Sarah Palin charms me with something other than her good looks relative to other politicians
If you haven’t heard the latest news from the who cares department, Sarah Palin has resigned as governor.
Anyway, within her enigmatic, faux-Dylan, quasi-Bilbo Baggins-esque departure statement, she brings up her son Trig, who has Down’s Syndrome.
I think much of it had to do with the kids seeing their baby brother Trig mocked by some pretty mean-spirited adults recently. Um, by the way, sure wish folks could ever, ever understand that we all could learn so much from someone like Trig – I know he needs me, but I need him even more…what a child can offer to set priorities right – that time is precious. The world needs more Trigs, not fewer.
This instantly reminded me of the excellent and generous work of Stanley Hauerwas on mental disability, to which a theologically-inclined friend recently directed me. Read two samplings here and here (forgive the – somewhat jarring! – usage of the now-out-of-date terminology “retarded”). Palin makes three points which are excellent, correlating with Hauerwas. First, that we learn from the disabled; second, that we need the disabled; and third, that the world is made better, not worse, when a person with disabilities is born.
Postscript: While on the topic, an additional point which I take from Hauerwas is that people with obvious dependencies can remind us that human beings are radically dependant – dependant in immediate ways on nature and each other, and ultimately dependant on God. From the mundane (I need plumbers, car mechanics, and farmers) to the transcendent (I need forgiveness, mercy, and justice), it is a mistake to suppose we are every fully “on our own.”
I like this post and the points you make. I find myself wondering, though, whether people were really making fun of Trig? Do you know what she was talking about?
She is apparently talking about some sort of private instance that her kids witnessed or something. However, there was, at least in the low level media like blogs, some joking about Trig, including edited pictures that made him look funny. Plus people made fun of the names of her kids. I suppose that has nothing to do with mental disability. But I always thought, at least she didn’t name her kids Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And Esther. Etc.
So if it is the case that she is making up Trig being a victim, that lessens her charm factor. However, I still enjoy her way of talking about Trig and people with disabilities, so there’s something to be salvaged.
Disliking Sarah Palin certainly offers no excuse for mocking or devaluing her child, and especially not a child with disabilities. It’s definitely troubling to consider that people would do that, although I guess nothing should surprise me anymore.
I did some research and discovered that apparently a contributor to the Huffington Post said that Sarah Palin is the first politician actually trying to increase the population of retarded people. That is certainly a statement made in apparent ignorance of the value that you and Palin are pointing out. We would all be better off if we understood our mutual dependence, and if we did not treat dependence as something characteristic only of undesirable people–as if, for instance, we ourselves are not just as dependent. Or as if dependence is itself undesirable, when it can be (is?) something necessary, even beautiful.
On the flip side, does the fact that she has a child with disabilities earn her extra points, somehow? I guess her statement sounds a little bit exploitative– people like to cast themselves as victims (something she herself has done quite a lot), and here she can claim a lot of “victim” mileage via her disabled son, it seems. That “poor us” tone kind of grates on my nerves, but you are right that the points she makes are nonetheless true, as far as the world being better, not worse, for Trig (and others like him).
Again, I liked your post and the points you make are important. It’s a good reminder, and I appreciate your taking the opportunity to “salvage” something good.