Not Knowing

Well, I don't have a Douchelord of the Day today. I could easily make it Sarah Palin, but I could do that just about any day. She did, of course, write a memoir, despite the fact that memoirs are usually reserved for people who have, you know, accomplished something in their life. Nevertheless, she did write the thing, and has subsequently done the whole book signing tour and all that. The book has proven to be extremely popular, because this country is full of idiots. Case in point:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/23/palin-supporters-struggle_n_367800.html

If you don't watch the video there (you should), what is basically going on there is that a reporter is questioning people waiting in line for Sarah Palin to sign their books about what they like about Sarah Palin. The responses are almost entirely vague, and when the reporter asks the people specifically which policies of hers they support, they are hard-pressed to come up with anything (perhaps because she doesn't really have any policies?) This video filled me with a lot of anger and frustration with people. Not because of their politics, but because of their inability to explain why they think the way they think, and why they support a woman they know almost nothing about.

It is stupefying to me that people will support something or someone without knowing why they are doing so. This is why I'm not just going after Palin here, because it happens all across the political spectrum. There are plenty of people who support President Obama without knowing the first thing about his policies (though there are, I suspect, fewer instances of this). What bothers me about all of this is that people aren't actually willing to examine people or issues with any depth. For these people, a knee-jerk reaction does just fine. Nevermind the facts, we don't need 'em! I feel strongly about this, I don't know why, and that works for me! Am I the only one who has a problem with that mindset?

I'm not suggesting that emotions should be left out of the equation altogether. Emotions are a big part of what makes us people. But this should not happen so frequently at the expense of rationale, and everyone should not be so wary of putting any thought into anything. If you're going to support Sarah Palin, then okay, but have a good reason for it. That goes for any politician or any issue. Don't just blindly follow the pack. Have an idea, have an independent thought.

On a final note, this is why the idea of Sarah Palin holding any important office in this country is nothing short of terrifying to me. It isn't just because she stands for nothing real. It isn't just because she is astonishingly stupid. More than that, it's because of the sorts of people who support her. Large crowds of poorly-informed people rallying behind a dense but inexplicably influential individual...that is really, truly frightening, and it's exactly the sort of reason that the world is in the sorry state it's in today.