Lying Is Not Okay

The U.S. presidential election is starting to really get me down. The Hillary vs. Obama fight seems like an incredibly distant and (in retrospect) relatively wholesome memory. I didn't feel compelled to talk about the election until McCain went and chose Sarah Palin. Maybe I got too comfortable thinking that Obama was a sure thing, or maybe I just overestimated yet again the intelligence and tolerance of Americans. Even now, I instinctively think that the Democrats should keep their hands clean and heads held high with the security of knowing they are running a fair and respectful campaign. And then I realize that the Republicans have no problem with blatantly lying in every form and through every medium. They even lie through misquotation (e.g. Katie Couric, FactCheck.org).

I felt disgusted by Sarah Palin's speech at the GOP convention. Before seeing that catty and belittling performance, I was feeling skeptical about her stances but also a little proud that a woman was on a ticket, even if it wasn't the ticket I was voting for. But now I'm embarrassed that somebody who has exhibited such intolerance and extreme ideological views is connected to me in any way, even if it's just in anatomy. Even more embarrassing is that many women seem to swooned by Palin for the very same tenuous connection. At the end of the day, she is an ideological fanatic. Strong words? Maybe. But look at how little human experiences have shaped her choices. I don't see any evolution in understanding exhibited by her. Yes, I'm going to talk about her personal life. If you and your daughter both get pregnant as teenagers before marriage, wouldn't you reconsider abstinence-only education as the only option? Shouldn't you even entertain that thought given the fact that you might have benefited from slipping a condom or two over a banana when you were 15? Hey, maybe both you and your children would have benefited because you could have had a few more years to learn something about the world before changing diapers and finding yourself newly married.

But back to abstinence-only education - it's a nice idea in theory that if you can control the flow of information, you can control the subsequent actions, but isn't that just one of the most un-American ideas ever? Shouldn't you go live behind the Great Firewall of China if you believe information should be suppressed instead of freely exchanged? And how can Palin delude herself into justifying abstinence-only education when she was most likely getting busy between the sheets at 15 and 16 already anyway? What are we "sheltering" our kids from if they are already doing the thing we don't want them to do? And speaking of un-American, why is it okay to tout small-town values and make fun of community organizers in the same breath? Watching all those cookie-cutter Republicans nearly frothing at the mouth with each cutting remark couldn't make me more anxious about the future of America.

Okay, I have to go to sleep, but more thoughts on the election to come....