Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Revisionist History: The Palin & Simple Truth

Unless you've had your head firmly embedded underneath a rather thick and insulating cabbage leaf, you've no doubt heard Sarah Palin's telling of the story of Paul Revere. Just in case you missed it, here's the video:


OK... to tell the truth, this didn't really surprise me. I actually find this sort of ignorance of actual facts to be quite typical of people who wrap themselves in the flag and preach "more patriotic than thou".

But wait... it gets weirder. Not content to admit that she's a total Phuck Up who couldn't pass a third grade history exam, she goes on to defend her comments, asserting that her version of events is what really happened:



OK... still not terribly surprised. I believe that woman is genetically incapable of admitting wrong so really, this was to be expected.

But it started to get stranger from there. Shortly after this all broke, Palin's supporters started editing the Wikipedia page on Paul Revere to reflect Palin's bastardization of history. Now, I suppose that in some Stephen Colbert-ish sense this might just be considered a funny prank. The thing is, I don't think those people think it's a prank. I think they actually believe that the history books are all wrong and Palin is right... simply because she says so.

But even crazy Palin supporters trying to re-write history isn't really all that surprising... I mean they are Palin supporters after.

No... the thing about this story that really got to me happened last night. I was watching the NBC Nightly News when this story came up. Here's the thing... the mainstream media is starting to shy away from the obvious headline of "Hey - Sarah Palin's an idiot" and instead we're getting something more like "Gee - people are supporting Palin's version of history, isn't this all so interesting, I guess everything's in the eye of the beholder after all." Here's the clip...



OK... Are you kidding me? No, seriously, are you F-in' kidding me?!?! In what universe does this woman deserve to be taken with any shred of seriousness? What's going on here? Is NBC afraid that they might piss off their corporate overlords by having the audacity to report the actual truth in a straightforward manner? I mean... for Phuck's sake... what we're now reporting on is the "debate" over which version of history is correct.

Debate?!?!?! What Debate?!?! THIS ISN'T A DEBATE!!! These are facts... you know, like reality, truth, things that actually happened.

I'm really starting to feel like we're through the looking glass on this one. It's like everybody seems to feel entitled to their own set of facts these days. Don't like the reality? No problem! Just create your own!

It all reminds me of this 2004 quote from Karl Rove:

We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.
The hubris is just mind boggling. Have we really and truly descended this far?  On some level it's funny, but on another it's just downright horrifying. I mean if people can be convinced that 2 plus 2 equals 5 just because Sarah Palin or Karl Rove says so, what else will they believe?


Be afraid. Be very afraid.

8 comments :

  1. Down right scary! So sad two of the biggest female FACEs in "politics" are two of the most ignorant human being in this country:
    Palin and Michelle Bachman. Lots of money behind them, and no shame.
    Makes me want to move to Canada [again]. Last time I thought that was in 1980. Considered it in September 2000.
    Lot of anti-intellectualism in this country.
    Jay

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  2. a grammatical goof: despite appearances to the contrary, Bachman and Palin are human beings, plural not singular.
    Jay

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  3. Such idiocy is almost unbelievable, but we are talking about politicians. It's truly sad what people will swallow, and who they will follow.

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  4. Jay - I have a most amusing picture in my mind of the Palin/Bachman 2 headed monster.

    Anne - I have come to the conclusion that our system requires a massive and incredible ego in order to pursue the career of politician. I mean even the ones I agree with on policy issues turn out to be complete ego-maniacal idiots in their personal lives (think Anthony Weiner!)

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  5. "Is NBC afraid that they might piss off their corporate overlords by having the audacity to report the actual truth in a straightforward manner?"

    The answer is yes. A big, fat, uber sad yes. Somehow, the GOP managed to morph fact into a new form of opinion and the press has greedily obeyed this new order (or should I say empire?). All for what? The support of oligarchs? Just...god.

    I don't bother with conventional news outlets anymore. They're all just puppets.

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  6. CF - Totally agree. I try to watch the big networks now and then just so I can see what bs the general public is being fed. Sort of a "know your enemy" kind of a thing.

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  7. A few years back, I was visiting family in North Carolina, and caught the local news. It was shocking how issues were presented as "news/fact". The attitudes, sneering, etc., were appalling. I knew better, but if that was all you viewed (a la Faux News) you'd be hearing only what you wanted to hear. NBC now has Comcast as its majority owner, and the differences are noticeable. MSNBC is treading water, but it too seems a little tame these days.

    What was even more scary was the attempt to alter the Wiki entry on Paul Revere to sync with Palin's version. Wiki had to lock 'em out.

    Anti-intellectualism. Pro-corporatism. Keep the masses ignorant, feed them pablum. Educate the Texas way.

    The Republican Hydra has many heads!
    Jay

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  8. I love the title of this post..just funny.. :)

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