No Politics?

Really, how long did you think I could hold out on that? (Look out; it's a long one.)

Actually, I was inspired by two others today, The Empress, and Rob over at Fighting Monsters with Rubber Swords. Both of them wrote such clear explanations of how they feel on the issue at hand, both without diatribe or rancor. I thought I might try to explain some things on my own, hoping to keep in the same vein.

The Empress linked to another site, one that simply says Sarah Palin Doesn't Speak For Me. And I thought, really, that's all I want to say. I don't want to say anything mean-spirited. I just want to say that Sarah Palin Doesn't Speak For Me, and what that means.

First, I need to give you some background, and you may think this is crazy, although some of you will not. Just as a conservative Christian faith is simply reality for many people, this is my reality. Let me share it with you, although I have certainly shared much of it before.

My grandparents came to this country roughly 100 years ago. Two of them came from horrible poverty, one in a big-city ghetto and the other from a rural area. My other two grandparents were raised in only modest poverty, because they both had fathers who could read. They all came to this country for the opportunity it afforded for everybody. They were not illegal immigrants, because there were few immigration laws at that time; if the laws that were passed only ten years later had been in effect, none of them would have been allowed to come here.

They all worked very hard, at first, all of them in various garment factories. One grandfather worked himself up to decent middle class, and his family did all right, even through the Depression. My other grandfather remained a day laborer in New York City, and was never able to save a dime his entire life. He worked for everything he had, and he worked hard. The very first thing I learned about politics, I learned from him. I remember walking somewhere with him, holding his hand above my head, so I was very small, and him telling me that had it not been for Franklin Roosevelt, he and grandma would now be living in a poorhouse.

My father, as I have said many times, served quite honorably in World War II, in Britain, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany. He earned a Bronze Star for bravery. It changed his life and it changed who he was. But he was always the most honest, ethical person I knew.

I was born in 1953. There was never, ever a time in my life that I did not know that not so long before I was born, a terrible man named Hitler had tried to kill all people like me: all people who were Jewish. I did not grow up in fear of anti-Semitism, because I grew up in America, where all people are equal and all people are safe. (I know that isn't always the way it turns out, but I was raised to believe that it's the ideal and it should be.) But I have always known that I was born a member of a group of people who have been persecuted for thousands of years. It gives you an interesting sense of always being followed, somehow.

You know I am not religious, and my husband is not Jewish. But we are both very spiritual. I'm just saying.

Sarah Palin does not speak for me. As far as I'm concerned, her family and personal life are irrelevant and off limits. Her views are not. Even though I know that there are many people who do agree with her, which is fine, of course, I have other concerns. But first, some of the issues.

Sarah Palin believes in Creationism. Still, fine by me, her beliefs are her own. She believes that Creationism should be taught in public schools. No. Creationism is a religious belief that does not belong in public schools. It is not my religious belief; why should I or my children be taught it? It has validity as a religious belief, but it is not science. Science is something else.

Sarah Palin supports the war in Iraq. Once again, fine for her. To me, this war is a travesty, a trumped up cover for the real war, which is for Haliburton and its ilk to gain control of Iraqi oil. To make rich people richer. I absolutely honor the service of every single man or woman who puts on the uniform of our country. I despair that they are being so ill-used by a government that sees them as nothing but cannon fodder, numbers of troops on a page. There is no such thing as an acceptable level of casualties. The loss of a single one of our service people in that war is an atrocity.

Sarah Palin is opposed to abortion; again, fine for her, and for anyone who invites her to be part of such a decision. It is not fine for me. My sense is not that a woman has a right to control her own body; it's an old phrase that to me is just not that clear. I believe that every woman has a right to her own mind and thoughts and beliefs, and as a result of that, a right to choose. Sarah Palin's daughter has made a choice. What if at some future time, one of my daughters has a choice to make, and abortion is illegal? Will she die in the process of an illegal abortion, just because her beliefs are not the same as Sarah Palin's? Why does her daughter get to choose but my daughter doesn't?

