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Flying Around in Simply Sarah’s Piper Cub on 9/11
By Ali Elizabeth | September 12, 2008
I realize this is a slightly oblique title for a post, but I promise to pull it all together and hopefully have it make sense, so please stick with me.
9/11–Who can forget where they were and how they felt when they heard that a second attack on the Twin Towers as well as the Pentagon had been successful, ie, thousands of innocent people were dead? The blind sheik and Osama got their wish, and so did Bill Ayers: unarmed non-combatants (read that fascist imperialistic infidel pigs) died painfully for their country’s supposed sins. Todd Beamer and crew made the ultimate sacrifice and prevented futher carnage, and for a brief time, we were awake as a nation. My sister who lives in Manhattan and her daughter were walking that day toward the subway. They heard the first plane go in and saw the second plane hit the second tower. Just hearing on the phone the sound of her voice a little later that morning and have her say “I’m alright, I gotta go, Caitlin’s calling” remains a memory that brings me to tears. That and the fact that while in Iraq I got to know a New York National Guard with the Fighting 69th who was actually on duty near her loft protecting her and her family during the the weeks that followed makes 9/11 even more poignant to me.
It is now seven years later, and most folks have gone back to business as usual. In a way, that can be a good thing, and in another, it could be disasterous. We are in the middle of a truly historic presidential campaign season that will end with a number of firsts. We’ll either have the first president of African descent, or the only president to survive terrorism as it was uniquely dished out in the Hanoi Hilton and a female vice-president who can and does bag her own moose, most likely sporting a lovely color of lipstick while she does so.
In the past two weeks, Governor Sarah Palin, who prefers to be simply called “Sarah” has landed on our national stage after flying in her Piper Cub. The Piper confidently wafted along sturdy, crisp, clear Alaskan wind currents. Am I referring to a literal Piper Cub airplane? No, I am referring to First Dude (husband Todd) and Sarah’s little girl, Piper, one of five precious children.
Piper reminds me of CS Lewis’s character Lucy, played by young charmer Georgie Henley in Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, one of my favorite films. I suspect that Piper possesses the same pluck and passion for fairness. While watching little Piper at the Convention, her now famous action of wetting her fingers and smoothing her infant brother Trig’s hair remain forever a part of the Palin phenomenon, and just may serve to help us return as a nation to a culture of life.
Piper, in a completely innocent, loving, normal act that in any other circumstance would not have particularly pulled upon our cultural heartstrings, served to potentially slaughter 40 years of pro-death dogma. Her wet, sisterly caress demonstrated that she believes that Trig is a person of value, irrespective of a chromosomal anomaly that has labeled him as a Down’s Syndrome baby. No PR person, spin doc or producer could have crafted that moment. It was as genuine as they come, and, I suspect, shall prove to be unspeakably powerful.
On the other hand, Todd and Sarah’s choice to have Trig instead of cut him up into pieces or suck his brains out has been met with a level of slander and cynicism that is shocking, even in an election season. In what may turn out to be a back handed compliment it was stated by a former Southern DNC poobah that seemingly Sarah’s ”only qualification to be vice-president was that she hadn’t had an abortion.” That along with the US magazine’s cover story that implied that Trig is actually Bristol Palin’s child is sheer madness, and me thinks it will come back and bite them in the botay.
Why this craziness? Fear. Matt Damon is scared. He’s afraid Sarah might have considered the idea that intelligent design just might be good science, a concept shared by thousands of credible scientific folks with PhDs. She has never said, one way or another what she believes, but apparently the unknown is terrifying to the likes of Mr. D. He’s scared that she has “made it this far,” and that she might one day have the launch codes for nukes, as if being a creationist is tantamount to all-encompassing mental cretinism. News flash, bud. She already has been staring down the Russian bear on a daily basis as part of her job as Commander in Chief of the Alaskan National Guard, as Alaska is our first line of defense against any Soviet attack, and the AK NG is never on anything but active duty, 24/7. She and they have been keeping you safe while you slam her willingness to think and live outside your box.
But back to Piper. Here she is, on a previous program filmed happily hopping off a school bus with a friend outside her mom’s office, greeted by her mom, and presumbably going up to play quietly while her mom battles corruption in the same room. If this isn’t role modeling for young women, I don’t know what is, all achieved without man-bashing. Perhaps one day Piper will be like John Adams, who as a homeschooler of 14, was chosen to travel to France as America’s Ambassador, and went on to found the country and eventually run it. It could happen!
This 9/11 I almost feel sorry for Joe Biden. He’s not famous for being prudent with his words, but he has now become, as far as I know, the first vice-presidential candidate who feels his boss isn’t ready for the job, and that someone else is possibly better suited for his (Joe’s) job. I wonder if he is trying to get himself fired? If so, I imagine little Piper would comfort his heart and maybe even enlighten him a bit. After all, someone wiser than I promised that there would be a time when “a little child shall lead them.” Perhaps that time is now.
Topics: Ballad for Baghdad, the Book | 2 Comments »
October 27th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
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October 29th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
My dear friend Ali,
Thank you for writing A BALAD FOR BAGHDAD! Who knew that your desire to help out a few soldiers with R & R would have such a huge impact on so many people?
I just finished the book and you know I couldn’t put it down! Jerry has already read 6 chapters since I brought the book home 2 days ago…he also says it is very good!
It is a must read for all Americans! We love you! Karen & Jerry