Hating Sarah Palin

If you are animated, excited and indignant at the presence of Sarah Palin, if you wish for her candidacy to crash and burn in a shameful spectacle, then you resent and hate Sarah Palin.

This is a problem for you. It's a problem within you. You are hypnotized by an impulse to rage against people who stand up to you politically and morally and who are calm, confident, unafraid of you, unashamed of themselves, and aware of your own craven state. She shames you. This feeds your rage. It's a vicious circle.

The reptile brain within you, the part of the brain responsible for stupidly driving you forth in rage an resentment, is running the show within you. The higher-order intellectual faculties, those responsible for formulating political and moral stances, are beholden to your reptile brain's bidding because you have relinquished control of the ensemble. You have relinquished control because you are stricken by your anger and resentment and have allowed those impulses to control you. You are mesmerized by them. You don't realize this, on one level. On a deeper level, of course, you do. You mourn the loss of your composure and decency. The pain of this mourning feeds the resentment, unfortunately. You are left angry, unhappy, and dimly aware that things are not right for you.

The reptile will drive the intellect to reply, "Nonsense! I detest Palin because she is against everything I stand for politically." The insanity of this reply is twofold. First, that you should find it worth boasting about that you think political disagreement is grounds for hatred is insane. You do not believe it. You are being driven to speak and act as though you believe it by the rage within you. Second, if you are an ordinary American - neither a communist nor a nihilist - then you agree with Palin on most issues, rather than disagreeing with her on everything. It is a form of insanity to overlook this agreement, perceive only disagreement, and beat the drum of rage.

Palin is an exemplary person and a maverick reformer. She is brilliant, strong, and good.

The way out for you is to sit quietly, with eyes closed, and observe the waves of anger and resentment as they rise up. Do not react to them in any way. Do not resent them. Do not attempt to stifle or stop them. They will subside. Recognize that you've been lashing out in the most petty ways for the sake of gratifications which you hope will supplant inner longings and hurts within you. Forget about those inner longings and hurts, too, because they, too are stupidly regressive mechanisms meant to hold you back from acting in a decent, kind, respectful manner to build a good life for yourself. Do this meditation twice every day until you get better.

When you've calmed down, take a moment to recognize that you don't have the talent to be the governor of Alaska, let alone an excellent governor of Alaska. You wouldn't have had the wherewithal and courage to be a reformer, as Palin was. Take a minute to notice that you support her opponent, a Chicago Machine politician who falsely claims to be a reformer and who has accomplished nothing in his life. Observe the depth of resentment and and rage harbored by the people with whom he has surrounded himself for many years.

There are many millions who are as ill as you in America. They have a lot of sway in the political forum. The country is suffering from this endemic mental illness. Each victim can heal himself, but it isn't likely that many will. More likely is that they will grow old and die angry. Save yourself.