The Newly Infamous Palin / Turkey Video…
November 21st, 2008
Of all the comments flying around the web regarding the now widely seen video of Sarah Palin on a free-range turkey farm giving an interview as a live turkey is bled out behind her, here is the most, “yikes!” comment of the day I’ve seen:
“She should tell the media that she apologizes and she’ll do her next interview inside an abortion clinic.”
I’m not linking to it, because chances are you’ve already seen it or could easily find it yourself. But the thought of Rachel Maddow, Keith Olbermann, the Huffington Post, et al watching that same interview at an abortion clinic does kind of discourage me. Mostly because I know that there is no chance of any of that group being more thrown off by the death of a baby - and that the death of a turkey is far more gruesome to them. We are seriously upside down, and in need of divine intervention, I think.
Here is another quote that interested me:
“Killing is what happens on farms. Seriously. I’m saying this as a farmer.
City people think that farms are “where life happens.” Nonsense. Farming is about killing stuff. I don’t even raise livestock or poultry and I have to kill stuff.
I can get crops to grow by simply putting seed in the ground. The rest of my job is to kill, kill, kill. Kill weeds. Kill insect pests. Kill vertebrate pests. Whether by herbicide, pesticides, shooting, trapping, stomping, you name it — I spend far more time killing than I do making something grow. Mother nature takes care of the growing. I have to remove the competition. There have been days when I’ve trapped 50+ pocket gophers and shot 100 ground squirrels - before lunch. They needed killing, and the next day, more of them were killed because they needed killing. At other times, I’ve shot dozens of jackrabbits at night and flung them out into the sagebrush for coyotes to eat.
And none of that starts in with helping neighbors slaughter steers, lambs, chickens, etc.
That’s farming: killing. Lots of it.
Want to know why this nonsense is ‘news’?
Because an increasingly large cohort of America in the lower 48 (and probably Hawaii) are … They have no clue where their food comes from, they don’t hunt, they don’t fish, so they get to act all high and mighty about scenes like this.
In Alaska, they have critters that consider humans food. Absent high powered rifles, humans are not at the apex of the food chain in Alaska. That will tend to give people a different perspective than the silk pantywaists in the lower 48.”
It made me think about the agrarian reality of the New Testament world and the astonishingly large number of agricultural metaphors and analogies Jesus used for His audiences. Before anyone points the finger at the “liberal silk pantywaist” guy out there, how connected are we as believers to the manner in which the Bible uses those farming metaphors relating to our life, and the coming Kingdom, particularly related to the return of Jesus? How connected are we to the Jesus whose garments are stained red in Isaiah 63 and Revelation 19?
The Jews of the intertestamental period (between the Old and New Testaments) had no trouble envisioning a God that would avenge Himself on behalf of Israel in a fairly, well, violent manner. That Jesus that kills is a strange, foriegn concept to most believers today - and a concept that is mostly scorned and mocked by the so-called “radical atheists”. The reaction of the people to Sarah Palin being around death and slaughter makes me shudder when I think of the far more controversial and terrifying events that surround the Second Coming of Jesus.
They will hate Him. They despise Sarah Palin, and she isn’t really that controversial. The Jesus that is returning to overthrow the nations is a Man that hardly anyone comprehends - and fewer still will ally themselves with and truly love with affectionate loyalty. Now I know why , of the peoples of the nations, none will be found standing with Him when He comes in Isaiah 63.
David
Entry Filed under: current events, politics
14 Comments Add your own
1. Jeff | November 22nd, 2008 at 5:53 am
That is an awesome quote. I could practically hear my Vermont-farmer-friend’s voice saying those words (in fact, I actually emailed him to make sure it wasn’t him that said it!).
I have felt very much the same thing about this Man that we are expecting to come back and take over the earth. Meditating on the brutality of the Cross one day - and recognizing that He intentionally chose to go through all of that and did not spare Himself in any way - I was struck by the thought that we are dangerously soft and averse to pain. He is far harder and stronger than any of us pampered Americans like to realize.
