

    --Family values -- a code for walling out anybody who makes a claim for
    social justice. Such strangers, being outside the family, don't need to be
    heeded.
    --Rigid stands on guns and abortion -- a scornful repudiation that these
    issues can be negotiated with those who disagree.

    --Patriotism -- the usual fallback in a failed war.

    --"Reform" -- an italicized term, since in addition to cleaning out
    corruption and excessive spending, one also throws out anyone who doesn't
    fit your ideology.

    Palin reinforces the overall message of the reactionary right, which has
    been in play since 1980, that social justice is liberal-radical, that
    minorities and immigrants, being different from "us" pure American types,
    can be ignored, that progressivism takes too much effort and globalism is
    a foreign threat. The radical right marches under the banners of "I'm all
    right, Jack," and "Why change? Everything's OK as it is." The irony, of
    course, is that Gov. Palin is a woman and a reactionary at the same time.
    She can add mom to apple pie on her resume, while blithely reversing forty
    years of feminist progress. The irony is superficial; there are millions
    of women who stand on the side of conservatism, however obviously they are
    voting against their own good. The Republicans have won multiple national
    elections by raising shadow issues based on fear, rejection, hostility to
    change, and narrow-mindedness.

    Obama's call for higher ideals in politics can't be seen in a vacuum. The
    shadow is real; it was bound to respond. Not just conservatives possess a
    shadow -- we all do. So what comes next is a contest between the two
    forces of progress and inertia. Will the shadow win again, or has its
    furtive appeal become exhausted? No one can predict. The best thing about
    Gov. Palin is that she brought this conflict to light, which makes the
    upcoming debate honest. It would be a shame to elect another Reagan, whose
    smiling persona was a stalking horse for the reactionary forces that have
    brought us to the demoralized state we are in. We deserve to see what we
    are getting, without disguise.
    “What a caterpillar calls the end of the world we call a butterfly.” - ECKHART TOLLE

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    Veteran Member Zia_Abq's Avatar
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    Default Re: Palin Indulges Republicans' Basest Instincts

    Fabulous repost of Deepak. I love his books. And he so correct in his list of what those things are in reality verses what they try and portray them to mean.
    Last edited by Zia_Abq; 09-10-2008 at 12:37 PM. Reason: toned down the emotional reaction

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    Featured Member francescadubois's Avatar
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    Default Re: Palin Indulges Republicans' Basest Instincts

    Wow. I totally missed this. Very interesting.
    "I came in like a lamb, but I intend to leave like a lion."

    -Sade
    Quote Originally Posted by Mastridonicus View Post
    The only thing a person hates more than being a sex object, is NOT being a sex object.
    Quote Originally Posted by TigersMilk View Post
    If you should your way through life you'll be should-ing all over yourself later.
    Quote Originally Posted by TheSexKitten View Post
    Finger pointing is awesome!! No really, it gets things done.

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