Tony just mentioned that he went to his local Christian bookstore only to see Palin's book prominently displayed. I hadn't even thought of that angle, but of course they would promote this book. Everything I have read suggests that Palin exhibits the absolutely worst elements of Bush's persona--without the possible good sides (giving him some benefit of the doubt). She lacks even basic curiosity about matters she would decide; prefers what she "feels" over demonstrable fact; and is completely and nearly pathologically incapable of admitting error.
The fact that she has become a poster child for religious conservatives is simply sad.
11 comments:
I was just in a local Christian store to pick up a few gifts and I can say that I was pleased to not find Palin's book. I guess I have nothing against her book, but I don't see why it should be considered a "Christian" book.
Thanks for the nod Streak. :)
I still have trouble grasping why her lack of qualification is qualification enough and I think '12 will be interesting, as well as comical, as she and Huckabee duke it out.
Anyway, next to her book was the audio version read by the author. Streak, I may send you that for Christmas.
Steve,
I would imagine the reason you didn't see it in your local store is geography. She is the poster child Streak chides her as here in the south, and even more so in western NC. Being Christian and Republican are practically synonymous in my neck of the woods.
True, but she did start her tour in my state. I think her popularity is reflective of how shallow most people are when they consider a person for leadership and how many just look at things like slogans and similar traits.
I doubt she will run in until 2016. She will still be polarizing, but will have more 'experience'.
I still recall going into a local fundamentalist Christian bookstore to get my mother a bible cover in 2003 (May), and stood in the middle and looked around. I saw 13 pictures of Pres. Bush, 11 of Saddam Hussein, a few angels and 3 (it may have been 5) pictures of Jesus.
I have never been back.
Here in Oklahoma, if you are a Christian of any form it is assumed you are Republican and now seems to be assumed u are a Palin supporter.
I have seen at my work what happens when someone doesn't think she is the one to lead the Republicans to political success.
As I recall, Jesus told Pilate that His kingdom was not a worldly one....
Yeah, shallow is a way to describe this entire debacle. I remember wanting at least a superficial representation of competence and even the idea that these people might be smarter than me. That is certainly how I felt about Obama. Still not sure where this "I like her because she is just like me (even though she is not)" meme came from.
Tony, I forgot to mention our conversation about the audio version. Ugh. "You betcha."
Oh yes, Palin is a polarizing figure...why, I haven't the slightest. I think shallowness is the bane of Republican politics right now. I'm having trouble thinking of a single thinker in the Repub camp. There is an incredible dearth of, as Streak aptly puts it, "grown-up" Republicans.
Monk, in a pastors conference a few weeks ago, I saw just exactly how polarizing she can be; she came up in discussion and when I mentioned that there was "no 'there' there," the response was "Like our current leader, then?"
When I tried to explain my position, just because I had spoken against her I had lost my credibility. Obama has been cast as the devil himself out here in redneck country.
I don't get that, but I think it comes back to Steve's comment, that when you cannot think any deeper than a slogan or a maxim, or at the very least what someone else has said, then you can expect polarization and intensive negative characterizations with an absence of fact and reflection.
I think that most voters, smart and not smart, just don't care that much about politics to look that deeply as to what a candidate represents. If I had to guess, for most people, it comes down to party preference, endorsements, slogans, and similar messages. The last election is an example of that. When I look at both parties, I don't believe the deepest candidates were the ones that got the nomination.
I have many critiques of the job Obama is doing, but I also don't get some of the idiotic comments coming from the right. If I had to guess, they would be blasting him no matter what he did.
As the former owner and manager of a Christian bookstore, I avoided purely political books but did carry ones that explored the intersection of faith and politics, while remaining politically neutral. I had a tough time with some of my staff when I chose to carry the book, The Faith of Barack Obama, even though these same staff members were happy that we had carried The Faith of George W. Bush (by the same author).
I personally supported Obama and am disappointed in how Palin has reflected poorly on Christians. I would not seeing Going Rogue as a faith book and would not have chosen to carry it in my store.
Ken, welcome to our little blog. We have discussed Christian bookstores here a bit over the years. My own experience has not been very positive in our local store. I have seen a whole lot of self-help books, very little of any theological substance, and a lot of right wing political books (in addition to the mass of consumer goods with Christian sayings on them). But you are the first one here with some experience. Perhaps you can tell us more about the business? How long were you an owner and manager? Did you see the business change during that time? And how so?
To answer your question, Streak, I owned and managed a Christian bookstore for 10 years and managed a church-owned bookstore for an additional 3 years. The Christian retail industry has undergone dramatic changes since 2000, more than any time in it's history, and is in serious peril. I started a blog (www.kenwords.com)during the time that I was managing the church bookstore so many of the posts written up until the store closed in the early fall focus on that industry. I still write on the topic for trade journals, etc. but one blog post I wrote probably gives you a pretty decent snapshot of what I see as the future of the industry. You can paste this into your browser to go directly to that post: http://www.kenwords.com/2009/06/future-of-christian-retail.html
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