Via Jon Chait's dissection of a Michael Gerson column, I noted the former Bush speechwriter's cultural analysis of the context of the Confederacy, among other things:We have entered a national debate on the role and size of government, intensified by the passage of health-care-reform legislation. It is not quite Antietam, but many Americans feel that their deepest beliefs about liberty and self-government are being undermined. Passions run high. Activists slip easily into reckless talk of tyranny and revolution.In this context -- on the day health reform became law -- Sarah Palin wrote to her Twitter tribe: "Commonsense Conservatives & lovers of America: 'Don't Retreat, Instead -- RELOAD!' " In a moose-hunting culture, these words probably carry less menace. Palin was not trying to incite violence. But she was careless about the context of her words and ignored a positive duty to confront political extremism.
Liberals are, of course, often criticized for slipping into moral relativism and abandoning their values when they are simply trying to understand the motivations of people coming from different cultural contexts. For instance, if you try to identify the grievances and political dynamics that motivate extremists in the Middle East, that's often taken as "legitimizing" America's enemies. But if you want to consider how the moose-hunting tribe of Sarah Palin would respond to a political event, you must take into account how their unique experiences shape their political engagement.
-- Tim Fernholz
