Spring Break
Palin lambasts Brandeis core ethos
by Naomi Spector
Staff writer
Op-Ed | 9/16/08
Posted online at 11:31 PM EST on 9/15/08
/ Last updated at 3:28 AM EST on 9/15/08
The values that make up the Brandeis ethos are not just the foundation of our University; they're also crucial to the health of our democracy. As students who enjoy an environment of openness and tolerance at Brandeis, we need to seriously evaluate, beyond partisan preferences, whether or not John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin will conform to these values as vice president of the United States.
One of our four pillars of Brandeis' identity, as laid out by University President Jehuda Reinharz in 1995, is "non-sectarianism." The word encapsulates our dedication to tolerance and our desire to embrace all manners of diversity in our student body. When Palin ran for mayor in rural, windswept Wasilla, Alaska, she centered her campaign on a platform focusing on abortion, religion and gun rights. She won by injecting ideology into the race, polarizing the town. This was something that had never been done before in Wasilla, where the outcome of elections usually depended on which candidate could better answer practical questions about highways and sewers. Palin claimed time and again, "We will have our first Christian mayor," as quoted in a New York Times article. Her opponent, John Stein, seemed flummoxed.
Said Stein in the same article: "I thought: 'Holy cow, what's happening here? Does that mean she thinks I'm Jewish or Islamic?'" Stein was actually raised Lutheran, but he isn't much of a churchgoer.
We would not expect any candidate to support the Brandeis pillar relating to "Jewish sponsorship." On the contrary, we expect our government to draw a clear distinction between church and state; it is not a private institution like Brandeis and cannot give more power to one religious group than to another. That's why it is troubling that Palin is in the habit of dropping comments that imply that some government policies are justified by a higher power.
In a recent speech, Palin said that "Our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God," as quoted by ABC News. She even went on to say, "There is a plan and it is God's plan." Such a tendency to cast partisan policy decisions in religious terms that brook no argument is contrary to the Brandeisian ethos.
One of our four pillars of Brandeis' identity, as laid out by University President Jehuda Reinharz in 1995, is "non-sectarianism." The word encapsulates our dedication to tolerance and our desire to embrace all manners of diversity in our student body. When Palin ran for mayor in rural, windswept Wasilla, Alaska, she centered her campaign on a platform focusing on abortion, religion and gun rights. She won by injecting ideology into the race, polarizing the town. This was something that had never been done before in Wasilla, where the outcome of elections usually depended on which candidate could better answer practical questions about highways and sewers. Palin claimed time and again, "We will have our first Christian mayor," as quoted in a New York Times article. Her opponent, John Stein, seemed flummoxed.
Said Stein in the same article: "I thought: 'Holy cow, what's happening here? Does that mean she thinks I'm Jewish or Islamic?'" Stein was actually raised Lutheran, but he isn't much of a churchgoer.
We would not expect any candidate to support the Brandeis pillar relating to "Jewish sponsorship." On the contrary, we expect our government to draw a clear distinction between church and state; it is not a private institution like Brandeis and cannot give more power to one religious group than to another. That's why it is troubling that Palin is in the habit of dropping comments that imply that some government policies are justified by a higher power.
In a recent speech, Palin said that "Our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God," as quoted by ABC News. She even went on to say, "There is a plan and it is God's plan." Such a tendency to cast partisan policy decisions in religious terms that brook no argument is contrary to the Brandeisian ethos.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Tryst Anderson
posted 9/16/08 @ 12:25 PM EST
I love the people who jump on the out of context band wagon and use ABC news as an example of getting quotations correct. What ABC and Brandeis omitted from Governor Palin's remarks is the word "pray". (Continued…)
David Zukerman '62
posted 9/18/08 @ 12:07 AM EST
The title of this op-ed article indicates that Gov. Palin attacked Brandeis by name.
The article itself reports no such comment. Politics is no justification for imprecision,
I think, however much the campaigns and media get things wrong. (Continued…)
Post a Comment