Last night, I visited my Mom in her room at Carillon. She was sleeping (which is what she does most of the time these days) so it was a chance to watch a little TV.
Television, of course, is mostly a waste of time. But, given the circumstances, it seemed like a pretty good thing to do. It was too dark in the room to read. The power supply on my laptop is on the blink (quite literally, in fact; the light is blinking, and not charging the battery). It’s not the appropriate time and place for meditation. And I wanted to sit awhile.
As long as I was watching, I decided to catch the newest reality show — Sarah’s Palin’s Alaska.
I’m sure the blogs are full of commentary by now, but this is my virgin impression — before searching the web to find out what I really think.
I might have missed the good part, because I only saw the last twenty minutes or so, but…
Why are we this fascinated? Are we this fascinated?
In fact, we are. I check the stats on my blog, and those entries that mention Sarah Palin get more search traffic than anything else — by far.
John F. Kennedy, a war hero who, they say, had a hole in his back the size of a fist, polished his resumé for a Presidential campaign by publishing Profiles in Courage.
Barack Obama, a kid “with a funny name,” raised by a single parent — and a brilliant student — paid off his college loans by publishing Dreams from my Father (a great book; I listened to the audio, read by the author/President, which won a Grammy).
Sarah Palin wrote a book too, Going Rogue — but here she was, climbing a rock, grasping for a grip, engaged in an epic struggle for sure footing, wearing a mic and talking about how hard it was.
She’s the new kind of American hero. The realty show star. All personality and celebrity. Great TV material for a campaign. But President? The fact that she has any support at all for this is phenomenal. And fascinating.
To her credit, it was an athletic accomplishment. But if it had been almost anybody else, it would have been way too boring too watch. In this case, it might be ingenious marketing. After all, whether she runs for President or not, she’s made about $20 million this year.
Putting aside the demonetization that’s so persistent from political opposition, Kennedy and Obama are real heroes who can inspire children with their remarkable lives and rhetoric and achievement.
My mom is grasping to life. The details of her life also contain elements of remarkable heroism.
In fact, when you scratch the surface, it’s apparent that many people are heroes. They’re all around us. Everywhere.
Sarah Palin is a hero also (a working woman, raising five children — like my mom). I admire the way she grasps and climbs.
But I’m not so sure, at this point, if she’s climbing the right rock.