"The world is full of people
who will help you manufacture tornadoes
in order to blow out match."
~Shaun Hick
The Predictability Of The Plain White Dinner Roll
When It Comes To Sarah Palin,
The Most Disingenuous Question Asked Most Often Is...
Why All The Hate?
A couple weeks ago, I had a moment of shock and awe. Sarah Palin, the onetime darling of the far right had made a surprise appearance at the 40th Anniversary of Saturday Night Live, and engaged in a mildly amusing sketch with Jerry Seinfeld. It was basically a tease about how much, Loren Michaels, might or might not, be prepared to pay Sarah to run for the presidency in 2016. Like I said... it was amusing, and I found the sketch less a knee slapper and more of a cute expected moment, given the amount of jokes SNL has made at Sarah's expense over the years. The shock and awe wasn't at the predictable joke, but rather at what Sarah showed up wearing to the shindig. In an earlier post I ranted a bit about the outfit, of which she completely lifted from her daughter Bristol's closet. And I shared my opinion on whether or not it's a good idea to go about wearing clothing designed with a much younger woman in mind.
It stinks, but we ladies of 50 and older need to cover things up, whether or not we are "hot." I hate it, I wish it wasn't true, but it is. IT JUST IS. Fortunately, we ladies have many, many ways of putting our best foot forward, while maintaining some fashion dignity. We have designers now, that our mothers never had, and fashion for ladies our age has evolved to show us in our best light, again while maintaining some dignity. But enough about that. What this post is about has nothing to do with that outfit per se, what it does have to do with is the inexplicable question about why Sarah Palin is hated so much, a question asked of me after a Tweet I wrote about the now famous white dress she wore that night, particularly by someone such as myself who dares to share a negative opinion regarding anything she does.
First of all, let's get something straight... I didn't always hate Sarah Palin. Even now, as I write this, I wonder if it isn't more accuate to say, I don't hate Sarah Palin the woman, I hate the things Sarah Palin the woman says and does! But isn't what you say and do the best example of who and what you are? Maybe. Maybe not. I will let you decided if you think I hate the woman, that's up to you, but I think I would also like you to consider the fact that more than anything I don't understand the her. I don't understand someone who throws extraordinary chances, opportunites, and goals away, opting for shortcuts to nowhere, verbal digs, and lazy excuses. Instead of finding her own voice, she rides the coattails of Bill O'Reilly, by writing a book, similar to his, regarding the ridiculous notion that there is some kind of war on Christmas. Instead of taking a step back, after the abysmal 2008 campaign, did she take a little time to educate herself in the areas she had trouble with? No she bashed Katie Couric for being unfair, by asking her the simplest of questions... "WHAT DO YOU READ TO STAY INFORMED?"
Allow me to share a fuller picture of the many things about Sarah Palin I don't understand. Just a series of questions really, that if I had the answer to, I might understand the woman better.
1. She has five beautiful children, yet each of them seemed to have nothing but bitter and perpetually disrespectful attitudes.
There is plenty of evidence to support this. From Bristol teaching her child to say homophobic things, to the ridiculous physical fight they engaged in at a friend's birthday party last September.
2. Sarah Palin, and her family, live in one of the most beautiful, majestic places on earth. They could be champions for conservation and the natural beauty that is Alaska. So, with the shocking way Global Warming (Climate Change) is affecting the planet, and specifically Alaska, you would think they would be leading the cause of preserving the natural wilderness around them, so why isn't she?
3. Sarah Palin's youngest child has Down Syndrome. He is a beautiful child, and clearly loved deeply, so why hasn't Sarah, used at least some of her time, since 2008, to do anything to bring awareness to the Down Syndrome community? She, again, has the chance to be a champion, and yet her silence is deafening.
4. If she hates the liberal media so much, why does she make appearances on culturally significant programs such as Saturday Night Live?
It really comes of as hypocritical to bash something and then turn around and embrace it. I wonder how that might feel to her supporters?
5. Why doesn't she form a specific, well informed series of opinions on the issues she cares about?
Sarah Palin has been given chance after chance, across different platforms, to distinguish herself and bring her own opinions, and world views to light. But instead of actually doing that, she uses her time, such as on her latest venture, The Sarah Palin Channel, to spout nonsensical digs at the left, and share nothing of any real value as to how to fix the problems we are all facing. Her speeches are just one snide dig after another, but no real solutions, at at times characterized, even by some of her most staunch supporters as incoherent. Sometimes it seems like what she is really doing with that channel is simply using it for bitching, we all do from time to time, about things out of our control. That makes her understandably human, except most of us don't charge $9.95 a month to our subscribers.
In my opinion, why ask folks to pay for something, namely her recycled opinions on any given subject, that can pretty much be found anywhere on the net for free. Who doesn't know, by now, how Sarah Palin feels about President Obama's policies? And yet, can you tell me what her policy is on dealing with... oh say... North Korea? How about how she would put people back to work... specifically? How about Infrastructure? What would Mrs. Palin do about fixing our roads and bridges? Where in the grand scheme of things would she even prioritize the problem of infrastructure? How about the homeless, of which about 50% are veterans, how would she get them the physical, mental and practical help they deserve?
There's no need to go on... is there?
I don't understand why she doesn't educate herself. I don't understand how she can carry on with the attitude that if she just bullshits her way through the toughest of questions, she will be fine. We both know, you and I, that it's not enough to have a random answer to the questions in our lives... you must know when you give the answer why you feel the way you do, and a clear idea how to move forward with it. As I sit here, the whole thing makes me terribly sad. Sarah Palin has so much potential. She has had the world in her hands, she could be a beacon of real hope, she could be a leader of the conservative party, and yes, on a minor scale she had an opportunity to show up at the SNL 40th Anniversary special, dressed appropriate for the occasion, and set a fashionable example for conservative woman all over the country. But she couldn't be bothered to go shopping, her daughter Bristol reasoned.
Several days after the whole "DressGate" thing settled down, Bristol Palin came to her mother's defense on her blog, saying her mother looked hot and no one should be caring about what she wore. Well, here's the thing, the situation didn't keep me up nights, but I do feel bad that apparently Sarah never learned, and therefore is not teaching her children that how you dress, and your appearance, is what people know first about you. Before you open your mouth, people see your clothes and how you carry yourself. That's why we are encouraged to dress for special circumstances, with respect for our audience. Imagine Sarah Palin's impression on the world, had she stepped onto the national stage, dressed in Daisy Dukes and a crop top! Funny isn't it? Or is it sad? Sarah Palin was invited to the SNL 40th Anniversary special, and rather than showing it the proper respect it deserved, she went for the shortcut. She decided put as little effort into the opportunity as she could, while once again, basking in the attention that she claims to dislike so much, by the people she blames for her negative reviews. If for no other reason, I would have thought she would have wanted to dress nicely to put her best foot forward!
It's never Sarah Palin's fault.
She is as predictable as a plain white dinner roll.
"If God had not wanted us to eat animals,
how come He made them out of meat?"
~Sarah Palin
Mood: Quiet
~Me :)
