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Friday October 10, 2008

Aleta in the City: The Fear Trap...

Hi everyone! I'm not going all political here, but in this heated pre-election season, here's my latest blog on The Huffington Post on the climate of fear, politics and of course, Sarah Palin ...

Our real power always come from a place of courage, love and positivity, not fear, and I expect this to create some real buzz, so share your thoughts here or on Huff Po, I'll be checking in and responding to your questions and comments!

Fear and the Sour Grapes of Sarah Palin's Wrath 

Here's an excerpt:

When you're in fear, reality becomes distorted - even for the most rational person. Sarah Palin is exploiting the nation's fear - and her supporters are goosestepping right behind her. People like Palin always have a final solution and though it's always temporary and transparent - it can wreak serious havoc and harm.

But you don't have to play into the trap that fear represents. Whether your fear is personal or political - and people like Gloria Steinem would say the two are inextricably intertwined - you can use it to challenge yourself, to motivate, inspire and rise above.

Blessings,

Aleta
 


Comments

  1. dear aleta,
    i appreciate your sentiment expressed on the here and on Huggington Post about not wanting to catch Palin’s “fear,” but i respectfully would like to point out that because of the manner in which you wrote what you wrote, it seems you yourself have already caught it. Deducing Palin merely to an “opportunistic hockey mom” with a “poisonous” smile whose supporters shout “kill” and “terrorist” at her rallies continues to promote fear — except that, in this case, it is fear of something that seems to be more acceptable to you: fear of sarah palin. (Why didn’t you say “opportunistic Governor?”— oh, yea, because it doesn’t sound as good or make your point as well, even though it is more truthful…… Why didn’t you realize that those “‘kill’- shouting” supporters are a very small fringe element of her total supporters (most of whom are peace-loving, warm-hearted people (I know lots of them), and that Obama, too, has fringe supporters that do questionable, violent acts (Ayers, anyone?)? (So Obama is allowed to distance himself from the violence of someone who supports him, but Palin isn’t allowed the same?))

    Is Sarah Palin’s brand of fear considered more destructive than our own fear of her? (and i say “our” because i am an Obama supporter (!), but am tired of the hypocrisy and hate spread in articles like yours from ‘enlightened’ and ‘loving’ people who sign their blogs “blessings’ but then talk in venomous ways about others, politician or not.)

    I encourage you to re-look at what you wrote and search for ways that you could have expressed the same sentiment without having appeared to have caught it yourself and spreading it further. It discredits your argument and seems divisive and demonizing. When people talk about how awful it is that Palin and her ilk are pushing fear and hatred and I can infer the same fear and hatred from their own writings, conversations and hearts (instead of the “serenity,” “strength” and “real power” that you speak of), it just leaves me puzzled and disappointed that someone with your platform didn’t dig deeper to search for language that could have built a bridge of instead of tearing one down.

    And I find it especially ironic that this was written on the Huffington Post, where a headline in the right column reads: “…In Case You Weren’t SCARED Enough: Palin and Fruit Fly Research”— proving that Palin and Republicans aren’t the only ones spreading fear…. yet liberals too often do not examine their own responsibility at contributing to the climate of fear, especially when they have a scapegoat of Sarah Palin to blame.

    (just wanted to point out a different way of looking at this issue. thank you for hearing me out.)

    by megan edwards Oct 29, 02:39 PM

  2. Thank you for this post. I appreciate your insight. I am one of those peace loving, warm hearted people you spoke of. :)
    Many Blessings, Kelly

    by Kelly G Nov 2, 11:10 AM

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