Sarah Palin, Fear, and Mama Grizzlies

Sarah Palin’s “mama grizzlies” video fans the flames of fear that already fuel the over-parenting trend in this country. In an apparent effort to reach out to middle of-the-road women, Palin’s PAC video launches a vague attack on the “fundamental transformation of this country,” embedded with a challenge for moms to take action toward preserving our way of life for our children. Opposing Sarah (rather than aligning with the white bread “mom awakening” of women “very concerned about their kids’ future” who populate the clip) seems to mean placing your children and grandchildren squarely on the chopping block.

The new video, launched last week, is nothing but aphorisms involving “women coming together” and “common sense”—phrases that Palin repeated four and three times respectively, in the two minute video. Aside from her folksy narrative, “just us moms fighting together” against “policies coming out of DC,” Palin says nothing substantive regarding any specific issue. In the video, the viewer sees supporters at rallies holding signs protesting government run health care, taxes, and mandates. One sign states “annoy liberals, work hard, pay your own bills.” Palin seems to be complaining primarily not about issues, but about the Democratic majority in Congress, for she implies that the solution will be “a whole herd of pink elephants, stampeding through” Washington with an “ETA of November 2, 2010.”

The video’s rhetoric deserves critical examination for its hold on women, who can be easily drawn in by the charge to protect one’s children. Palin seems to be sculpting herself as a supporter of family-friendly policies, hot on the heels of her previous assertions that she’s launching a new brand of feminism. Her fear-based diatribe disguised as inspiration may help explain what attracts today’s generation of mothers, seeking a role model. In this day and age, parents fixate on worry—even if the kids are actually just fine.

Over-parenting, that current push by parents to overperfect, overprotect, and overqualify their offspring in the quest for a better life, is quite simply based on parents’ underlying anxieties. This country was founded on this premise of advancement for all, achieved especially through financial and educational opportunities. As the U.S. population continues to grow past 300 million, this seemingly inherent right has threatened to scurry out of reach, especially for the middle and working classes. Resources—oil, capital, open land upon which to build one’s MacMansion, admission slots at top schools, from Blue Ivy Preschool to the Ivy League—are all disappearing. In the quest to ensure a competitive shot at life’s prizes, parents have upped the endless efforts to produce superkids through Baby Mozart DVDs, pitching coaches, Russian lessons, and SAT drills. As if parents are not scared enough, Palin adds progressive government, the Democrats, and implied evils like universal health care to the fear list.

If polled, what mom (or dad) would not admit to being “very concerned” for her/his child’s future? Palin implies that this concern is the exclusive property of her followers. Underneath parental anxiety and the resultant over-involvement in children’s lives is the illusion of control. Parents think the key is providing the right life for their kids. Surely enabling the best educational opportunities and guarding against negative peer and societal influences will lock in future success. With kids’ best interests at heart, and fierce, anxiety-heightening competition from a mass of needy humanity, parents perfect a pinpoint focus on the individual child or family. They willingly camp out all night to get on preschool wait-lists, or fight to the death in the principal’s office to move their child to the best teacher’s class. Obviously, the mama grizzly analogy is apt.

Parents—moms and dads—facing a deep well of worry about their kids in this pressure cooker culture need to recognize Palin’s myth-mongering. First is the fear-based illusion of control. Mama grizzlies cannot guarantee their cubs a perfect life any more than “moms kinda just know when something’s wrong.” That’s another prevalent myth about mothering, i.e., that women are imbued with innate intuition about parenting. Stop it, Sarah: that is extremely un-feminist of you. As a psychologist who works with women, I see how guilt-inducing these expectations are. Believing that “mommy can make it all better” or “trust your instincts—you’ll just know” is a quick set-up to feeling like a failure as a mom, which, in turn, ramps up that inherent anxiety again.

Sarah says that this country’s “fundamental transformation … isn’t right for our kids and our grandkids.” As a mother with my own mama grizzly tendencies, I have a different view of what is right for my kids (and possible/future grandkids.)  What’s best for my kids is what’s best for all kids—access to affordable health care and world-class education. I’d kinda like my kids and grandkids to have continued access to natural resources and open spaces, clean air and water. I feel quite strongly about my daughters and granddaughters maintaining control of their reproductive rights, from safe and accessible abortion to emergency contraception. The freedom to marry whomever they choose, and have that partner guaranteed rights to health insurance, property, and legal decision-making, is essential. Finally, I want my children and grandchildren to benefit from family friendly policies in government and the workplace, such as the Paycheck Fairness Act, which can facilitate a reasonable standard of living balanced against quality of life.

The enemy is not the current government. The true foe is “me, first; I’ve got mine the heck with you” thinking. Refuse to succumb to the scare tactics. What a powerful force for change if moms (and dads) kept sight of the big picture. All parents can do is control what they can—individually and collectively. Focus on what can be controlled and expect to have influence. All of us are connected, in our society and the world. Everyone does better when each individual has a chance to flourish and we take care of our earth home.

Here is a short list of steps to making the world a better place for every child.

1) Teach children progressive values through action. Volunteer as a family to clean up the shoreline, serve meals or tutor other children at a homeless shelter, buy carbon offsets for vacation, and work at a community garden.

2) Write letters to law-makers as a family, on issues both that matter to parents and that children can understand.

3) Encourage children to give to charitable, political and social organizations which support progressive causes such as Momsrising, The National Abortion Rights Action League, The Human Rights Campaign, and The Nature Conservancy.

Watch Palin’s Mama Grizzlies Video by clicking here

Posted by Ann Dunnewold on Jul 13 2010. Filed under News & Critical Thinking, Solutions & Possibilities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry