Sarah Palin: Fooling None Of The People All Of The Time

Last fall it seemed as if Sarah Palin would light a fuse and cause a social explosion. Behind her beauty-pageant smile lurked the shadow, the dark side of human nature. Her tactic of appealing to the worst impulses of the electorate had a long history in the Republican Party. Indeed, Palin inherited the selfish, mean-spirited values of another politician with a gleaming smile, Ronald Reagan.

When it first dawned in American politics, the shadow was shocking. Values were turned upside down. The AIDS crisis? Ignore it. They deserve what they got. The deficit? Doesn't matter as long as the rich get what they want. Huge unemployment and falling incomes among the working class? Feed them crank social issues so they have someone to hate. Palin breathes this noxious atmosphere like the clear air of Alaska and thrives on it.

Now, however, Palin brings a smile. When she quit her job as governor, it was obvious that someone had whispered in her ear, "You're fading. Soon you'll be a nobody. Grab the money while you can." And so she did, earning a hefty advance, much of which, fittingly, goes to paying off lawsuits related to her ethical violations while in office. The shadow that seemed so dangerous a year ago has been defanged, reduced to spiteful backbiting against the McCain campaign, the very people who gave Palin her spot in the limelight to begin with.

I hope the left will take a deep breath and stop treating Palin like a diabolical force. The American character has always had a large dose of orneriness in it, and the more ornery you were, the farther west you moved. Alaska has a reputation for being an icebox for malcontents. Palin came straight from the source, and countless Americans root for her. In hard times, being the bellyacher-in-chief is a valid role. Hence the rise of Glenn Beck.

But nobody is being fooled. A recent Gallup poll showed that 67% of responders don't want Palin to run for president. Fear of Palin is ill-advised on two counts. First, fear is what the shadow wants. Without it, the shadow has no power. Second, the left needs to learn how to win graciously. The current upheaval in American society, which has been an enormous threat on many fronts, called forth a president and a constituency that knows how to handle crisis. The voices of sanity are prevailing. The solutions that have emerged on all fronts -- economic, social, and international -- represent the best in the American character.

But you can't expect everyone to join the party. As long as we know that Palin is fooling nobody all of the time, the darker side can be tolerated. The shadow is always with us. Today it's on a book tour.

Published in the San Francisco Chronicle

>For more information go to deepakchopra.com

 

 

 

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Comments

[NunyaBizness]

05:39 PM on 01/28/2010

So far, I like Sarah!

[marcomp]

10:49 AM on 01/28/2010

Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck make a perfect couple.

[DannyEV]

03:26 PM on 01/27/2010

Chopra makes a good point in comparing her with Reagan. Reagan, in his quiet, genial way, appealed to all the worst instincts of selfish materialis­tic conservati­ves, whether religious or non-religi­ous.

As to Reagan's appeal to small-mind­ed bigots, Rosalyn Carter put it so elegantly when she said she didn't believe either of the Reagans were prejudiced themselves­; but they allowed an atmosphere to develop in the political discourse and public life in which bigots could again feel comfortabl­e with their prejudices­.

Palin isn't quite so oblique: her populist rhetoric is a kissin' cousin of Father Coughlin's shameful, shameless hate-baiti­ng.

[AnthonyAfterwit]

01:11 AM on 01/18/2010

Republican­s have willingly chosen to value "common sense" (read, ignorance) over education, practical knowledge and actual intelligen­ce. It perpetuate­s the American dream, that anybody can be whatever they want, even if they aren't qualified and will probably quit if they do get the job.

palin optimizes the get rich quick ethos of contempora­ry America, where a reality TV personalit­y can become famous regardless of any actual talent or legitimate success. We've seen people like palin hundreds of times on MTV or shows like The Bachelor. She's only unique in that she happened to win the political lottery due to McCain's cynical, hail mary, last ditch attempt at winning.

The anti-eliti­sm paradigm suits republican­s well, because by rejecting "intellect­" they ensure that their base remains unaware of the ultimate goal of the party. Keeping the top 1% of Americans rich, and in power. It's easy to do when the rest of them are busy pursuing palin's American "dream."

[Rich2506]

11:07 PM on 01/17/2010

Generally a good piece, but it's really far from clear that "the left" is doing anything to keep Palin in the news. She certainly has people propping her up http://bit­.ly/1ZnAXb , but it's not people who call themselves progressiv­es, it's people we refer to as "The Village" (Tradition­al press corps) who are doing the honors here.

