If the state of the political climate in Australia wasn’t woeful enough, we have to contend with the circus that promises to be the Republican Pre-Selection on our news screens. And now after this week’s most consistently trending story out of the US – ‘boy makes clock for school, is accused of terrorism’ – we also have to deal with Sarah Palin.

In case you have been living under a rock, 14 year old Ahmed Mohamed from Texas made a clock and simultaneously managed to make international news when he was arrested for making a bomb. Everyone from President Obama to Mark Zuckerberg came out in support of the young student, with many suggesting this was racial profiling at its most insidious.

And now Sarah Palin has had her say, calling Mohamed ‘an evidently obstinate-answering student’ and stating ‘Right. That’s a clock, and I’m the Queen of England.’

READ ABOUT: AHMED MOHAMED’S CLOCK

Perhaps it would serve Americans better if Palin was the Queen of England. But let’s not get carried away. This kid made a clock. It shouldn’t be international news and the fact that it is a sad indictment on just how we are failing in the war on terror. What are we losing by being so alert to the worst possibilities and what kind of a world will our kids inherit if we grown ups can no longer see a clock as a clock?

It’s a frightening thought that we are edging ever closer to a line we cannot cross back over and sacrificing myriad small liberties along the way. But interestingly, this news story has not only highlighted the need for common sense when it comes to navigating the post 911 era, it has also drawn a bold circle around the American Political system.

In Australia, shock waves were felt when one of our most right wing politicians, (Tony Abbott), suggested the government stop funding the indigenous outposts. There was significant outrage, and many that claimed that the right were out of touch. Here we have a recent American Politician, (and would be vice president), openly accusing a Muslim child of building a bomb on social media.

READ ABOUT: DONALD TRUMPS QUOTES

Either our political landscape in Australia is surprisingly centralist or the Americans are drifting further down stream towards the extreme right. The fact that a man like Donald Trump could potentially become president is downright terrifying, not just for the US but for the entire Western world. While he hasn’t commented on this particular story, he has suggested that the staff of Charlie Hebdo should have been armed in order to prevent their own deaths in a terrorist attack. That says plenty about his thoughts on terrorism and on gun laws.

This is a man that believes vaccinations cause autism. Given this link has been thoroughly and utterly disproven through the scientific process, by extension Trump is also a denier of all things science. He believes Mexicans are ‘rapists’ and is proudly anti-Muslim. He has made several questionable comments about the women on his television show ‘The Apprentice’. This is the man who may soon lead an entire country of over 300 million people for at least four years.

My guess is he has so much money that he’s simply taking the opportunity to play out his own grievances on Prime Time Television and the Presidential Race is a secondary concern. Or perhaps he’s just seen a marketing angle to exploit, in which case if he’s right the American voting public is moving further towards right field with him.

Some would say that Sarah Palin is not representative of the right anymore, but more likely the American political system is in a state of transition and moving sharply towards a more conservative and regressive middle. In a world where the most logical conclusion to a kid making a clock is that he’s a terrorist, that’s a terrifying thought.

In stark contrast to the science denying Trump, Barrack Obama had this response for Ahmed:

“We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great.”

Here’s hoping.