January 24, 2011 8:23 AM

So long, farewell, auf widersehen...goodbye, door, backside, way out, etc.

Stupidity is better kept a secret than displayed.

  • Heraclitus of Ephesus

OK, so “Ignore Sarah Palin” week is coming up. Frankly, I think it’s long overdue (and something I should have done long ago). That said, I’m going to do this one better…and ignore Palin permanently, beginning immediately. I’d like to claim this idea as uniquely and originally my own, but it appears that there are other like-minded souls out there. Hey, the more the merrier, right?? Tree, forest, falling, making a sound, etc., etc., ad infinitum, ad nauseum….

Palin, like any demagogue, only has a hold over us to the extent that we allow her. If we simply ignore her, she’ll eventually have no choice but to return to the meth capital of North America- beautiful downtown Wasilla, AK- and do…whatever it is that half-governors does. Maybe she’ll have time to become a regular on The Real Housewives of Wasilla?

It’s truly amazing (and more than a little disturbing) just how much attention Caribou Barbie is getting these days. Truly, it’s time for me to cede the battle to those who (for whatever reason) truly give a damn. I’m tired of expending brain cells and column inches on someone who has (rather brilliantly) discovered how to monetize such attention. Of course, one could not unreasonably accuse me of jealousy. After all, who’s to say that I wouldn’t be doing the same damn thing if the opportunity presented itself? Some folks work hard, some folks win the Lottery…and some folks find ingenious ways to exploit, extend, and monetize their 15 minutes. (I wonder if John McCain is getting royalties?)

So, no more skewering Palin for playing the victim in the wake of the tragedy in Tucson. No more decrying any number of double standards created by Palin so she can paint herself as some sort of moral authority. No more “Top 10 Biggest Sarah Palin FAILS” videos…and how could one possibly narrow down that list to only 10? No more musing about whether Palin has gone too far with her muscular and occasionally violent rhetoric. No more parsing Palin simultaneously demonstrating a complete lack of historical understanding AND gratuitously offending Jews. No more of the Gift That Keeps On Giving. No more Steampunk Palin comic books. Best (and perhaps most importantly) of all, no more pointless, nauseating discussions of Palin’s 2012 Presidential prospects.

From where I sit, I feel as if I’ve devoted way too many brain cells and far too much energy to parsing what to me feels like so much hypocrisy and demagoguery. I figure that the antidote to that problem is to take the high road and just ignore her altogether. I’ve done it with Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, and a whole host of other Far Right talking heads…so I’m just adding another name to my list. Mrs. Palin is free to her own opinions, of course; this is still nominally a free country…and I, of course, am free to mine. I just don’t have to waste column inches in this way; it’s not as if there aren’t many other far more interesting and rewarding topics that I can devote myself to, right?

Winston Churchill once said that it’s difficult to have a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent, which, I suppose, is the biggest reason I’m finally removing myself from a battle that exists only in my own fevered imagination. There are other things, people, and/or issues I could far more reasonably and enjoyably lose sleep over. There are plenty of people willing to devote camera time and column inches to Caribou Barbie. It’s just time for me to take another fork in the road and leave this for someone who actually has a dog in the fight. I’m done…though I will admit that I’d be lying if there wasn’t a part of me who will miss reveling in the comic relief. It’s just time to spend more time and energy writing about things and people who actually matter.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on January 24, 2011 8:23 AM.

So how much for a case of Doritos?? was the previous entry in this blog.

So brilliant that you have to wonder why no one thought of it until now is the next entry in this blog.

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