Sarah Palin is opposed to gay marriage. Once again, her feelings are fine for her, but what business does she have in anyone else's bedroom? What difference does it make to her who marries whom? What is it about traditional inter-sex marriage that makes it so in need of defense? I'm telling you, I would way rather live next door to a lovely gay couple than to the goofball neighbors we have now who never talk to us, or the previous family who spoke no English and who hurried out of sight when I said hello. If she's not gay, what on earth does it have to do with her?

Sarah Palin has "flirted" with the idea of Alaska seceding from the Union; that is, becoming its own country independent of the United States.

It's untrue that Palin has no foreign policy experience, anyway. In fact, she appears to have seriously flirted with the idea of trying to turn Alaska into a foreign country. How many vice presidential candidates can put that on their resumes?

Over the years, Palin has actively courted the Alaska Independence Party, or AIP, an organization that supports Alaskan secession from the U.S. To be clear, we're not necessarily talking about friendly secession either: As the AIP's founder, Joe Vogler, told an interviewer in 1991: "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government. ... And I won't be buried under their damn flag." From The L.A. Times.

The party of Abraham Lincoln, friends, the president who died as a martyr to the Constitution, that little document that makes us what we are, who lived and died for the cause of keeping the Union whole, the United States one country, indivisible. That's what it means in that pesky old pledge, you know: indivisible. Out country cannot be divided. We stand together. Alaska became a state when I was in kindergarten; I remember the celebrations and the hoopla. Secede? I support the Constitution, and I'd like to have a president who does, too, especially since that's what they promise when they take the oath of office. Having a president who isn't too sure doesn't cut it for me.

Sarah Palin is in favor of banning books in libraries that don't coincide with her personal beliefs. From Time Magazine:

Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. "She asked the library how she could go about banning books," he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. "The librarian was aghast." That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn't be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving "full support" to the mayor.

I have spent a career devoted to free access to information. How does she dare to presume what others have a right to see, to read, to know? Would she ban the Koran from libraries, lest anything learn anything about Islam? Would she ban Mein Kampf, lest anyone learn what the monster Hitler said in his own words, to be exposed for the bile they are?

Well then. Sarah Palin does not speak for me. She is opposed to many things -- okay, not everything -- that I have built a lifetime standing for. That much is certainly clear.

So what?

Should John McCain win -- and I'm not even touching that one, not now anyway -- I don't expect them to give her much to do, except show up when and where they want her to. Who cares. Should John McCain win and then die, which isn't so far-fetched, then we have a problem.

A good president not only represents his -- I'm using the generic male pronouns here -- and his party's beliefs, he represents all Americans. Sarah Palin not only does not speak for me, she cannot represent me. If she were to become President, I would surely feel like an outcast, an undesirable in the country my grandparents came to with hope in their hearts, the country for which my father put his life on the line. There could be no clearer message to me: you are not wanted here. Your spiritual beliefs are not valid. Your respect for others is not respected. Your professional dedication is a liability.

And you, Jew, are not wanted here.

I am not saying that Sarah Palin is an anti-Semite, as such; I have never heard any indication of that at all and I'm not saying that. I do believe that there are those in the Christian right -- and I'm not talking about all Christians, of course, or even all conservative Christians, I'm talking about a vocal element within that group -- that sees Jews, as well as others, as superfluous members of this society, those whose beliefs are insignificant. Otherwise, why would it be so important to force their beliefs on others? Why aren't my beliefs just as good as yours?

It is said that many of these same people support Israel, which I know to be true. I believe that this is because Jesus is expected to return one day to the Holy Land, and that his arrival in Arab-held lands would not be a good thing. (Y'all remember the Crusades, right?) And anyway, when the end comes, Jews and others who don’t accept Jesus ... “are toast.” (From The L.A. Times.)

Do I have a real reason to be afraid? I don't know, but there are people who have been following me for thousands of years, remember, just as if I have a target on my back. Remember too that just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean people aren't out to get you.

Sarah Palin does not speak for me because in her vision of what this country is, there is no place for me, no place for gay-loving, book-cherishing, abortion-choosing, Constitution-revering Jewish me. Do I have a real reason to be afraid? I'm pretty sure I do.


WATCHING SVU :: ENTRY #1851
READING: A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson