The Sisterhood of the Insanities*

As many brilliant thinkers have already stated, right from "Day One" in Dayton, Ohio, the addition of Sarah Palin on the Republican ticket mercilessly exposed the ugly underbelly of American politics and the venomous comtempt of liberal media elites -- thus inciting a fresh, new battle in the long-simmering culture war. Nowhere is this more evident than in vaunted metaphorical halls of what someone (can't recall exactly who at the moment) has termed "establishment feminism." That brings me to Eve Ensler.

Eve's Poisonous Apple

Since I am Palin-Drone's sole female blogger, I would like to regale Eve and her man-hating ilk with a "monologue" of my own (and since y'all are smart enough to understand that reference, I will not denigrate myself by stating the name of her ridiculous play -- bad enough I caved into peer pressure and went to see it 10 years ago in West Palm Beach). Ensler has joined in the sisterhood of the insanities with a no-holds-barred attack on Sarah Palin, brought to my attention by a good female friend and fellow McCain-Palin supporter.

Here's a sampling from the playwright's blog, where in just a few paragraphs, she manages to highlight almost every absurd fabrication about Sarah Palin. Congratulations, Eve! Given the sheer number of lies, that is no easy feat, but hey, when you've got an agenda to promote, you can't possible disseminate misinformation quickly enough! Efficiency is of the utmost when instigating the masses of female Kool-Aid drinkers (who won't bother to research the allegations) to action. Facts be damned!

Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."

Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not.She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes.Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking.

From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and might very well be the next president of the United States. She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.

Where to begin?

Perhaps I'll make it easy on myself by answering a question with some questions for Eve Ensler:

Did you know that Sarah Palin did not push for creationism to be taught in schools? She has however, stated that students should be able to debate both sides of the issue, even though creationism "does not have to be part of the curriculum." And aren't feminists in favor of freedom of thought and expression?

I could've sworn they were when so many of them (even famous ones like Stephanie Powers) eagerly performed in your play, which as I recall, involved a heck of a lot of screeching, screaming repetition of the word "vagina." While we're on the subject, can you please explain why this is supposed to be "liberating?"

Don't you bother to read Planet Gore? If you did, you'd know that the cute, cuddly polar bears you are so enamored of are actually thriving, and that the global warming debate is far from settled (as evidenced by 30,000 skeptical scientists who've signed a petition stating as much).

By the way, can you explain why you value a polar bear's life more than that of a baby? While the polar bears are doing just fine with the amount of ice they currently have, babies tend to die when a so-called medical professional smashes the base of his or her skull and sucks out his or her brain. What about the vaginas of female babies? Are they less valuable than the ones you mention in your play? Or is unfettered abortion ok if performed against male babies only?

Are you telling me that every pregnancy in the history of mankind (masculine preference in the English language you know, Eve, but I digress) was planned and expected? Or that birth control has never been known to fail? Wow! That might be news to my parents, who "planned" to have only four kids until I came along. And no, they didn't abort me. Forty-one years later and I like to think they believe they made the right "choice."

Do you know anything about federalism? Even if Sarah Palin had the power to overturn Roe v. Wade as VP (no such luck), the issue would then go back to the states. That means the citizens of each state would get to vote on their own abortion laws, as opposed to having activist judges ram what many believe to be murder down their throats. Lots of these voters would be females exercising their right to "choose." And aren't you ladies all about choices and "girl power?"

Why is it ok with you that countries like Cuba and China -- whose drilling technology isn't nearly as sophisticated and environmentally friendly as ours in the USA -- "drill and plunder" for oil, right here in the Gulf Coast? You do realize they "drill and plunder" in other places on the planet, too, don't you?

Aren't you happy for the women of Iraq who no longer have to endure such atrocities as genital mutilation, rape rooms and honor killings, thanks to the United States of America? Oh, and they get to vote now and pursue an education. Al-Qaeda is decimated and the USA and the free world are safer to boot. Why exactly is this a problem?

Eve, Eve, Eve....you didn't actually fall for the book-banning tripe, did you? Or did you "gather" that merely asking a question of a librarian on the topic is just too "radical?"

*************************************************************************************
For the record, though not much of a political animal, the friend who sent me the Ensler email is quite intelligent, savvy and knowledgeable enough to grasp important realities, including radical Islamic terrorism. My "sister" understands that Global Jihad is an existential threat to "infidel" men and women alike, all of whom would presumably prefer to keep their heads on their shoulders and continue to live in freedom in the greatest country on Mother Earth (or if not the USA, at least one founded upon democratic principles).

But ever since publicly stating her support for the Republican ticket, this highly competent lady has been inundated with emails from female friends who -- beyond shared anatomical traits -- don't appear to have much else in common with her, at least in the way of critical thinking skills. So like dutiful little "feminine champions," they brazenly wield the only weapon at their disposal: pure unadulterated emotion, propagated by the endless forwarding of the same outright lies, smears and distortions that have been thoroughly debunked almost as quickly as they've been spawned, thanks to the intrepid work of legitimate organizations including Fact Check.org. And every day it seems, I find myself having to buck up my friend's resolve by "speaking truth to falsehood" while I help her craft cogent, factual rebuttals to her severely misguided pals (an exercise in futility, I know).

As that rarest of creatures known as a South Florida Conservative Republican and a politically "thinking" versus "emotive" female, this isn't the first time I've been called to action by right-leaning soul-sisters, who (though possessed of an abundance of common sense are also handicapped by a scarcity of time) continuously seek my insight to effectively counter the same tired and combative liberal cliches they confront on a daily basis. Many are in outside sales, necessitating an even more tactful balance between debate and discussion, so as not to work against their own profitable interests. Believe me, for logical, thoughtful and "anti-feminine establishment" women, the art of political discourse in Paradise is a tricky propostion. But it's definitely one worth pursuing.

*With all due credit to Dr. Helen's "Carnival of the Insanities," which inspired the title of this post.