Got to love those fundamentalists...

I cannot believe that this country of mine - the one where I was taught and dutifully studied the Constitution, this place where I was raised to believe that the (mythical, but still) separation between church and state existed and the notion, even if it were merely theoretical, that we were a people brought together to messily carve out a democracy - I cannot believe that a woman like Sarah Palin could seriously be offered as Second-in-Command of our country, let alone mayor of a tiny town in Alaska. Yes, that was one sentence. If it weren't just such a colossal embarrassment, like this country needs yet another black eye on the world stage, it would make any thinking person seethe with rage.

Sarah Palin is nothing short of terrifying and, really, a giant slap in the face of women everywhere. We should be outraged that this smirking fundamentalist is presented to us as a viable choice with her antediluvian belief system. (Not that I would vote in favor of a Republican candidate even without her, of course.) She is against the termination of a fetus, even in cases of rape or incest, and she supports teaching creationism (small 'c' as I just can't capitalize that silliness) in schools, presumably in in science class, alongside, well, actual science as though they are natural counterpoints. (Science belongs in science and creationism belongs in Mythology 101.) Our country would be one heart attack, one stroke, one unfortunate anvil falling on the head of the President away from her being Commander-in-Chief. Tell me, anyone with more than two brain cells duking it out, tell me that's not terrifying. I mean, the prospect of McCain along is scary enough on its own and there's not a lot that scares me after eight long years of the Bush administration. Sarah Palin would be such a fantastically bad choice for anyone who values freedom and liberty, she would make us say, "Remember that George W. Bush guy? Whatever happened to him? And remember how warm and engaging that Dick Cheney always was? What a sweetheart. Those were the days."

Sarah Palin referred in her RNC speech to her "servant's heart," which struck me like a thunderbolt: don't fundamentalists supposedly have "servant's hearts" and, further, wouldn't a terrorist also have one, willing to do anything as long as it could be twisted to serve one's God or a conviction about one's God? Terrorists are fundamentalists. It was then that I started imagining Sarah Palin as someone who would be stoning another woman to death if she lived in different circumstances, for daring to be independent and modern. Sarah Palin represents a giant step backwards and I am livid with John McCain, a man I could scarcely stomach to begin with, for offering her as a legitimate running partner. What a deeply misogynistic insult. I can only compare it to him offering a card-carrying, active member of the Ku Klux Klan (do they carry cards? That might imply a degree of literacy, so I'll presume not) as Vice President. Not only that, but this person would be African American. Can you imagine such a scenario? That is who Sarah Palin is to women who value our freedom and modernity: a member of the KKK. I'm sorry if that sounds dramatic and absurd, but it's true. And she's not such a friendly face to anyone else who's not a wealthy wingnut.

Right now I am trying very hard not to be scared of Sarah Palin because that is feeding into their power dynamic. I am focusing instead on bringing about positive change. Darn, though, late at night when I can't sleep, thoughts of her chill me to the bone. I wish that I could make a subliminal message recording that the whole nation could hear, simply with the word, "Obama, Obama, Obama..." repeated again and again. (Actually, given my first choice, it would be Kucinich's name I'd repeat, and next in line would be Nader, but after that, it would probably be Obama.) My fingers are crossed that sanity rules.

Shalom, everyone.

Obama, Obama, Obama...What? I didn't say anything.