2. Tui | November 23rd, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Not only are we removed from how food arrives on our table. We have sanitized the names to remove the connection even further. Beef - is cow. Mutton - is sheep. Vension - is deer. etc.
In the same way, we try to sanitize life, removing all connections, that make us uncomfortable, to the creator God. Many have been lulled to sleep by comforting words. I, too, sense the huge shock many will face, not only in the world, but in the Church also, when the see the face of Christ.
3. Rob | November 24th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Wanted to throw an unrelated except from an article about how Obama’s faith in politics:
Where Bush has been a Christian imperialist, Obama will be a Christian pluralist. While his own conversion roots him firmly in the Christian faith, his intellectual skills and international experience allow him to understand that there are many paths to the truth. And his rhetorical abilities allow him to give new meaning to the language of faith to both positively affirm people of different faiths all over the world and properly acknowledge leaders from non-Christian nations. This will be a crucial corrective to the divisive notion of faith propagated in the Bush era and could play an important role in reestablishing America’s reputation worldwide.
article: http://www.theroot.com/id/48879?GT1=38002
4. Rob | November 24th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
I now realize I had too much coffee this morning.
5. John | November 25th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
I don’t think it’s primarily about horror at the slaughter.
As a researcher who kills plenty of animals with my own hands, I thought that it was hilariously incompetent staging on Palin’s part.
But, hey, I’m sure that you want to attribute the hypocrisy of the animal-rights movement to all liberals, even the scientists they target, right?
6. David | November 25th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Hmmm. It must be “random assumption day” on my website. Welcome John, good to meet you. I can’t say I fully understand the logical fallacy you are attributing to me as you articulated it, thus I cannot corroborate whether or not I would draw such a conclusion. Perhaps you can clarify what hypocrisy I want to attribute to liberals and scientists?
7. Jay | November 25th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Dude, David, you take yourself way too seriously. Lighten up and open your eyes, there is no god, and Jesus was created by powerful men to control the minds of the weak and gullable.
Don’t believe me? Well, I guess this is the part when I say that I read it in a book, and I don’t need anything but my faith to know it’s true. If you religous types don’t need to show anymore proof then that to claim your right then neither do we.
Peace.
More people have died in Jesus’ name then died under Hitler, Mussolini, Mao and Stalin combined. Religion is the biggest root of evil on Earth as we know it.
8. David | November 25th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Jay,
Thanks for introducing yourself with the “party line” on things. I’d respond but I’m not in the mood to debate Richard Dawkins points, but thanks for stopping by.
If you’re ever in the mood to talk about Jesus (and not the folks who do stuff in Jesus’ name, as in, I could go beat up my neighbor in the name of Jay but it doesn’t change who you are one bit) with your own ideas and not someone else’s, drop by again.
9. John Barker | November 29th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Going into Onething season. Here is where we lose David for about five or six weeks from the blog-O-sphere.
Maybe we can get one last post before you dissapear?
10. Phil | November 30th, 2008 at 1:16 am
As a hunter and father…
…birth and death are bloody fragrant events. For those who have killed and cleaned food (large and small animals) and have participated in the delivery and the raising of a child this will be no surprise. Things smell bad!
In agreement with Jeff, the quintessential example of this brutal, and to some offensive reality is the cross.
11. kyle gebhart | November 30th, 2008 at 3:44 am
there is an interesting book out there looking at this phenomenon of being isolated from the reality of where our ‘food’ (i use the term lightly b/c if it’s fast food…yeah…its not food…) actually comes from - “the omnivore’s dilemma” - he actually traces four meals from animal/vegetable to the dinner table.
one of the meals is all food he grew, gathered, or killed himself.
12. Erin | December 2nd, 2008 at 11:43 am
hey David, Do you recommend any particular study Bibles to your students? I’m looking for a new study Bible and was wondering if there are any you like more than others. Thanks.
13. Jabong Deli | December 8th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Haven’t read your blog in a long while. Interesting stuff with Palin and the farmers… I have been more intrigued by the economic crisis and how gas is so low here in California.
Just wanted to giive a shout out
JD
14. sandra407 | September 9th, 2009 at 9:43 am
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.
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