Quintessence
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Palin Crams for Exams
As a teacher, I am always a bit bemused by students who attempt to cram for an exam. They come to my door a day before wondering "what is on the test" and how they should prepare. Because they have not made the effort needed to develop a coherent understanding of the material, they are justifiably afraid that they will not be able to regurgitate the requisite disconnected factoids Most often these are students who seldom show up for class and/or stare blankly into space when they do. Finally, when the scores are posted they complain that they were up all night studying and still only managed a charitable D. When they come to wheedle and whine, it usually becomes painfully apparent that they are lazy pretenders with a strong sense of entitlement.
On the other end of the spectrum are the legitimate students -- those who actually read the assigned material, show up every day, ask pertinent questions in class. With minimal anxiety they typically get As and Bs without all night study session. More importantly, they have a real understanding of the material and can evaluate evidence and even extend plausible conjectures in the face of uncertainty and complexity. They can think and speak for themselves. They can participate in an unscripted dialogue. Such students are a great joy to be around and frankly are the one's that make teaching worthwhile.
Watching Palin try to "cram" over the past few weeks makes it painfully apparent that she is, and apparently alway has been, that first kind of pseudo-student. She believes she doesn't need to learn because in her experience she has always been able to fake her way along the path of least reistance. She can read from a teleprompter. She 'knows what she knows' even in the face of overwhelming counter-evidence (as evidenced by her take on evolution) and when called on her willful ignorance (or flat-out lying) she claims she is being persecuted by a maliciously liberal media. Rick Davis, lobbyist-turned-McCain-campaign-manager thinks Sarah is entitled to deference and she apparently agrees. Sorry Sarah, but this has nothing to do with liberal or conservative and everything to do with a lack of real preparation on your part.
If Palin had any significant understanding of foreign policy, economic policy, science policy, energy policy, educational policy, tax policy, fiscal policy, environmental policy...something, anything...you would think it might be evidenced by an ability to talk about 'it' -- whatever 'it' might be. Her continued silence and deer-in-the-headlights look is exactly that of the ill-prepared student facing a big exam. Her handlers are hoping that cramming can get her through her big exam (VP debate) but it is clear that she is a complete sham. She will not talk about her ideas precisely because does not have any (Her fallacious "I stopped the bridge to nowhere" and her vacuous "drill, baby, drill" chants don't count). Note: for her neo-con handlers and backers, her vacuity is apparently a virtue.
We all know many of these pseudo-students (indeed, to varying degrees, most of us were these pseudo-students) and in truth they can be fun to be around most of the time. They're the folks who encouraged everyone to knock off the studying and head to the game, to check out the new band down at the pub, to watch a favorite re-run of some silly sitcom. Just regular guys and gals -- somebody with whom you would happily have a beer or two. But...not someone you would want as your surgeon, your pilot, or your president.
Think of your best friends, the people you most enjoy hanging out with...nice folks undoubtedly but probably not presidential material. Effective leadership in a complex and dynamic world demands a level of intellectual acumen and uncompromising integrity that few among us possess and that Palin clearly lacks. One would hope that we would select our leaders from the best and brightest among us rather than seeing Bubbahood (or Bubbette-hood?) as a somehow desirable leadership trait.
On the other end of the spectrum are the legitimate students -- those who actually read the assigned material, show up every day, ask pertinent questions in class. With minimal anxiety they typically get As and Bs without all night study session. More importantly, they have a real understanding of the material and can evaluate evidence and even extend plausible conjectures in the face of uncertainty and complexity. They can think and speak for themselves. They can participate in an unscripted dialogue. Such students are a great joy to be around and frankly are the one's that make teaching worthwhile.
Watching Palin try to "cram" over the past few weeks makes it painfully apparent that she is, and apparently alway has been, that first kind of pseudo-student. She believes she doesn't need to learn because in her experience she has always been able to fake her way along the path of least reistance. She can read from a teleprompter. She 'knows what she knows' even in the face of overwhelming counter-evidence (as evidenced by her take on evolution) and when called on her willful ignorance (or flat-out lying) she claims she is being persecuted by a maliciously liberal media. Rick Davis, lobbyist-turned-McCain-campaign-manager thinks Sarah is entitled to deference and she apparently agrees. Sorry Sarah, but this has nothing to do with liberal or conservative and everything to do with a lack of real preparation on your part.
If Palin had any significant understanding of foreign policy, economic policy, science policy, energy policy, educational policy, tax policy, fiscal policy, environmental policy...something, anything...you would think it might be evidenced by an ability to talk about 'it' -- whatever 'it' might be. Her continued silence and deer-in-the-headlights look is exactly that of the ill-prepared student facing a big exam. Her handlers are hoping that cramming can get her through her big exam (VP debate) but it is clear that she is a complete sham. She will not talk about her ideas precisely because does not have any (Her fallacious "I stopped the bridge to nowhere" and her vacuous "drill, baby, drill" chants don't count). Note: for her neo-con handlers and backers, her vacuity is apparently a virtue.
We all know many of these pseudo-students (indeed, to varying degrees, most of us were these pseudo-students) and in truth they can be fun to be around most of the time. They're the folks who encouraged everyone to knock off the studying and head to the game, to check out the new band down at the pub, to watch a favorite re-run of some silly sitcom. Just regular guys and gals -- somebody with whom you would happily have a beer or two. But...not someone you would want as your surgeon, your pilot, or your president.
Think of your best friends, the people you most enjoy hanging out with...nice folks undoubtedly but probably not presidential material. Effective leadership in a complex and dynamic world demands a level of intellectual acumen and uncompromising integrity that few among us possess and that Palin clearly lacks. One would hope that we would select our leaders from the best and brightest among us rather than seeing Bubbahood (or Bubbette-hood?) as a somehow desirable leadership trait.
Labels: Politics
¶ 13:10 1 Comments Links to this post
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Women Against Sarah Palin
If you haven't seen this site, you should have a look. Pass the link along and encourage other women to add their take on Palin as well.
Labels: Politics
¶ 10:51 0 Comments Links to this post
Friday, September 12, 2008
Two Candidates of Change?
I have been bemused (though not surprised) by John McCain's sudden if seemingly oxymoronic attempt to re-cast himself as a "conservative candidate of change." Check any poll -- there is little doubt that the vast majority of Americans concur that the neo-con Bush years have been a disaster economically, a travesty environmentally, and an embarassment internationally. Yes, change is urgently needed. However, McCain's cynical selection of culture warrior Palin as his running mate reminds us that any change necessarily implies a change of direction.
Obama's progressive agenda moves us toward a safer and more just world. His tax reforms appropriately ask those most fortunate among us to bear a larger burden in providing for the common good. His spending plans encourage strategic local investment in the transformative ideas and technologies that promise to revitalize our economy. His social agenda fosters tolerance and mutual respect. Internationally, his emphasis on dialogue among world citizens restores the great American ideal of democracy. His plans for education call for expanded opportunity and emphasize innovation and the value of diverse perspectives. Obama's proposed energy policies mark a real and needed shift away from continued dependence on diminishing and ecologically damaging fossil fuels.
McCain, in stark contrast, adocates 'changes' that are almost entirely regressive and move us away from both justice and security. McCain and Palin call for (1) continued Bushite tax "reform" in which the rich the get richer at an ever faster rate, (2) spending priorities dictated by industry lobbyists and characterized by subsidies to the wealthiest among us, (3) a social agenda that seeks to impose the narrow and ignorant bigotry of a loud religious minority on a pluralistic secular culture, (4) a more belligerently unilateral and bellicose foreign policy in which the capacity to impose our will by force substitutes for the justness of our cause, (4) a move toward voucher-based education in which reality denying theo-con religious extremists use tax money to impose self-righteous certainty in madrasa-style Christian schools, (5) a drill-baby-drill energy plan that can only serve to delay a badly needed shift toward more sustainable sources and technologies.
So perhaps McCain's notion of 'conservative change' is not entirely oxymoronic. Indeed, one is tempted to say that it is merely moronic in the sense that it represents a call to shift back toward 'traditions' of ignorance and superstition, to shift away from richer understanding and higher aspirations. The changes McCain and Palin advocate appeal to all that is worst in us -- to our fears, our selfishness, our insecurities, and our xenophobia. If that is what motivates you, vote McCain-Palin. If you are motivated instead by hope and compassion, if you are part of the reality-based community that finds wonder in new discoveries and celebrates the rich and diverse tapestry of life on earth, then vote Obama-Biden and join in working toward the change we need.
Obama's progressive agenda moves us toward a safer and more just world. His tax reforms appropriately ask those most fortunate among us to bear a larger burden in providing for the common good. His spending plans encourage strategic local investment in the transformative ideas and technologies that promise to revitalize our economy. His social agenda fosters tolerance and mutual respect. Internationally, his emphasis on dialogue among world citizens restores the great American ideal of democracy. His plans for education call for expanded opportunity and emphasize innovation and the value of diverse perspectives. Obama's proposed energy policies mark a real and needed shift away from continued dependence on diminishing and ecologically damaging fossil fuels.
McCain, in stark contrast, adocates 'changes' that are almost entirely regressive and move us away from both justice and security. McCain and Palin call for (1) continued Bushite tax "reform" in which the rich the get richer at an ever faster rate, (2) spending priorities dictated by industry lobbyists and characterized by subsidies to the wealthiest among us, (3) a social agenda that seeks to impose the narrow and ignorant bigotry of a loud religious minority on a pluralistic secular culture, (4) a more belligerently unilateral and bellicose foreign policy in which the capacity to impose our will by force substitutes for the justness of our cause, (4) a move toward voucher-based education in which reality denying theo-con religious extremists use tax money to impose self-righteous certainty in madrasa-style Christian schools, (5) a drill-baby-drill energy plan that can only serve to delay a badly needed shift toward more sustainable sources and technologies.
So perhaps McCain's notion of 'conservative change' is not entirely oxymoronic. Indeed, one is tempted to say that it is merely moronic in the sense that it represents a call to shift back toward 'traditions' of ignorance and superstition, to shift away from richer understanding and higher aspirations. The changes McCain and Palin advocate appeal to all that is worst in us -- to our fears, our selfishness, our insecurities, and our xenophobia. If that is what motivates you, vote McCain-Palin. If you are motivated instead by hope and compassion, if you are part of the reality-based community that finds wonder in new discoveries and celebrates the rich and diverse tapestry of life on earth, then vote Obama-Biden and join in working toward the change we need.
Labels: Politics
¶ 09:30 0 Comments Links to this post
