A letter from Alaska
Hawai‘i (my home state) has political and cultural ties with Alaska, and, as everyone knows, Obama spent his first years in Hawai‘i.
Dear Friends and Fellow Citizens:
Alaska is my home. For the past thirty years, this state has been the ground of my life and my work.
I love Alaska deeply. I love the wild expanses of its mountains, forests, rivers and glaciers. I love its vibrant Native cultures. I love the idealism and the independent character of so many of my fellow Alaskans.
Photo of Adams by Evan Hurd for THE NEW YORKER.
I am proud to be an Alaskan. But I am embarrassed by and ashamed of the actions of several of our most prominent political figures.
Today our senior U.S. Senator Ted Stevens is on trial on charges of accepting bribes. Several years ago, in his annual address to the Alaska Legislature, Senator Stevens declared that those of us who oppose drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were “enemies of the State”. It was a rhetorical moment worthy of Joseph Stalin.
In the recent Vice-Presidential debate, Governor Sarah Palin spoke about the current economic crisis using the phrase “never again”. In so doing, Palin equated bad home mortgages with the Holocaust.
Now her public appearances have begun to resemble Brownshirt rallies. As Palin charges that Barack Obama is a friend of terrorists, her supporters have barked “Sit down, boy!” to an African American man, and in response to her mention of William Ayres have shouted: “Kill him!”
Speaking of Obama, Sarah Palin proclaims: “This is not a man who sees America the way you and I see America…”
If so, that’s reason enough for me to vote for Barack Obama!
Sarah Palin is a small-minded, mean-spirited woman who lacks the maturity and the judgment to be Vice-President of the United States.
The thought that she might be a heartbeat away from the Oval Office is more chilling than the coldest winter night in Fairbanks.
