When Human Decency Disappears, What’s Left?

Posted by: Mary Ellen/Divine Democrat at Bad Habit

What happens when human decency ceases to exist in our country? I’m sure you’re wondering if I’m going to go off into some kind of religious tangent, but I’m not. This has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with being…human.

This is how this post came about. While trying to catch up on all that I missed while out of town, I began perusing some of my favorite haunts. I missed most of the political news while I was gone, the entire Democratic National Convention, and only heard small bits of information about McCain’s pick for VP while I was driving home from Georgia. So, I thought the best place to get “real” news was on the blogosphere from fellow Democrats.

Much to my dismay, I found many of the blogs writing about Sarah Palin, McCain’s pick for Vice President.

I must admit, I didn’t know all that much about her when her name was announced. Personally, I really didn’t care who McCain picked as long as it wasn’t Rudy Guiliani. Anyway, what I saw being spread around the progressive blogosphere just made my head spin. The rumor mill is grinding and it’s making a very ugly sound.

RUMOR: Sarah Palin’s youngest child, Trig, is not her baby but her daughter’s baby.

Watching this rumor grow since this morning with blogs adding “Updates” as the day went on made me wonder what has happened to this world…no, to be more specific, it made me wonder what has happened to the Democratic party. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a good fight as long as it is on policy. I love a good policy fight, the more details the better.

Below is a video that I saw on Dusty’s blog, It’s My Right to Be Left of Center. I love seeing Dusty around the blogosphere, she’s straightforward and doesn’t pull any punches, my kinda blogger.

At first I wasn’t going to watch the video, I knew it would be just a repeat of everything I’ve been reading all day, but decided that I can’t ignore it and be expected to make an informed comment. So I did my homework, and was glad I did. I have no idea who the guy was that made that video but he gave the impression that he was on some kind of secret mission…blackclothes, dark room, and the all important black stocking hat.

There were so many holes in his “reporting” that it was laughable. For instance, stocking hat guy made a big deal about Palin’s daughter taking five months off of school because she had Mononucleosis. He claimed that he had a “severe” case of Mono once and he only missed ten days of school. Really? It sounds to me like he didn’t have such a severe case of anything but the flu. I’m sure he didn’t go to any trouble to find out exactly why she missed school or check any sources, he just left it hanging there so anyone can “just use their imagination”.

Black stocking hat guy also stated that no one in her office knew she was pregnant….not one. I’m not sure how many people were asked this and by who, but let’s assume that he actually did his job as a rumor mongor journalist and asked those who worked with her, and sure enough they ALL said that none of them knew. How does that explain this, an article that I saw on No Quarter that wasn’t even addressing this issue but is important to this post? Read below and check out the link:

Elizabeth Eubanks (she is featured in the picture with Governor Palin and Piper) of Polar Teachers & Researchers Exploring $ Collaborating (Polar TREC) was waiting to return home when she had a chance meeting with none other than Governor Sarah Palin and her daughter, Piper. Elizabeth had much to say about Palin.

Of course I had to check out the “Hottest Governor in the US” and quickly turned to see her pregnant (she has since had her baby) with bags and daughter in tote. Then it struck me as odd. Why is the Governor of Alaska in the airport and preparing to get onto my commercial flight?

I questioned PolarTRECer Craig Kasemodel an Alaskan resident. He let me know that Governor Palin sold the corporate jet after securing her official Governor position.

Governor Pallin said she would sell the jet because it was impractical and that the Alaska state inventory would be relieved of this debt. The jet was sold on EBay to Larry Reynolds for 2.1 million dollars.

On another blog that I read today, the so-called “evidence” that Governor Palin was never pregnant and that her baby belongs to her daughter is so crazy that I can’t believe it is being taken seriously. Exhibit A: a picture of Sarah Palin with her husband and other children are on stage for the announcement of Sarah Palin as VP pick. Newborn baby Trig and older daughter Bristol are missing. Yup, that’s it, that’s the “evidence”.

Now, I don’t know how many of you out there have more than one child, but I have four and they are each 5 to 6 years apart from each other. That means that when my last child was born (a son) he had three older sisters, one in high school…she was about 16 years old when he was born. There were times that I chose not to bring my baby son to an event or a gathering and my daughter happily volunteered to stay home with him. There were times when he wasn’t feeling well and again, she would offer to stay with him so I could go to an appointment. No conspiracy…just a family doing what families do…helping each other out. There was never a question from anyone as to who the mother of my child was.