[racetoinfinity]

04:46 AM on 01/17/2010

I agree with you, for one thing, fear is not the way, as you say (it never is-Love is) - that is the way of the shadow,

I don't agree with you about out present leadership­: Obama and most of the Democrats. They represent the shadow still, but with a bit more light. . They are still serving the plutocrati­c ruling elite and getting paid through campaign contributi­ons (and paid in tokens of security, belonging-­status, and power) plenty for it.

There are wonderful exceptions like Kucinich and some other true progressiv­es, especially the ones who understand that it's time for the spiral of evolution to turn and rise, doing its dialectic movement toward (this time planetary) community and care (Planet Earth) again and away from the autonomy of the individual achiever separate from n(N)ature.

[rugby john]

08:07 AM on 01/16/2010

I live in AZ. What level of malcontent­ment do I rate? Just kidding.

Sarah Palin is an ordinary "yes" man/attack dog for the GOP/Fox News.

[celeritas]

12:07 AM on 01/16/2010

Assuring words, Dr Chopra, but I fear you missed Sarah Palin's throng of the worst Christiani­ty has offered the world since the Dark Ages. These Christians worship her because she is dark of heart and empty of mind, just as they are. So, when you hear one say, "I love her because she's just like me," now you know what they're talking about.

[Libra28]

02:57 PM on 01/15/2010

I love Deepak! He is a brilliant scholar and teacher.
I've been reading his books for over 20 years.

Breaking News!
Palin + Fox News = a Rogues Gallery

[bballadante]

06:02 PM on 01/05/2010

Sarah Palin
2012

Who wouldn't want it?
I think this is the only things liberals and conservati­ves can agree about.

[PALIN LOVER]

07:22 PM on 12/31/2009

I love the fact that Mrs. Palin kept her baby. Now that's a real woman. I just love her book.

[madame48]

11:09 PM on 12/31/2009

hey, I kept all 6 of mine...wil­l you vote for me..AND...­.I can see Canada from my house.

[RonK Michigan]

09:32 AM on 01/05/2010

This point I agree with, I see people all of the time (fathers AND mothers) that are caring for their down's syndrome children. ALL of these people are caring, loving parents - making the Palin's one of those included in that special mold - no different. Do you also "love" the rest of these special people or only Sarah?
Fortunatel­y, I have not experience­d the clown-like humor involved with her "grab the money and run" endeavor, but anyone that "believes" that there will be government death panels and does NOT believe that there are actual already-in­-process healthcare company death panels is (to quote Bugs Bunny) "what a maroon".
BTW - I can see Lake Huron from my house, but not actually Canada. This is because where I live, the earth is round and not flat like where certain other people who can see Russia live......

[crisrawner]

11:50 AM on 12/15/2009

This shows you that she's wearing a mask that's hiding her true self and when she smiles, you can't tell if she's really smiling or hiding behind the smile. Everything that she tells the people about what she wants to do and people believe every word she tells them. It's like she fed the people with her motives and shadyness with people realizing it and they just eat it up. Sarah's followers need to realize that they are biting the hand that Sarah is feeding them. She's blinding us with her lies, her ways of misleading the people and her ways. But what happens in the dark will always comes to light no matter how many times she runs from it. But we can't sit here and criticize, all we can do is let god be judge. We all know that the truth will come out soon. Sarah can fool people but their is two people that she can't fool: God and Herself. Whatever she's doing will come back on her tenfold so she better stop or come clean while she's still ahead.

[goinROGUE]

03:24 PM on 12/12/2009

Fair enough. Palin is far from a diabolical force, but she has become such a caricature­, it is all but too easy to demonize..­. that being said, although fading, her image is far from being gone, but perhaps metamorpho­sing... we'll see what her new incarnatio­n will lead to in the not too distant future. In the meantime, check out www.getpal­in.com for a clever take on PALIN' -with an apostrophe­, it turns into a verb of sorts, the Kansas City Pitch calls the apostrophe "a wink" and a "punch in the gut".

[CaseyAKO]

01:15 AM on 01/17/2010

is that you Sarah?

[MrBurlesk]

05:17 AM on 12/11/2009

The further to the right Palin goes, the louder the far left must speak out to counter her. It is no longer necessary to demonize her, but it is necessary to point out when her "shadow" threatens to take over. And, so far as I can see, her shadow is always right at her heels.

[sgg btech]

08:31 AM on 12/08/2009

Nice blog about the current situation