In search of Sarah Palin

It may be hard to believe I had already been mulling over this topic and am not writing in response to anything, but it�s true. For weeks, maybe a couple of months, I have considered writing it, thought I was ready for it, pushed it back after the death of Sen. John McCain, and now, have pushed it forward in light of the same. He is not the subject of this reflection. Timing just necessitates I mention him. My focus here is Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska and McCain�s vice presidential running mate.

I have shared many times in recent months my growing distaste and dis-ease with politics. You would have to know how I roll to realize what a big deal it is that I no longer tune in 24/7 to Fox News or post on social media the political hot topic of the day. In fact, I don�t tune into cable political news at all anymore. I keep up with what�s going on, of course, because my job is in the political and news arena, and I don�t want to be clueless about what�s going on; I find that foolish. But I just don�t have the stomach for an ongoing diet of political distemper that both drains and demeans.

All my life, I hated politics � and I do mean hated. That all changed when Sarah Palin stepped onto the national stage, the anniversary of which was just last Wednesday.

While a relative unknown to many, she was certainly not unknown to all � particularly to Alaska, where she enjoyed nearly a 90 percent approval rating and had a reputation as a maverick, where she had taken on the establishment and put a boot on the neck of corruption on both sides of the aisle. She was known as sharp, bright and promising � while also heralded as �one of us.� Hunting, fishing, hockey-moming, that was her � a regular person who got involved in local politics to make a difference and then walked through the doors that opened � to serve.

I will insert here that Palin continues to be a class act. News emerged last week she was not invited to McCain�s funeral, and I will refrain from commenting on that for reasons best expressed in my column last week. I�ll just say my respect for her, which was already sky-high, elevated with her handling of what had to be painful and disappointing. Class personified.

When Gov. Palin accepted the 2008 vice presidential nomination, she accepted an invitation to energize a campaign that needed her. People who had no use for politics prior to her selection got excited. Subsequent to the election, as she remained a voice and ignited a movement, people who had never even considered getting involved, and certainly not running for office, felt they, too, could make a difference. They started throwing their hats into the ring. Why? Because an everyday, concerned citizen showed us what it looks like to roll up our sleeves and get busy making positive change � and that it could be done with a servant�s heart.

For that, she was lambasted and backstabbed, but her tenacity kept her from sitting down and shutting up. And I know personally her motive has always been to help and not harm, to do what she�s been called to do � no more, no less.

And this brings me to my current problem with politics after being drawn in during the 2008 election. I witnessed an atypical politician come along and make politics look like something it should always look like: integrity, service, a calling. It grabbed me, along with countless others, who stood behind her because we could sense she stood beside us. Maybe I�m missing something, but I just don�t see that now. And I�ve come to realize the same thing I disliked before 2008 is the same thing I dislike again in 2018 � no Palin in the fray. By that, I do not mean she is off the scene. The former governor is still backing worthy candidates, still keeping people informed with her website and, I believe, still has a future in politics. But there just aren�t enough Palins to make up for politicians who put party over principles, positions over people and personal power over prayer � not enough who seek to do what�s right and are the same in the night as they are in the light.

Now, I realize I�m opening the door for criticism from those who have bought into the lies the media manufactured about Palin upon realizing what a threat she was to Barack Obama�s ascension. I�m giving a foothold to those who have embraced the idea she cost McCain the election, an idea people who paid attention to what tanked that campaign know is yet another lie. It�s okay, though. Again, I�ve come to expect such from those who are more interested in politics than truth, and, again, this is what I no longer have the stomach for. And I�m not alone in this; many have disengaged.

But bring another Palin � better yet, bring the Palin � on the larger scene again and watch how quickly this turns around. Until then, I�m just not interested. I know Sarah Palin is unsure at this point what her path is and where it leads, but I hold out hope she will find it and walk it and we will see her having an even larger impact than she currently has. We�re waiting.

Adrienne Ross is owner of Adrienne Ross Communications and a former Southeast Missourian editorial board member. Contact her at aross@semissourian.com.