Examine this excerpt from Sarah Palin's RNC speech to understand my point:
"We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity, and dignity." I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised Harry Truman. I grew up with those people. They are the ones who do some of the hardest work in America ... who grow our food, run our factories, and fight our wars. They love their country, in good times and bad, and they're ALWAYS proud of America. I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town.
I'm from a large town. I'm a teacher and a musician. I don't grow any food. I neither run a factory nor serve in the military. However, I believe that I am a hard worker and contributor to the betterment of my country. I'm a critic of the government. I was raised to think about issues in a critical fashion. I was taught that absolute, unconditional pride in a country is called nationalism. Nationalism has produced some of the most shameful atrocities in human history. I believe that a nation is composed of its citizens and the representatives that they elect. I am not always proud of the choices my fellow Americans make. The Constitution and Bill of Rights ensure my freedom to disagree and voice my discontent.
I challenge your logic Sarah Palin. So do millions of other Americans.
2 comments:
The fact that you can jump from Sarah Palin's characterization of small town america to a personal indictment of you for being "A Bad, Dishonest, Insincere and an Undignified American" exhibits logic that might also be challanged. It sounds more like paranoia than logic to me.
Palin's characterization of small town America infers a virtuousness and purity that is lacking elsewhere. I live elsewhere. You're right to criticize me for my lack of logic. I was wrong in describing Palin's statement as a use of logic. I never intended to demonstrate logic with my statements. I wanted to reveal the absurdity of Palin's statement, by reversing it. I decline the final line of my blog entry. Let me revise it: "I challenge the underlying implications of your statement, Sarah Palin!"
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