Clarence Thomas – Game, Set, Match
Once upon a time, a man named Clarence Thomas had the good fortune to receive a United States Supreme Court nomination. Thomas, a moderately conservative individual, found his nomination sabotaged at the 11th hour by shocking allegations of sexual harassment lodged by a former colleague, Anita Hill. The allegations and subsequent “he said”, “she said” back and forth led Thomas to angrily declare himself the victim of “… a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in anyway deign to think for themselves. And it is a message, that unless you kowtow to an old order, you will be lynched, destroyed, caricatured by a committee of the US Senate rather than hung from a tree.” Those words were spoken by (now) Justice Thomas in 1991, and the spirit of those words rings just as true today. In this case, their subject happens to be a white woman, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Why? Because, Palin, like Thomas has risen to prominence while retaining her independence and her dignity. In essence, neither she nor Thomas subscribes to the first commandment of liberal orthodoxy: Thou must remain a victim. Thomas and Palin have attained their respective levels of professional success the old-fashioned way: They have earned them through hard work and healthy ambition. Both are no-nos if one seeks favor and status amongst America’s cultural,social and political elite. Fortunately, neither Thomas nor Palin appear interested, which is good for the rest of us.