The Remarkable Difference Every Individual Can Make

I’m a 23 year old concerned citizen who opened a blog several months ago. Although English isn’t my first language, I’ve decided to do plunge ahead since this is a country where opportunity and success isn’t limited to a specific group and we’re not ready to let this country be radically transformed. I sent in submissions regularly to C4P which somewhat increased traffic to my blog, and eventually became an official contributor to C4P.

Palin’s decision not to run last Wednesday hit me by surprise during what was a particularly hectic time in my personal life, leaving me with no time to jot down my thoughts. As a religious Jew, her announcement came two days before Yom Kippur and a week before Succos. Although it’s now almost a week later, I decided it isn’t too late to share some of my thoughts.

In the three years since Governor Palin has stepped onto the national scene after having been chosen McCain’s running mate, the country has undergone many changes, both for the worse and the better. Although the focus is largely at the damage and destruction the Obama administration has wrought, one mustn’t forget the millions of Americans of every stripe and color who have become involved in and passionate about the political situation in this country. Tea Party groups have sprung up in every corner across the country, with voters demanding of their representatives to truly represent them and not the special interests or their own interests. No longer are the people indifferent and apathetic to the actions of the politicians.

Until now, the bullies and hotshots from the left as well as those within the conservative movement media had dominated the scene with no one daring to stand up against them or in defense of their victims. That is no longer the case. Millions of individuals have challenged these egoists time and again, and defended those smeared with lies and nonsense. Individuals across the country have recognized the power each individual possesses and have singlehandedly undertaken to fight the left, the establishment, and the know-it-all Republican elitists who peer down in disdain at us pesky little people. Twitter users with only a handful of followers have effectively challenged some of the big boys who have tens of thousands of followers. Ordinary citizens concerned for the future of their country have managed to confront the hoity toity class holding them accountable for their actions. No longer could these elitists go on interviews and write articles loaded with lies and distortions without receiving heavy backlash from thousands of people.

I have personally experienced the power of each individual. Shortly after I’ve joined C4P, Erick Erickson upped his snarky attitude against Palin. Since many Palin supporters including called him out on his despicable behavior, he expanded his attacks to include the Palin supporters. After I wrote a lengthy and factual article he felt compelled to respond, so he nitpicked one out of hundreds of comments on the article and focused on that. Of course his actions weren’t a very effective method in increasing respect for him or his site. Labeling Palin supporters as idiots, cultists, and many additional flattering names likewise hasn’t done much except turn people away from his site. Erickson isn’t accustomed to being challenged when wrong, and the fact that regular Americans have dared do so has been a blow to his ego. We must continue to remember our powers and fight those who are ready to give up principles for personal or other gains.

Many are wary of challenging others or taking an active role in spreading conservatism due to feelings of inadequacy. One might think that it is necessary to have training in debating in order to effectively challenge and educate those ignorant of conservative ideology, a journalistic degree in order to write letters or articles, or a certain charisma in order to run for office. Although the qualities listed above are certainly helpful, one can do all the above and even more without any of it. All that is truly necessary is an honest desire to educate and reach out to others, lots of determination, and of course first educating yourself about the topic on hand. When Sarah said one doesn’t need a title to make a difference, she didn’t only speak of herself. She spoke directly to all of us, encouraging us to get as heavily involved as we can. Not always will our actions meet success, but we cannot afford to give up, and can also never know when we’ll strike gold.

This too, I’ve personally experienced. I am fully aware of my weaknesses which include a lack of eloquent expressions and grammatical flaws since, as mentioned earlier, English isn’t my first language. However, I believe that if one has worthy ideas then one should share them with others even though the final piece won’t be as polished or perfect as that of others. I’ve always appreciated those that have here and elsewhere brought my errors to my attention, thus giving me the opportunity to correct them. When faced with taunting and mockery, I just shake it off for it is proof that the mocker can’t argue with the stated ideas and facts, so he resorts to name-calling and spell-checking

Last week, the day before Palin’s announcement, another diarist chose to comb through one of my diaries at Red State and highlight all of its grammatical and careless errors, for which I thanked him. Erickson and his cronies pounced upon it and recommended it, in an obvious effort to spite me, surely slapping each other on the backs and exchanging high-fives in their victory against Abie Rubin. Little did they realize how belittling their action was, for it clearly illustrated how deeply they’ve been hurt and angered by the truth exposed by a single 23 year old individual, and that the only thing they could hold against him was his grammatical errors. If they thought it would cause me to become embarrassed by my mistakes and therefore shut up, boy were they wrong! Such an approach would be antithetical to what my parents and elders have taught me, and also contrary to the lessons I’ve learned from Governor Palin’s actions. One doesn’t have to be perfect and flawless in order to undertake a task. One simply needs the will and the perseverance to stick to one’s task despite distractions and stumbling blocks. If getting the message across requires one to be mocked by some because of some misspells and errors, then so be it.

