Security vs. Freedom: In the words of Sarah Palin

You know how in math class we are taught to take every day language describing a situation and turn it into an equation that can be workable? Well you can do the same thing with this statement. That is, you can be a deeper than it's superficial argument to emotions. Of course we can't translate this into math, but we can translate it into logic:

Danger > Freedom

This comment is meant to be a divisive appeal to emotion, a false dilemma or bifurcation. It assumes that we have to choose between life or freedom. The logic being, what point is there to freedom if you're not alive. Now, I won't suggest that this is never the case, but a religious faction of radicals that hit us with a sneak attack is hardly cause for this over reaction. We are not all going to die at the hands of Bin Laden. The emotion, context, setting, and audience is key to this comment's power. If Sarah Palin had said this to the face of Benjamin Franklin, well, we know exactly what he'd say, "The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either." However, if she says this to a bunch of tools in the Xcel Center, the metaphorical tool box, then this will garner applause and affirmation, some of the nights most intense. I must ask, what is patriotic about this?

If you're still reading this you've already put more thought and effort the meaning of Sarah Palin's statement than anyone did at the RNC and I congratulate you. I wanted to write this entire entry without bringing Obama into it because when you're dealing with the kind of tools that these people are they always naturally demand to label people of my opinion Obama-lovers; which is only natural since their identity is solely determined by their fanboyism, they must manifest the same to be true for me. Well that's not the case. I'm independent, but I will invoke Obama because his rebukes to this comment would give Thomas Jefferson a hard on. The kind of viagra induced, titty bar hard on that could cut glass, neither of which even existed in those days and the latter of the three was rare and expensive. I invoke Obama not because he's should be the next president or he's the better candidate, but because he said exactly what needed to be said. You can make your own determination about what that does for his campaign. And what the hell, you know the tools would call me an Obama lover even if I didn't anyways...

He started with a bit of political pandering saying that she ought not make statements like this until we actually catch the terrorists, which elicits enormous laughter, for the most part, probably in the very same way that the tools at the RNC applauded Palin's comment but he's right, where the hell is Osama bin Laden? The GOP can't put up the farce about how tough they are on terrorism when we still haven't brought justice to the perpetrators of 9/11. When he's done with the comedic relief he puts his thinking cap on. The thinking cap of a man who's taught constitutional law for around 10 years.


Flawless Victory! If we use these kind of politics then Osama Bin Laden wins. He's torn our country down by flying 3 planes into three buildings and killing 3,000 people. If we let this kind of rhetoric take root in our national discussion, if we form opinions of political allegiances on the basis of this fallacious dribble then we grant the power to one single religious man to destroy the identity of this nation for the last 200 years.

So I'll be the one to say it Sarah Palin, I'm not worried about the terrorists. I'm worried about you and your cronies.