Team of Mavericks or The Lone Rangers Paradox

Back in the mid 90's there was a quasi underground art film called Airheads. In case you're unfamiliar with the film, it's about a rock band in the midst of an "economic slowdown." They are left with no alternative but to take a local radio station hostage so they can air their demo tape to expediate their music careers. The film hits hard on classic themes such as never giving up your dreams and finding your own voice:



In one particular scene, the DJ played by the venerable Joe Mantegna asks,

So what's the name of your band?

(He's handed their demo tape.)

The Lone Rangers, that's original. How can you pluralize the Lone Ranger?

Adam Sandler replies, What's wrong wit dat?

Well, there's three of you - you're not exactly lone.

Hence, John McCain and Sarah Palin. They have consistently referred to each other as "a couple of mavericks." Myself, I've never actually met anyone who's referred to themselves as a maverick or seen someone that for that matter that made me think, now that dude's a maverick. Unless your wing man is Goose or your an anti-semite who starred in Braveheart and The Lethal Weapon series (not Danny Glover), I don't get it. How exactly does one become a maverick anyway, little lone many mavericks that would necessitate a team of mavericks? This leads us to the Lone Rangers Paradox.

Let's say there are two individual mavericks and for mavericks sake let's say John McCain and Sarah Palin. By definition, a maverick is a loner or a motherless calf (you pick but real mavericks pick the motherless calf). In case you conformed and picked the loner definition (which is the one I'm guessing the Republican ticket is running on), you might have some trouble wrapping your head around the idea of a team of mavericks.

A team of mavericks would be like having Kanye West and David Blaine make a rap album about street magic. Actually that could be pretty cool.

John McCain is more fickle than maverick, but Sarah Palin? She refused to conform to any labels during her recent interview with Brian Williams. Especially being labeled a feminist (unless it's an interview with Katie Couric in which she called herself a feminist and went into detail why). By conforming to a label just once, she could very well become the femme James Dean aka: