Obama IS America! Editorial Opinion: Sarah Palin and the VP Debates

While the video above may be pretty funny, it is exactly the attitude toward education that needs to change. The value of your education or the job you do is not only measured by the money that you make. That is actually only a small part of it. It is how you develop your mind and how your mind impacts how you understand and interact with the world around you.

The attitude portrayed in the video above seems to be the same one that has been driving Sarah Palin forward through her political career--that all you need is sound bites instead of a deep and complete understanding of any given issue, and if you can have a big smile on your face and make it look like you know what you are talking about when you drop in certain key terms or concepts (such as reform, education, healthcare, or success in war), people will believe you.

Here is part of the debates that went on tonight:

There are so many things to comment on about tonight's debate, but for right now, we will present an idea for thought that you are welcome to comment on.

NOTE: Click on the blog title to be connected to CNN's website where you can watch the debates online

It seems that Sarah Palin has about 7 main ideas that she recycles over and over again as answers for many of the questions she is asked in interviews and during this debate, regardless of whether or not they answer the actual question she is being asked. That is to say that she keeps saying the same few things over and over again. It doesnt matter what the actual question being asked is. This is an excellent strategy to avoid answering questions you don't want to answer or don't know the answer to, while still making yourself look good.

Key points she recycles:

- We cannot surrender or admit defeat (even though this war, just like Vietnam, is not a war where winning or losing will ever be clear cut)

- We need to reform those Washington politics

- As governor of Alaska she understands energy issues. We need to drill, baby, drill...and invest in some alternative energy technologies

- We need to cut taxes for the American people, cut earmark spending, get rid of those 'corrupt guys on Wall Street'

- We need to support our troops

- 'Well, it's only been about five weeks that I've been on the campaign, so you can't expect me to know everything, but my executive experience of the great, large state that is Alaska (population of about *670,000* people), and as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, I feel that I have enough experience to be Vice President and possibly President of the United States of America.'

(The above is not an actual quote.)

- When in doubt, defer to the fact that you agree with John McCain

It's not that any of these things are necessarily bad philosophies, or that they would be bad answers if they were responses to questions asking about success in war, or political reform, or investment in energy. The problem is:

• If you don't really know how to answer a question about the war or about what to do about a particular foreign or domestic policy situation,
• If you don't understand economics, but want to show the American people that you know how to restore the strength of the US economy,
• You want to avoid answering a question because you have no clue how to answer or you want to hide your answer
• You still want to win votes and come off as competent,

Then:

• You have to keep using key terms, phrases, sentences and ideas that can make you at least seem like you know what you are talking about to people who may not have the best understanding of economics, US economic history and policy, what foreign policy and domestic policy consist of, how government runs, why it is important to the functioning of government that the people themselves understand what is going on, etc etc. The constant usage of key terms can boost your credibility and popularity amongst the people, even if what you are saying does not fully make sense.

What this says about the American people is basically that:

It is further proof that our educational system is a complete failure. The majority of the US population does not attain an education past high school.

So, 

if people are supposed to learn about economics, policy-making, how government functions, why there is high immigration, how to take good care of the environment--about all these issues that are being discussed in this election within our educational system

and

most people do not learn about these issues because our educational system sucks, or they forget about these issues (as discussed in the first video posted on on this blog),

then

it makes sense that people will interpret a whole bunch of key terms strung together in a sentence or in a speech as a reflection of someone's knowledge on an issue--regardless of whether or not that sentence/speech makes any logical sense

This is dangerous. This is what went wrong with George Bush. We cannot do this again. Our lives, our futures, our success, our economy, the healing of our political system, of our planet, and the wellbeing of us and of the other people on this planet is all on the line in this election.

Also, let it be known that **The Palins Support Alaska becoming its own country** separate from the United States.

Even though it was her husband that was a part of it and not her, family is important to analyze, because they are the ones closest to you.  A good relationship is built on certain things in common.  Beliefs, morals, and one's priorities are important things to have in common for you to build a trusting and empowering relationship with someone.

Therefore it is quite interesting that someone so close to Sarah Palin--her husband--supports this measure.  Sarah Palin herself has been friendly with the Alaska Independence Movement and even gave an introductory speech at one of their conventions.  It appears to me that she is pretty removed from the issues facing us here in mainland.

Final contribution to this post is the video below. It provides some striking insights into why the prospect of Sarah Palin as Vice President and possibly as President is dangerous to the interests of this country. It is entitled Why Do People Laugh at Creationists?:

Thanks for tuning in!!!