Let it break Upon you: Like a Wave upon the Sand

This last weekend, the Roman Wolf was confined to a single room, taken with the constant affliction of the young voter demographic, stuffy nose and sore throat.

As a result, I was reduced to youtube videos and homework. Between those two stimuli, youtube videos were the strongest draw. In the midst of Pocohantas videos (the inspiration of the title) and other disnified time wasters, I found myself clicking on a Sarah Palin interview.

It shamed me. That anybody could be so horribly misinformed and unenlightened about the broader world is a pitiable reality of America life, but I've always hoped that such people were content to sit on their couches drinking bud light and shouting at America's Next Top Model.

Now, I have very little tolerance for religious extremists. Nor do I like stupid responses and unintelligent answers. But I love moose, I think moose meat is delicious. Plus I am a fan of hockey. I state all these things to say that my dislike of Palin is not based off a dislike of hockey, or of moose, or even of Alaska. Alaska is a nice state. Big, open, but cold. Guess nothing is perfect.

My impression of Palin is that she has no curiousity about the world, no drive to look into issues. If a problem comes, she swipes at it, killing it as thoughtlessly as a person kills the mosquito sucking the blood from their arm. In places like Alaska, perhaps you need to be that way towards mosquitoes, but not even Alaska should be governed by base instincts of pain and defense.

The world is more complex than a mosquito bite. Sometimes you get bitten and need to scratch the itch for days on end. Does that mean you take out the DDT and kill all the eagles? Does that mean that you infest people with DEET to fend off the little buggers?

No.

Sometimes, when something hurts, you are a fool to lash out at it. Sometimes you have to look up from the mosquitoes biting your leg to ensure that your food is properly stowed, that your tent is well staked, and that there is no giant grizzly bear rearing up in front of you, ready to take your head off with its paw.

Sometimes you have to be omniscentally aware. Especially if you have the ship of state under your hand and are in charge of guiding it through the trechery of a hard world. In the next American Administration, I want to see people in charge who are willing to look up, to their left, to their right, behind them, constantly, looking out and seeking new dangers and new opportunity for my home country. That requires a curiousity about the world, and a willingness to overlook preconceptions. Does Palin have that drive? Something tells me she does not.

Roman Wolf