Sarah Palin as a Metaphor for God?

I always read Andrew Sullivan‘s blog, The Daily Dish. Anyone who reads it knows that Andrew has continuously called out Sarah Palin on her bullshit ever since John McCain picked her last year, one of only a handful of journalists to do so.

(Incidentally, Andrew, a theist, and Sam Harris had a public conversation about the nature of God a couple years ago.)

After reading his posts regarding Palin, I noticed a few things.

Andrew is constantly astounded that anyone takes her seriously.
He believes it would be a mistake if an entire group of people (the GOP in this case) supports her wholeheartedly.
He wonders why people in high places (i.e. the mainstream media) aren’t asking the right questions — they just seem to let Palin get away with everything, including the hypocrisy and lies.
We know that far too many people still support her despite her never-ending list of flaws.
He considers McCain grossly irresponsible for choosing her.

Strangely enough, I think many atheists have the same feelings about God 🙂

Especially when it comes to politicians who want to turn this country into a variation of a Christian theocracy.

So maybe I shouldn’t have been as surprised when I found this out about Palin:

… When Trig was born, Palin wrote an e-mail letter to friends and relatives, describing the belated news of her pregnancy and detailing Trig’s condition; she wrote the e-mail not in her own name but in God’s, and signed it “Trig’s Creator, Your Heavenly Father.”

Feel free to shoot down or expand the metaphor.

hoverfrog

Expansion:

She gets far too much attention in the press. People would be better off ignoring her. People should be embarrassed by her but aren’t. She’s not logical.
Jeff

Keep in mind, though, that Sullivan still seems to think Trig is Bristol’s kid. He’s the definion of “unhinged” when it comes to Palin.

So, with that in mind, I think we need to shoot down the metaphor entirely, unless we want to believe that us atheist-types are ignorant of a) the world around us and b) those who we don’t agree with, because Sullivan’s entire worldview on Palin revolves around such ignorance, and I’d hope the atheist community is (or tries to be) a bit smarter than that.
Luther

One difference: Sarah Palin exists, god does not.

Now it is possible that Jesus existed, yet its likely even so, that our view of him is completely messed up.

Now if Jesus did exist, and what we read about him in the bible is mostly true, then he and Sarah are/were both very strange individuals with a very sick sense of reality (although she might claim it is a sixth sense).

Even so we have the remaining 2/3 of the god myth that never existed.

If you think this comment is difficult to follow, read the bible, or watch Sarah’s press conference.
Mark

This blog used to be a good read but now it seems to be turning into more of a political smear website reposting old tired fake emails of unpopular political candidates.

If any of you really think that a sitting Governor is sending out emails and signing them as though they came from God then you are a childish moron and I’m wasting my time bothering with this website.

Grow up, people!

Yawn…….
JohnFrost

Really? You can’t see her doing that? Then you haven’t spent much time around Evangelicals, friend…
Robert Madewell

Mark,

I don’t doubt it one bit. We have a county administrator that writes prayer chain letters all the time. What’s worse is that his chain letters sound like an 8 year old wrote them.
Jude

Two people at my school went to see her when she came to Colorado. They returned with PINK McCain/Palin coffee mugs, which they illegally used at work (Colorado educators aren’t allowed to campaign at work). I gleefully threw one away when I found it stuffed in a drawer. It would be great if we could throw her away as easily.
Gabriel

What I find more disturbing is the number of people who view her as anoited by god. I have heard people in my area claim that she will be the next president becuase god wants her to be president. These people are weird. Also I have heard people talk about how they like her because she is the same as they are. “My daughter got pregnant when she was 17 just like her daughter. My husband has a dwi too, oh, I wish she could ban some of those books no one should be able to read them”
Paul Lundgren

Sarah Palin as God: There’s no “there” there.
Rubberduck

So Trig’s Creator (father) was the christian god and the alleged Jesus now have a sister? What’s her message to us earthlings?
Will she walk on water?
Was her birth the traditional virgin-birth?
FresnoMikey

On the back of van McCain/Palin window decal last October I wrote asshole and idiot. Unfortunately, the driver was in the driver seat, yelled at me and called the police while I was in the Doctor’s office. After screaming red-faced at me for a minute in front of the officer (shaking my head I denied everything to make her look like a nut) she took a breath and I volunteered to wipe it off, and she said no she would do it. I walked away, chagrined and chuckling.

If, as one celebrity atheist stated, you want to create an atheist, send a child to church every day for a few years, then the Fundies – or at least the mid-eastern Muslims – should be producing thousands of atheists, but they are not. When deprived of scientific explanations to natural phenomena the individual’s emotional need to socialize/belong to superstitious organizations is paramount and dominates our need to think and/or vomit.
David D.G.

FresnoMikey, vandalism is never appropriate. Don’t do stuff like that; at the very least, you taint by association those who would otherwise agree with your views.

~David D.G.
martymankins

Heavenly Father must be associated with other religions, since I’m family with that one being a Mormon name for God used a lot.

Regardless, Palin is going to with us a long time, unless of course, there’s enough attention given to other people over the next 3 years.