Governor Palin has repeatedly stressed that you don’t need a title or a prestigious position to make a difference. Her concern for her children’s education led her to join the PTA group in her local school. From becoming a PTA mom she then went a step further and ran for the city council before eventually becoming the mayor of her town, the oil and gas commissioner, the governor of her state, and then the vice presidential candidate of a national ticket. She didn’t enter the political scene with the intentions to run for the presidency or even the governor in ten or so years down the line, as others have. She entered with the intention to clean up the place, influence positive change, and lead with the people’s needs in mind.

Alaska is pretty much disconnected from the lower 48 states, and their previous Governors were unknown individuals. The only Alaska figure to make some news was Ted Stevens because of his insatiable lust for earmarks, the corruption charges against him which were mostly proven as untrue after his death, and the bridge to nowhere. Palin ran for the governorship in order to serve the people of Alaska, and her focus as Governor was clearly on the state of Alaska. Her respect for he constituents was evidenced in many manners including her attendance at the funerals of fallen soldiers. Only after the 2008 campaign when she could no longer govern effectively did she resign. Aware of her ability to be effective on the national scene, she involved herself and influenced the direction of many primaries in congressional districts in 2010. Throughout her public career she has proven that with enough grit and true determination one can effectively influence change even in the face of entrenched habits.

Immediately after Palin has declared she won’t be seeking the presidential nomination in 2012 many Palin supporters, although respectful of her decision, have felt shellacked by her announcement due to the effort they’d invested in advance of what was thought to be a presidential run. Whether having spent time debating with family and friends, spreading information, hosting “Undefeated parties,” educating others online or otherwise, they were stunned and disappointed while being forced to respond to the scorn and mockery without being privy to all the details. I know just how many have felt immediately after the announcement since I too had constantly stood up for her and had actually written an article titled “There are Times for Words and Times for Silence” discussing various reasons which indicated that she’s running –the very morning before she announced she isn’t. The only thing missing was claiming to know her thoughts.

I’ve already mentioned Red State several times and will do it once more. First let me inform you that I’ve originally had only respect for Erickson. However, after he has donned his kingmaker attitude and treated Palin in an inappropriate manner, I felt it necessary to point out their hypocrisy and double standard and have done so in several articles. After his hourly posts in which he repeated that Palin hadn’t announced her decision despite it being the end of September, ignoring the fact that she said no decision would be forthcoming in the next twenty four hours, I decided to retaliate. I began to post one Pro Palin diary after the other, which irked them to no end. Last Wednesday, I cross-posted at Red State the above mentioned article “A Time for Silence, and a Time for Words” and renamed it “Palin’s Running… Here’s Why.” I did this in order for it to be noticed amongst the many other diaries, for which it surely served its purpose. At the end of the day and many comments later, after Palin announced her intentions not to run, Erickson and his cronies ran to recommend, tweet, and mock the article as though his own predictions have never been proven wrong.

Erickson’s childish behavior isn’t the purpose or motive for this article. It is simply the easiest example I could think of to illustrate that all of us end up dealing with others and their nasty behavior throughout life. Some, though, are treated to considerably larger amounts of vitriol than most others. Sarah Palin as a wife, mother, daughter, and sibling has had to deal with an abnormal quantity of utterly false allegations. Multiplying by a million all barbs Palin supporters have received because of their support for a Palin presidency wouldn’t come close to what she and her family have undergone during the last three years.

The attacks weren’t limited to her record or at least to her own person. The hate-filled lies were hurled against her parents, siblings, husband, and children. No one and nothing was off limits. Without the slightest shred of evidence, those who’ve undertaken the task to destroy her have spread false rumors about her marriage and more. To top it off, although Joe McGinniss released a book chock full of lies which were proven to be lies and quietly admitted as such by the very author via an email Breitbart had gotten hold of and released, very few in the Conservative media felt it necessary to come to the truth’s aide. Some, such as Red State remained silent despite the outrageous lies which were being written about an innocent family. Worse still, The Daily Caller amongst others found it necessary in the name of journalism to repeat the lies, while disregarding their duty as journalists to inform their readers that the lies they’d just repeated are part of a great hoax and that the author is a despicable untrustworthy individual. Several days later, the Daily Caller once again in the name of journalism, found it necessary to repeat vile language said against Palin by a known rapist, without any added context or explanation nearby. After Greta called out Tucker Carlson for his downright disturbing behavior, Erickson defended and congratulated him on twitter. The behavior of these two “conservatives” although awful, is barely a drop in the bucket compared to what the left has thrown at her. Just think of Tucson.

