"Why should I be at all
interested in their husbands or wives, their mothers or children? … As far as I'm
concerned, Sarah Palin's children might not have sex at all, John McCain could
be single and Obama's children could play at home with their slot cars. They
could all be bad husbands or wives, frequent brothels and subsequently lie to
their families about it."
CarolinEmcke asks why she should care about
Palin's daughter and Obama's stepfather…
What I don't
understand is all the fuss about Sarah Palin. She, the clueless, internationally
inexperienced Governor of the pygmy state of Alaska has been chosen by John
McCain to be the Vice President of the United States, and all the media can get
animated over is the fact that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is expecting
a child?
Sarah Palin isn't
only against abortion. She's also against sex-education to schools, which is
why, on both counts, it is perfectly obvious why her
teenage daughter is going to have a baby. Since Palin is also opposed to sex
before marriage, it seems equally obvious that her suddenly well-known daughter
Bristol is now going to be forced to marry so that the child - although conceived
out of wedlock, will not be begotten in "sin."
So
much for the logic of religious-pragmatic reasoning.
"What a
beautiful family" John McCain said on Wednesday during his surprise
appearance at the [Republican] Convention following Sarah Palin's speech. And
he had good reason to stress the subject of family, since it was Palin who managed
to convince Republicans that any religious value that is undermined can
immediately be turned to redefine another value. Although someone in the family
had sex where none was supposed to occur, this somewhat unwanted sex had led to
a desired pregnancy, which - and this is the conviction of the religious right
- is the only real reason for eroticism.
Posted by
WORLDMEETS.US
ELECTIONS FUN: RED STATE UPDATE ON PALIN AND THE MEDIA
Now the
excitement surrounding Palin is likely to die down. She has put down any
criticism of her persona as media propaganda against a female outsider. But the
media staging of the candidates' families as part of the campaign for votes
will continue.
And here's the one
thing that I never understood: Why should I be at all interested in their
husbands or wives, their mothers or children?
What does it
matter if Palin's husband was driving drunk, if her teenage daughter's sex is
good or bad, or whether Barrack Obama's stepfather taught him to box in Indonesia?
Why during an out-sized mass-gathering in Denver, do I have to witness Obama's
two little daughters standing in the spotlight waving like little dolls whose
batteries are about to run out? Why should whether John McCain and his wife
Cindy are happy be relevant?
As far as I'm
concerned, Sarah Palin's children might not have sex at all, John McCain could
be single and Obama's children could play at home with their slot cars. They
could all be bad husbands or wives, frequent brothels and subsequently lie to
their families about it.
What interests me
is simply the question whether they, as politicians, are capable of
distinguishing between public and private. Meaning, do they stand for a
political program that distinguishes between private values and public,
political affairs. A program that differentiates between certain issues like
marriage, family or sexuality, which are matters of individual life and
happiness, and others, like social security, access to education, or protection
from discrimination and violence, which should be recognized as issues of
social justice.
What interests me
is whether politicians are in a position to differentiate between individual
and collective values, subjective inclinations and generalizable standards. I'm
neither impressed nor disturbed by Sarah Palin's daughter having sex. I'm
neither thrilled nor bothered whether Palin rejects abortion for religious
reasons or considers living with a homosexual partner unimaginable. The only
politically-relevant issues are whether she turns her own private religious beliefs
into a dogma for others; whether she lives contrary to her religious or
cultural conception of a successful life and demands a similar hypocrisy from
others; or whether she even demands that others live up to these expectations.
In this context
therefore, I consider the "most beautiful family" to be that of
Angela Merkel - it's virtually invisible.
