Sarah Palin’s heartless values miss the mark

Pam Price, Henderson

Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010 | 2:04 a.m.

I haven’t seen eye to eye with Sarah Palin because she stereotypes, simplifies complexities and kills animals. That is her right as an American, but I cannot forget that as a former vice-presidential candidate, she was potentially one rung away from being our president.

In the Las Vegas Sun last week I read commentaries by Maureen Dowd and David Firestone about Palin shooting a caribou and clubbing halibut, presented in “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” on TLC. These commentaries stimulated me to watch repeats of those two episodes and explore what drives her.

The answer to what drives her? Cutthroat competition and the game of predator and prey. Her father taught her early on to shoot to kill. She was known as Sarah Barracuda on her high school basketball team.

In one episode she said that her hunting teaches people the lesson of self-reliance. As I watched her being chauffeured around in her palatial RV, a colossal fishing boat, private planes and talking about killing a bear, I mainly saw hedonistic, heartless self-indulgence.

I think that overall Palin is a bad influence on society. The lessons I see her teaching are “might makes right” and “the end justifies the means.” Where are constructive values, such as compassion, respect and being a good sport? The name of the game should be peace, not violence.