As sympathetic as I am to AlterNet’s intentions, and as much as I agree with a good deal of the content in the recent article, “Sarah Palin’s 9 Most Disturbing Beliefs,” I’m afraid that I have to call foul on one of their choices:
In June, Palin gave a speech at the Wasilla Assembly of God, her former church, in which she exhorted ministry students to pray for American soldiers in Iraq. “Our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God,” she told them. “That’s what we have to make sure that we’re praying for, that there is a plan and that plan is God’s plan.”
The AlterNet staff uses this quote to accuse Gov. Palin of believing that the U.S. Army is on a mission from God. And reading that quote, it certainly sounds like Palin believes in the inate goodness of the U.S. Army and the United States. A quick look at the original quote however, reveals that the AlterNet staff omitted a crucial word:
She also told the group that her eldest child, Track, would soon be deployed by the Army to Iraq, and that they should pray “that our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God, that’s what we have to make sure we are praying for, that there is a plan, and that plan is God’s plan.” [Emphasis mine]
When you include the “that” in the prayer, it’s meaning is rendered completely opposite from what AlterNet alleges. Palin – far from claiming that the Army is on a mission from God – is praying, no,hoping that the United States is fulfilling God’s Will by invading Iraq. Palin’s prayer is, if anything, the humble prayer of an uncertain mother, and not – as AlterNet portrays it – the kind of theologically arrogant prayer that would rest comfortably in the mouth of Pat Robertson or the late Jerry Falwell.
Make no mistake, there is a ton that’s problematic about Sarah Palin. But even though she’s so wrong on so, so much, it’s wholly unnecessary (and probably counterproductive) to attack her for things like this. Especially when it feeds into widespread, pernicious narratives about liberals and their (largely imagined) hostility towards religion.
cross-posted at my blog
[...] cross-posted from Feministe [...]
Thank you, because that was my reaction when I actually watched the video: that Sarah Palin wasn’t presuming to speak for God (which, honestly, I don’t think she would do) but rather was asking these ministry students she was addressing to pray that there’s some reason why bad things happen. And that’s one of those basic functions of religion.
“Our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from Allah,” she told them. “That’s what we have to make sure that we’re praying for, that there is a plan and that plan is Allah’s plan.”
Can someone explain the difference between this statement and Palin’s? There is none. All religions have fanatics and Palin is one of them. Scary.
Thank you for posting this. There is a difference between hoping that something is the case (praying that the war is God’s will) and stating that it is the case (the war is God’s will). I appreciate your willingness to look at nuance.