I don’t get why some people are ecstatic about Sarah Palin because they see themselves in her.

I see myself in my children, and it’s not a pretty picture.

For example, my daughter picks at her scalp as she reads on the couch, a vile habit she picked up from me.

The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree. I shudder to see my world-weary self in my sardonic teenagers. Is it too late to graft on a branch from someone nicer and less cynical?

What parents have not cringed to see themselves through their children’s play? “Not now, can’t you see I’m busy?” your shrewish preschooler lashes out at assorted baby dolls.

“Bad, bad boy,” admonishes another. Nagging mommies, impatient daddies, parents just too pooped to play litter the landscape of family life as depicted through imaginary play.

Seeing ourselves in our children can be painful. But at least that eye-opening glimpse in the mirror gives us an opportunity to take corrective action. Catching ourselves at our worst moments, we try harder. With just a little parental awareness and effort, our children transform from young Frankensteins into reflections of our better selves. We see it in how they treat others with kindness and respect, from the stuffed animals of the nursery to their fellow global citizens.

What do I see about myself when I look in the mirror of presidential politics? Just under Sarah Palin’s attractive veneer lurks a meanness rivaled only by middle-school clique queens. In appealing to the base, Palin reflects what is basest in all of us.

Barack Obama, on the other hand, reflects the better angels of our nature.

It can go either way. This is every parent’s choice for what aspects of self we cultivate in our children.

It is the choice we now face for our country.

By Lorrie Goldin

Labels: Lorrie Goldin, Sarah Palin

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# posted by Writing Mamas Salon @ 12:01 AM