David Akin, in a recent posting on his On the Hill blog, referred to Jonathan Raban's book review of Sarah Palin's memoir Going Rogue in New York Review of Books. (Isn't that just about the most hyperlinked sentence ever?) In that blog posting he identified the words virtuous ignorance,
a phrase coming to mean the intentional employment of ignorance for a seemingly higher purpose. Sarah Palin is the poster girl of that movement.
Palin's speeches, comments, and writings are laced with untruths and innuendo which skirt the truth to the degree that increasingly it is difficult to separate truth from fiction. In my opinion, that is not unintentional. Her ability to employ a "turn-it-on/turn-it-off" folksy dialect to enhance her populist banter is a tool she uses very effectively in portraying herself as the peoples' guardian of political virtue. Many, many people love it. It feeds a wave of anti-intellectualism which is destructive and frightening.
If this were a peaceful era in which the national debates centered on obscure or insignificant issues, one might be amused by her virtuous ignorance. We could debate creationism and evolution until the cows come home. Such issues lend themselves to her style.
But the issues of war, international relations, the economy, health care and national security do not fare well in an anti-intellectual atmosphere. This is time for careful thought, honest research and intelligence, and review of options which are difficult and require global perspective. Virtuous ignorance as employed by Palin and her colleagues only serves to cloud the issues, mask them with superstition and fear-mongering, and wallow in folksy chit-chat which accomplishes nothing of significance. On another level, however, this enterprise slows down government process, delays effective legislation, and undermines the confidence of the people in their government.
Perhaps the use of terms like intellectual and intelligence create an opportunity for such violations of integrity. They are words which are "off-putting" to many people, reflecting an elitism which separates classes of the population. That is unfortunate, because they are also words which describe vital elements of good government. They are not meant to denigrate anyone, but to assure the voting population that their elected leaders are employing due diligence in the pursuit of peace, economic stability, and social justice.
A great bulk of the American populace is confused, angry and disappointed in the way life is unfolding at this moment in history. Those qualities are not restricted to conservative types or members of the Tea Party community. They cry out for clarity and signs of progress. But simplistic answers are not sufficient in such perilous times. To the contrary, the solutions to today's problems require keen minds, careful diplomacy and difficult choices. Virtuous ignorance is not a welcome attribute.
Photo courtesy of: www.creationism.org"
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