Five Before Chaos

Yep, by now you’ve heard of the latest incoherent word spray that was Sara Palin’s resignation speech. Between losing her and Joe the Plumber, I’m becoming blog-despondent. Actually, not really, beacuse like herpes, these two just keep coming back and giving more, whether you want them to, or not. Can’t wait for Caribou Barbie’s big scandal to break.. you just know it will.

Anyways for your perusal, Ed Brayton had to quote one of Sullivan’s readers with something so good and spot-on, I’m just going to be lazy and quote it here, too (but by all means, please go visit Ed’s Most Excellent Dispatches From the Culture Wars, one of my few regular reads). This basically captures the fundamentalist psychology for reality-suspension in a nutshell, at least as to how it relates to why they love Palin:

Part of Sarah Palin’s irresistible appeal to her fundamentalist base is her ability to look at the camera with utter conviction and declare black to be white.

The ability to lie well is a valuable part of the fundamentalist psychology. My son isn’t gay, he just hasn’t found the right woman! Those rocks aren’t 50 million years old, they just look like it as a test of our faith! My sexless marriage isn’t foundering, it is filled with God’s spirit! The minister isn’t molesting little Maria, they’re just very close! It isn’t torture, it is being tough on terrorists!

Fundamentalists can recognize a truly audacious and talented liar from miles away. Instead of running the other way, as you might expect, they gather around the powerful liar, for they know that their own lies will be respected and protected by a leader who understands the paramount importance of preserving their whole system of denial.