WHEN Republican presidential nominee John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his choice for vice-president, the media riveted on Palin and what she represents. It’s no wonder: The high-energy Alaskan governor means many things to many people.
To working mothers, she represents the possibility of a woman holding a job while raising a family. To some feminists, she embodies an advancement in women’s rights. But more fundamentally, Palin has become a lightning rod for voters throughout the US by appealing to social conservatives on key ideological issues.
What strain of social conservatism is Palin channeling? Like many other western states, Alaska embraces the values of a rugged wilderness–a land with relatively few people, where guns and hunting are routine parts of life and where social interactions revolve around shared community and church activities.
Voters who live in small towns tend to live in relatively homogenous communities. They feel threatened by the nontraditional lifestyles they see portrayed on television. They may worry more about the preservation of “family values” than about policy issues related to economics or foreign affairs.
The buzzword “family values” means different things to different people. But a politician who advocates “family values” will likely stress the importance of a “nuclear family”, where a mother and father live under the same roof. The morality associated with “family values” often presumes a literal interpretation of the Bible, as well as the assumption that the family will attend church and participate in service activities, such as helping homeless people.
Perhaps their most polarizing belief is the “pro-life” assertion that abortion should be made illegal (citing Christian doctrine) and that “creationism” (God created the universe and Adam and Eve, etc.) should be taught in schools alongside evolution.
It is not easy for Asians and Europeans to understand the influence “family values” have on American politics. But there are several facts that can help put social conservatism in context. First, in terms of sheer numbers, more than 80 percent of Americans identify themselves as Christian. One-third of these consider themselves to be “evangelical”. These may very well vote for a social conservative candidate on a Republican ticket. But one should also keep in mind that there are many types of conservatives in the US.
Moderate conservatives may care more about controlling government spending and limiting the “intrusion” of the federal government on state government than they do about abortion and school prayer. They might be registered Republicans; but they might also be “Independents”, meaning they base their vote not on party affiliation, but on the individual candidate and the issues. Therefore, it is not easy or wise to label conservative voters or make simplistic predictions about the American election.
At long last, the political debate has begun in earnest and will continue until November. It will be interesting to see how America’s diverse communities, with their inherently pluralist belief sets, will respond to the choices they face.
生词：
affiliation联系
creationism神造论
credibility可信性
doctrine教旨
essence本质
evangelical 基督教新教派的,该派信仰圣经教义的绝对权威
feminist女权主义者
homogenous 同质的
honorary 荣誉的
ideological意识形态的
inherently 固有地
intrusion 干涉
literal照字面上的
nominee被提名的人
obsolete陈旧的
pluralist 多元论者
polarize 两极分化
presume认为
physique体格
recipient 接受者
revolve 绕转
stimulus促进因素
transparency透明度
BONUS
Expressions
buzzword
（流行，时髦的）用语
“Change” is the buzzword of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama’s campaign.
“变革”是民主党总统候选人奥巴马的竞选口号。
fine-tune
调整
It’s a very thorough plan, we only need to fine-tune it according to each employee’s workload.
这是一个非常详细的计划，我们只需根据每个雇员的工作量进行调整就行了。
rivet on
(注意力)固定在某人或物
He riveted his eyes on the pretty girl who just passed by.
他两眼直勾勾地盯着过去的那个漂亮女孩。