Sarah Palin has "written" a new book, America By Heart. It is scheduled to be released November 23rd, but there have already been excerpts leaked (which you can find here: http://gawker.com/5692353/sarah-palins-new-book-leaked-excerpts UPDATE: gawker has taken the page down). Having read through these excerpts, there are several things that caught my eye as red flags that I feel I should address (like any responsible random blogger would).
Where to begin? How about the dedication (to her son Trig), which includes a quote from Thomas Paine. Palin labels Thomas Paine as a "founding father," obviously trying to play with the Tea Party sentiment of restoring America back to the way the founders intended it. Paine is an interesting choice, given that he despised Christianity and has been considered by some to be a socialist. Looks like that Sarah Palin is pallin' around with radicals.
The first line of the introduction is Palin asking the question "do you love your freedom?" at a Tea Party rally. As if anyone would answer "no, of course not! I hate my freedom. In fact I am going to move to North Korea! That is where I want to be!" Can we please get over the ridiculous idea that if you are not a gun-toting, bible-thumping, tax-hating conservative you must hate freedom? Or that you are un-American? I understand there are arguments about specific freedoms that may or may not be guaranteed in the Constitution but that question implies that it is referring to the idea freedom as a whole, not just particular, unresolved freedoms. Yes, Palin admits that the question is rhetorical, but the implication is still there (and some people take it seriously).
She then goes on to talk about and describe the various signs that members of the rally carry with them. She mentions a few of her favorites, and the focuses on attacking the signs of protesters. Unlike the hand-painted signs that had "humor, color and variety" the protesters' signs were uniform and professionally printed, which is apparently bad (professionally done = spending money = stimulating the economy = very very bad). What is so wrong about promoting a contrarian point of view? Palin also seems to have forgotten about all the anti-Obama signs comparing him to Hitler, Stalin and/or Mao.
In another excerpt, she goes on a weird rant about American Idol. You read that correctly. American Idol. Not only did she miss the fact that the point of the show (like all television) is to entertain, but she admitted her favorite judge is Simon! But back to the former. Palin does not seem to understand that American Idol is not about the competitors who go on the show and willingly embarrass themselves, but the viewing audience.
I watch the first few audition episodes of American Idol because it is entertaining. There is a reason why the producers show some of the worst singers and not just the best voices at this stage. By the time it becomes an actual competition, I tune out and let people who like heavily-overplayed pop music watch and vote week after week. That is how American Idol works.
And then somehow Palin turns it into a metaphor for America:
"Unfortunately, Cowell is almost alone in his willingness to tell hard truths. Instead, a growing chorus of voices is trying to convince our kids that hard work isn't necessary anymore, that they're entitled to a lengthening list of benefits paid for by others, and that they don't have to accept the consequences of their actions when those consequences are bad. Those voices seem to think that the purpose of government -- the purpose of America -- isn't to promise equal opportunity but to produce equal outcomes."
But it is ok for Bristol Palin to be on Dancing With The Stars, which is an "uplifting, family-oriented show." So family-oriented, in fact, that Bristol Palin made a promise to dress more modestly than other contestants (which she later broke by making another promise to dress "sexy" for the show). How exactly is there any difference between American Idol and Dancing With The Stars?
It seems like half of the book is devoted entirely to paint Bristol Palin in a positive light. Yes, I understand Sarah Palin is a proud mother, but to say she was overly-positive is an understatement. Bristol works full time, Bristol goes to college, Bristol is a devoted mother, Bristol is a role model, Bristol faced the music, Bristol more than paid the price, Bristol, Bristol, Bristol, Bristol. How did Sarah Palin describe her daughter's pregnancy?
"Her adolescence had been prematurely halted and, in most unfortunate circumstances, she was going to have a baby,"
That is certainly one way of putting it. And then Sarah Palin goes the "do as I say, not as I do" route with her daughter.
"She has been accused of being a hypocrite. But to those critics I say this: Which is the more courageous course for a young, single mother: to sit down and shut up and avoid the critics, or to speak out in a painfully honest way about how tough single parenting is? I'm biased, of course, but given a choice of role models between Bristol and Murphy Brown, I choose Bristol."
Moving on, the last excerpts are Palin going on about how abortion is wrong, pro-choice people are hurting America, "new feminism" (her emphasis, not mine) and how God knew what he was doing when she found out Trig would be born with Down Syndrome. I would say that these excerpts are enough for me, and I will not waste my money on her new book if these few pages are any indication of what else is in store.
Until next time, Orange Hat Guy
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