Although she isn’t running for the presidency in 2012 she has made it clear that she will not remain silent nor disappear from the political scene. The haters haven’t stopped her in the past, and it doesn’t seem as though they will stop her in the future. During the last several months, many in the media including Republicans and Conservatives have hammered and demanded from Palin to reach a decision. Now that the reply was a no, many have questioned why she waited so long with her decision. Deciding not to run is an equally weighty decision and Palin has clearly regarded it as such. It was something she heavily weighed and debated, and ultimately she chose not to run.

So to those who’ve been busy whining the last several months, I ask you this. Which states have already held their primaries thus making her response come too late? What was so late about her announcement in terms of its effect on the other candidates? Do they not have plenty of time to continue campaigning? Do the voters not have several months to continue to vet the candidates, question them on their conservatism, and then make a decision? This holds true even if her decision would’ve been positive.

Rasmussen released a poll yesterday saying that 72% of the voters feel that the presidential campaign starts way too early and is far too drawn out. Yes, enough time to properly vet the candidates is a must, but several months before the primary is plenty of time. Although things aren’t likely to change in that regard since the media has to ensure they’ve got what to talk and write about, the nonsense that an October announcement is too late was and still is pure nonsense. It’s not too late in regard to states’ deadlines, not too late in regard to when majority of the voters begin to tune into the election process, not too late to be vetted, and not that late so as to guarantee failure.

I’ll end with this conspiracy although it may appear wild, dangerous, and improbable. The latest GOP debate proved to be a disaster as Romney clearly sailed and starred through it. Since it sorely lacked a single other candidate who was capable of challenging him or promoting conservative values with a record to prove their words, perhaps Palin might, might, might reconsider. Romney’s momentum has been growing considerably lately, and he was on the receiving end of Christie’s endorsement today. Cain, who is the only non-crony capitalist not because he proved to withstand the temptation but because he’s never been a part of politics before, has failed to deliver on his promise to take on Romney head-first. Although the establishment has labeled a Palin campaign as the guarantee for a Romney nominee, it now seems as though she’s the only one who can prevent Romney from being the nominee.

Additionally, now that she has declared that she isn’t running those who have feared a Palin campaign and thus focused on the petty triviality and ignored her content have made an about-face and began to sing her praises. No longer worried she’d take the candidate of their dreams and flush him/her down the toilet, they suddenly remembered their closeness and fondness of Governor Palin. More positive coverage was given to Palin in one week via the LSM and others, than those very same places have given her in the last year.

Conspiracy aside, according to her words at face value she isn’t running in 2012 and isn’t changing her mind on it. Earthquakes measuring 10.3 don’t happen too often, nor are they caused by humans. It is impossible to foretell the 2012 elections so it’s doubly impossible to foretell 2016 or 2020, but perhaps she will choose to run at a later date. Of course it will depend on many unknown variables such as who will be in the oval office, how the individual has governed, who else is running, what has Palin done in the four years, and so on and so forth.

If we want it to be a possibility, it is important to continue to educate others and spread the truth about her and her record. Now that she isn’t running, supporters of other candidates may feel less threatened and more agreeable to watch The Undefeated or hear about a former Governor in Alaska. Favorable impression need to be implanted in the hearts of millions so that when people will hear “Sarah Palin” they will think not of “I can see Russia from my house” but “that’s the governor who stood up against corruption in both parties and wasn’t scared to do what’s best for the people.” We must remember the power of every single individual and continue to promote constitution-loving candidates in every level of politics. We must remember that the future of this country may depend on the upcoming congress, so personal considerations should be set aside for the greater cause.

We can and must all continue to make differences via twitter, internet, local meetings, here at C4P and millions of other ways. It is impossible to know what the future holds, but that doesn’t mean one shouldn’t do their utmost to influence the future. In the months after the 2008 election, when the McCain team unjustly blamed her for their loss and later when she was forced to resign from her governorship, the future seemed bleak. It was difficult to envision that she would open a new twitter account which currently has over half a million followers, a Facebook page with over 3.2 million friends, and millions more ready to volunteer. The base has grown considerably with the passage of time and can continue to dramatically increase its growth if we help facilitate it.