The Evolution of John McCain: Why He Picked Sarah Palin, Carbon Queen
http://www.truthout.org/article/the-evolution-john-mccain
Despite the media feeding frenzy, we still may be asking
ourselves, "Just who exactly is Sarah Palin?" Mixed in with the Davy-
Crockett-meets-SuperMom vignettes - all those moose hunting, ice
fishing, snowmobiling, baby-juggling, and hockey-momming moments -
we've also learned that she doesn't care much for her former brother-
in-law and wasn't afraid to use her office to go after his job as a
state trooper; that she was for the "bridge to nowhere" before she was
against it; that she's against earmarks unless they benefit her
constituents; that she can deliver a snappy wisecracking speech,
thinks banning books in libraries is okay, considers herself a pit
bull with lipstick, and above all else, wants to drill the ever-lovin'
daylights out of every corner of her home state (which John McCain's
handlers have somehow translated into being against Big Oil, since she
insisted on a marginally bigger cut of the profits for Alaskans).
Oh, and - not that this is very important to Americans or the
planet - she now thinks that global warming might possibly be human-
made... sorta... though she didn't before, despite the fact that the
state she governs is on the frontline of climate change. And, of
course, she's a classic right-wing, fundamentalist Christian: against
abortion - check; against same-sex marriage - check; against stem-cell
research - check; favors teaching Creationism in public schools -
check.
It's that last item, her willingness to put Creationism up against
the teaching of evolutionary science in the classroom on a he-says-she-
says basis, that's far more revealing of just who our new Republican
vice presidential candidate is than we generally assume. It deserves
the long, hard look that it hasn't yet gotten. Most Democrats and
progressives tend to think of the teaching of Creationism as a mere
sidebar item on their agenda of political don't-likes, but it's not.
Sarah Palin's bias towards Creationism is a window into her political
soul and a measure of John McCain's hypocrisy.
It's possible that the public has been fooled into thinking of
McCain as a "maverick" when it comes to his party's abysmal record on
the environment, but his selection of Palin as his running mate sends
quite a different message. In fact, he's potentially put future
generations on a "bridge to nowhere" (or perhaps to the fourteenth
century). Whether we know it or not, we should now be duly warned: The
Palin nomination is the equivalent of launching a "surge strategy" in
the Republican war on the environment.
The Republican Holy War on Nature (Continued)
For the past eight years, the Bush administration's assault on
environmental quality has been so deliberate, destructive, and hostile
that the usual explanations - while not wrong - are hardly adequate.
Yes, Republican animosity to government regulation is long-standing.
Yes, they believe in the power of an unrestricted marketplace to shape
our collective behaviors. And yes, they emphasize property rights over
notions of the commons and have often been comfortable sacrificing
wildlife, air, and water quality in the pursuit of profits. In
addition, despite recent claims, they are indeed the party of Big Oil.
But none of this quite explains the Bush administration's shameful
record on the environment. In the final analysis, the only explanation
that fits the nightmare of the last eight years is this: It has been
on a holy war against nature - and the nomination of Sarah Palin is
essentially an insurance policy taken out on its continuation.
The idea that the environment matters is ingrained in Americans,
even those who don't think of themselves as environmentally inclined.
Democrats and Republicans alike have learned the hard way that the
decisions we make about what we allow into our air, water, and soil
gets translated into our skin, blood, and bones. We now sense that we
all live downwind and downstream from one another, and that it is
prudent to practice restraint and take precautions when making
environmental decisions.
This unspoken consensus is one of the great accomplishments of the
modern environmental movement. The policies of the Bush regime have
been shocking and shameful exactly because they fly in the face of
these shared values and beliefs. Only when we grasp that the narrow
Republican base both Bush and McCain pander to no longer shares these
basic values and beliefs, does their war on the natural world make
sense.
If you believe that a look-alike God made the world for you to
dominate and use, that you are among God's chosen few, and that He
will provide for you no matter what you do to your surroundings, then
you are likely to see yourself as above the natural order. If you
believe that the world will be ending soon anyway, that you will be
"raptured" while non-believers are "left behind" (as fundamentalist
Tim LeHay so vividly describes the process in his bestselling novels),
then precaution and restraint are moot. Remember, more than 60% of the
nation's 60 million evangelicals believe that the Bible is literally
true, every last word of it, and more than a third believe the end of
the world will occur in their lifetime.
That's why a pro-Creationist stand is no sideline issue, but the
litmus test that reveals whether a politician shares the religious
right's ideology - a literal interpretation of the Bible, a
disparaging attitude towards science, belief in mankind's unfettered
dominion over the natural world, and a willingness to impose its
religious doctrines on others.
Both of Sarah Palin's churches - the Wasilla Assembly of God where
her faith was shaped as a child and the Wasilla Bible Church that she
attends today - believe in just such a literal interpretation of the
Bible. From Biblical study, Creationists have calculated that the
Earth is only about 6,000 years old. That this is contradicted by the
fossil record matters little to those who also think Revelations is a
reasonable guide to foreign policy in the twenty-first century. Asked
during her run for governor if Creationism should be taught in the
public schools, Palin responded that the theory of evolution and
Creationism should be taught side by side, and then "the students
could debate" which is true.
Why Evolution Matters
When many Americans think "evolution," they probably recall that
illustration of an ape, then a Neanderthal, then a hairy caveman, and
finally, a modern homo sapiens walking in a line and growing ever more
upright as they proceed. That illustration crudely highlights the
aspect of evolutionary theory that pinches the nerves of Christian
zealots who prefer a creation scenario like the one painted on the
roof of the Sistine Chapel - God tagging Man with life, finger to
finger. But the human common ancestry with primates is just a fraction
of what evolutionary theory is all about.
Evolution is largely about connection and interaction - the linear
connection of one species evolving into another (speciation), but also
how species fill niches created by one another, how they interact,
exchanging energy and information, how they compete as well as
cooperate, and how all of them - from microbial soils to migrating
birds - form dynamic communities that, in turn, are also woven
together, web within web within web. Pull one thread of that living
tapestry and you tug at so many others, which is why precaution is so
wise.
Evolutionary theory does not preclude God. It uncovers the how of
life, but leaves the why of it quite open. Many devout Jews and
Christians, even evangelicals, believe in evolution, just not Biblical
literalists.
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