Video
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
Levi, Sarah and American 'redemption'
BY Gustav Niebuhr
What a neat political feat when you can fire off a press release while also climbing Mount McKinley! Sarah Palin was reportedly on the slopes of the nation's highest peak the day Us Weekly revealed daughter Bristol had become re-engaged to Levi Johnston, father of Bristol's baby. "Bristol believes in redemption and forgiveness to a degree most of us struggle to put into practice in our daily lives," Sarah Palin said, in response.
One ought to wish 19-year-old Bristol well--and smile, perhaps, at her canny ability to steal the limelight from her mother. Sarah Palin is a political celebrity without peer--a far higher rank than being a mere celebrity politician (think Arnold Schwarzenegger and Al Franken). She makes news weekly, sometimes daily. A virtual unknown outside Alaska only two years ago, she travels the nation, endorsing candidates in the 2010 Republican primaries and drawing happy crowds.
Let's consider her statement. Yes, she credits her daughter as a good soul. It is also fair to assume that the mother believes in redemption, too, as do many of her admirers. And how their belief plays out politically is of greater consequence to the rest of us than Bristol's upcoming nuptials.
Redemption (in Latin, redemptio) is an ancient idea, and a common one, with secular and theological applications. Put simply, it describes a transaction, with something of value gotten back. The grocer will give me a nickel for every empty soda can I return to the store. I put that five-cent deposit down when I bought the drink.
One of history's famous redemptions took place in 1194--Robin Hood's era--when the English Crown raised a whopping 150,000 marks to ransom King Richard I from captivity in Germany. In Christian theology, God through Christ redeems human beings from sin. Here's Paul, in his letter to the Romans: "...for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus..." (3:23-24).
Sarah Palin, as she implies, will likely have to "struggle" to regard Levi Johnston as redeemed. She has a lot for which to forgive him, not least the rather unpleasant things he said about her in interviews after he and Bristol initially broke up. But forgiveness for Levi, we can assume, pales beside Palin's larger project of effecting political change in the United States.
The people she draws include those who want to get America "back," a common slogan among men and women who feel dispossessed and anxious amidst economic bad times at home and unpopular wars abroad. Through her primary endorsements, she advises them on their vote. Through her Fox television commentaries, she gives them her take on the news. And in her second book--due out in November, mid-terms election month--she will tell them all about "family, faith and flag," according to the book's sub-title. Those words can be read as the classic recipe she offers for those who believe a nation needs a political redemption.
Gustav Niebuhr
| July 19, 2010; 11:25 AM ET Save & Share:
Previous: Vatican issues new sex abuse rules; still too weak, victims say | Next: What do the White House's faith offices DO, exactly?
Posted by: arumeh | July 20, 2010 7:10 AM
Report Offensive Comment
But at least she knows there are more than 57 states.
Posted by: bragdonb1 | July 20, 2010 7:32 AM
Report Offensive Comment
"What a neat political feat when you can fire off a press release while also climbing Mount McKinley!"
Next week, she learns to walk and chew gum.
On her way to Pennsylvania Avenue!
Posted by: WmarkW | July 20, 2010 10:32 AM
Report Offensive Comment
Meanwhile on Soap Opera Sarah, grandson Ribitt continues to be swept away by a hot air balloon fueled by pontifications of her intolerance and ego.
Tune in tomorrow when Levi will admit he's bi. Find out if Sarah believes in redemption for that or if she "refudiates" it.
More juicy details on Faux Snooze and in "On Faith"
Posted by: areyousaying | July 21, 2010 8:33 AM
Report Offensive Comment
I predict that a new reality tv show featuring Bristol and Levi will be coming soon to a tv near you.
Posted by: lepidopteryx | July 21, 2010 8:48 AM
Report Offensive Comment
The people she draws include those who want to get America "back," to:
- pre-emptive war (this time in Iran)
- torture
- rabid homophobia as a wedge issue
- immigration and race as a wedge issue
- Huckabee's seditionist agenda of overthrowing the Constitution for his twisted, Leviticus cherry-picked version of "God's standards"
- more tax cuts for the rich, big oil and corporate America
- less regulation of the banks, Wall Street and big oil. Drill, baby, drill!
- apologies to BP
- demonization of health care and education for born children as socialism
- back alley, coat hanger abortions
- blind defense of Israel at all costs
- an ignorant Jesuslandia where "abstinence" and "creationism" bully out responsible sex education and evolution
Back to the early 1950's before civil rights and other legislative progress that is encouraging America out of the dark ages.
Posted by: areyousaying | July 21, 2010 8:49 AM
Report Offensive Comment
Yes, and Bristol and Levi sold their engagement story to a tabloid for $100,000. They also are shopping for a reality show. Clearly the apple doesn't fall far from the tree when it comes to cashing in.
Posted by: Athena4 | July 21, 2010 5:28 PM
Report Offensive Comment
In today's episode, Levi inadvertently puts on one of Todd's old Alaska Independence Party t-shirts to wash the car and their neighbor sells the telephoto snap to Huffington Post and Playgirl.
Posted by: areyousaying | July 22, 2010 10:37 AM
Report Offensive Comment
The comments to this entry are closed.
The language used in her tweets is surely not hers.With her limited vocabulary she could'nt have done the 'shakepearian' job.All she needs now is a better 'ghost' tweets writer.