Strengthening Constitutional Self-Government

No Left Turns

Welcome to the Natural Aristocracy, Sarah

Our Steve writes a very fine article about our Sarah and what’s really eating those who are miffed by her stunning debut on the national stage. Sarah is a natural rather than a titled aristocrat or, perhaps (as those with imagined "titles" might say), she wasn’t "properly vetted" by obsequiously seeking their good opinion before daring to rear her lovely head. Moreover, she wasn’t impressed by their negative opinion and she hasn’t moved in the direction of trying to change it. She possesses that quality of firm decision that so routinely frightens the anointed (possibly because they know that if they ever had the "moxie" to exercise such decisiveness, they’d lose friends and invitations to the "right" social outings). Journalists who are used to lapping up received opinion about the proper way to think (at least from college on) must wonder why someone like Sarah--who didn’t even get an Ivy League education, after all--gets to be so free in her opinions and her actions while their fancy educations and years of kissing the right political and intellectual rings only gets them a gig in the echo chamber of today’s media establishment. They can’t understand what it is that makes so many Americans love Sarah.

Steve points to the famous dialogue between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson on the question of a natural aristocracy for clues and, I believe, he finds them.

Discussions - 3 Comments

I recall that Adams found Jefferson's distinction without merit: that elites (our word for aristocrat) would find a way to seek advantage using their good looks, their moxie, their popular appeal, their Princeton degrees, their SAT scores, their street smarts -- whatever. Watch all of them carefully, especially if they claim to be naturals!, Adams might have said.


What a spot on assessment ! I cannot embrace Sarah Palin primarily because of her ideas on foreign policy, but I find her very likeable indeed. This article has the ring of truth to me when it examines the mentality of her personal detractors.

We have here elites battling elites, on competing principles. It is misleading adornment to pin them on Jefferson v. Adams.

Leave a Comment

* denotes a required field
 

No TrackBacks
TrackBack URL: https://nlt.ashbrook.org/movabletype/mt-tb.cgi/12867


Warning: include(/srv/users/prod-php-nltashbrook/apps/prod-php-nltashbrook/public/sd/nlt-blog/_includes/promo-main.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /srv/users/prod-php-nltashbrook/apps/prod-php-nltashbrook/public/2008/09/welcome-to-the-natural-aristocracy-sarah.php on line 466

Warning: include(): Failed opening '/srv/users/prod-php-nltashbrook/apps/prod-php-nltashbrook/public/sd/nlt-blog/_includes/promo-main.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/opt/sp/php7.2/lib/php') in /srv/users/prod-php-nltashbrook/apps/prod-php-nltashbrook/public/2008/09/welcome-to-the-natural-aristocracy-sarah.php on line 466