But this is the most important point I’m trying to make. Putting aside the rumor mill that is swirling around Governor Palin, I had tried to point out to the bloggers who had these stories posted that there are so many other ways to vet Palin other than trying to spread rumors about her family members…especially a small baby with Downs Syndrome and a teen aged daughter. Needless to say, that angered a few of my blogger friends and a few people I don’t even know. One comment made by Karen Zippdrive (I’ve never run into her before today) was particularly disgusting.

Down Syndrome, my ass.
I prefer the more accurate term, “drunken teenage mother fetal alcohol syndrome.”

Yeah, I said it.

Like I said, when human decency disappears, what’s left? Karen Zippdrive didn’t appreciate my calling her remark asinine, and I still hold to what I said, it was asinine. Karen Zippdrive calls herself a journalist in her profile…no self respecting journalist, hell….no self respecting human being would make a statement like that.

Other such so-called evidence that was presented by a person commenting on this story, “Ever sine (sic) I read your post this morning about the baby, I have been reading about it. It seems very “fishy”. I saw a clip of the family on a campain(sic) stop, and Bristol was carrying the baby. she bent down and gave the baby a very “motherly” kiss.”

Now, please tell me what a “motherly” kiss is? I didn’t know there was a difference and dammit, what will my neighbors think if I give my grandkids a “motherly” kiss! Will they start spreading rumors that I am really their mother and not their grandmother? Does ANYONE see the insanity in remarks like this? And this is coming from Democrats…Progressive Democrats??

Another comment, “Check out the Internets, all aflurry over the fact that Trig is not her son but her GRANDSON. She never carried the baby apparently…but her daughter missed 5 to 8 months of school recently, with “mono.”
Heh”

Now it’s up to 8 months that she was out of school? The longer this story is out there, the more the story is embellished, which is what happens with rumors.

While discussing this on Dusty’s blog, I tried to point out that these kind of tactics, spreading unfounded rumors about a child who has Downs Syndrome and a teen aged girl goes against all common decency. Her reply (and I give her credit for her honesty) was,

“Common Decency is lost during a Presidential Election m’dear, If the Rethugs weren’t so high and mighty about their cough…family values…this wouldn’t be an issue most likely.

As I have said before, we must play the game as they do…its the only way to do it. “

So, is that what our Democratic party has become…the party of no common decency? Since when did Progressive bloggers turn into a bunch of tabloid journalists? I thought we were the ones who were going to report nothing but the truth? We certainly were great at slamming the “Rethugs” for their dirty tactics and swiftboating, and now this is what the new Progressive wing of the Democratic party wants to become?

As a lifelong Democrat who has voted a straight Democratic ticket for more years than I want to admit, this is very disturbing to me. I may not be voting for the Democrat nominee this year, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care what happens to our party. I thought that Obama’s supporters have been clamoring for “Change” from the old status quo…the old Washington politics? Obama said, “ We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” Is this the change that you seek? The opportunity to destroy the reputation of a teen aged girl? To spread rumors about her with abandon all because Sarah Palin is too much of a threat to Obama winning the Presidency? Is it worth doing that to an innocent family member of a Vice Presidential candidate?

Human decency….”Each person has inside a basic decency and goodness. If he listens to it and acts on it, he is giving a great deal of what it is the world needs most. It is not complicated but it takes courage . . . to listen to his own goodness.” (Pablo Casals)

I may piss off a lot of bloggers out there for my take on this story, but I have to be true to myself and my blog because I will not compromise my ethics to please others. I’m not being sanctimonious, something I was accused of earlier today by Karen Zippdrive. I’m trying my best to be a decent human being who cares for all kids, even if their mother happens to be the Vice Presidential candidate for the Republican party. I might also say that I would be equally appalled if anyone went after Obama’s children in such a vicious manner.

Unless there is positive proof that this story is true, going after Sarah Palin via her teen aged daughter and infant son is taking the low road, and I’m sorry if anyone is insulted by that remark. It may cost me some blogger friends, but you know what? That’s ok… because friends don’t let friends lose their humanity.

Welcome back, Divine Democrat!