Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Challenged by Ideologies
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I've heard a lot lately about Sarah Palin and her new book. I've heard that she was on Oprah, that her book has many factual discrepancies, and that she was promised $5 million for the book, which is mostly a slamming of the McCain campaign which was largely responsible for propelling her to a place of national recognition.
All this new about Palin really pisses me off. It really scares me to hear people say things like, "She is thinking about 2012." I start to wonder how a world could possibly allow someone like her to exist and how people could be so blind to her tricks and lies.
And then I remember that a lot of people feel the same way about Barack Obama, someone that I greatly respect and look to as a hero. Even though Obama is a role model for me, many people wonder how in the world he was elected, why he was given the Nobel Peace Prize, and how so many in America could blindly follow his rhetoric and politics without questioning the implications for our lives.
These two people - Obama and Palin - represent in many ways two opposite poles in American politics and worldview right now. Perhaps "ideology" is too strong a word, but perhaps not. An ideology is often deeply set into a person's psyche, and they look for evidences that affirm their ideology, willingly ignoring evidence that contradicts.
Is this how I approach Obama and Palin? Is my mind already made up? I got Obama's book from the library and gave it my best attempt at a read (I can't make it very far into political books). Should I do the same for Palin's book? Trying to read it with an open mind and willingness to change?
If nothing else, I want to be aware of my harsh attitudes, my fears, my inconsistencies, and do my best to be charitable and loving towards a different ideology than my own. Because another part of ideologies is that the people who hold them are genuinely trying their best to do what they can to make the world a better place. Even if we disagree on what that "better world" might look like, we can at least join hands in the effort.
All this new about Palin really pisses me off. It really scares me to hear people say things like, "She is thinking about 2012." I start to wonder how a world could possibly allow someone like her to exist and how people could be so blind to her tricks and lies.
And then I remember that a lot of people feel the same way about Barack Obama, someone that I greatly respect and look to as a hero. Even though Obama is a role model for me, many people wonder how in the world he was elected, why he was given the Nobel Peace Prize, and how so many in America could blindly follow his rhetoric and politics without questioning the implications for our lives.
These two people - Obama and Palin - represent in many ways two opposite poles in American politics and worldview right now. Perhaps "ideology" is too strong a word, but perhaps not. An ideology is often deeply set into a person's psyche, and they look for evidences that affirm their ideology, willingly ignoring evidence that contradicts.
Is this how I approach Obama and Palin? Is my mind already made up? I got Obama's book from the library and gave it my best attempt at a read (I can't make it very far into political books). Should I do the same for Palin's book? Trying to read it with an open mind and willingness to change?
If nothing else, I want to be aware of my harsh attitudes, my fears, my inconsistencies, and do my best to be charitable and loving towards a different ideology than my own. Because another part of ideologies is that the people who hold them are genuinely trying their best to do what they can to make the world a better place. Even if we disagree on what that "better world" might look like, we can at least join hands in the effort.
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