I’ve been trying to refrain from political commentary lately - hard to stop when that geyser opens.  But I did notice something that deserves more attention and I haven’t seen others talking about it much.

The Republican convention was full of the phrase "small town," e.g. Sarah Palin’s statement that "we grow good people in our small towns."  Which seems factually accurate (she’s not saying some bad people don’t also come out of small towns, nor that good people don’t come out of big cities either.)  In fact, given how self-evident the statement is on its face, what is she trying to convey?

Is it something like "family values?"  When the 2004 election again fell surprisingly to Bush, the pollsters claimed that "family values" pushed the undecideds towards Bush.  That was my only comfort - who can be against "family values."  Families support and love each other, build communities to help each other, avoid criminal behavior such as stealing and killing, and even try to be as honest with each other and in their community dealings as possible.  What’s not to like there?

But it didn’t take long for me to realize that "family values" for most of those voters was a code word, for opposing gay marriage and abortion.  That is, it’s not about how well you live your family life, it’s about judging and interfering with other people’s families and the tough decisions they make.  In other words, for me "family values" in the hands of the Republican messaging machine has become just another cynical abuse of the language for propaganda purposes.

So what does "small town" mean when uttered by a Republican?  I live in a small town.  It means working with a community of people who aren’t self-selected to be just like you (as you so often can in a bigger pond).  It means working together to ensure all boats rise.  It means enjoying simple things, like attending lame-o July 4th parades because it’s an opportunity to interact with others in the town.  It means helping other people’s kids as well as your own.

John Stewart was pretty quick with a segment trying to see what "small town" meant to Republican delegates.  The ones he showed were pretty insightful.  Those that do more thinking than just "me like small town, you like small town, me like you" seem to mean mostly that "everyone goes to the same Christian church" and "gays are in the closet."  Clearly meanness can emit from small town America too, along with the good things.  Don’t be fooled into supporting meanness under the shiny "small town" seal of goodness.

The term also arises with the ascendancy of Sarah Palin, which suggests another purpose - it’s an attempt to flip the liability of her lack of experience into a positive.  I guess in conjunction with the coded meaning above, she’s trying to say "I don’t need national or international experience because I oppose homosexuality."  Just the kind of claptrap the Republican base laps up with brains turned to power-saver mode.

Don’t get me started on Palin’s use of "community organizer" as a dirty word.  Shouldn’t that label apply to every Chamber of Commerce member in every small town across America?  I’m afraid to find out what they mean by "charity"…