PAGE TWENTY

Molly, Rufus, Sarah, and Heather

At the top of p. 20 Sarah, as she wraps up her account of the day that her family--and we--almost lost her (see the commentary on p. 19), manifests yet again her droll sense of humor. She says:

"My main heartache was that I had taken a rare Hershey's chocolate bar with me, planning to graze on it while I sheep-gazed. But by the time Dad woke me, my coveted candy had melted into an inedible mess."

Behold all the literary merits of even these few funny lines! (And these words are not even going to constitute the principal subject of the commentary on this page!!)

First, and in passing, note well the proper intonation that must be employed in reading the first few words aloud. We must read this, "MY main heartache..." Sarah has just recounted her FAMILY'S heartache when she vanished in the snow for those agonizing few hours; now she turns, with a bit of tongue-in-cheek" humor, to HER OWN heartache.

The proper emphasis on "MY" establishes the connection with and contrast to the previous paragraph; it binds the whole passage together into a harmonious whole. Hence, if someone were to read this as follows, "My MAIN heartache," or "My main HEARTACHE," he or she would undermine and weaken the force and unity of the passage.

This may seem like a trivial matter. It is not. Reading aloud, with the proper stress and emphasis on words derived from the context of a passage, is an essential art for any free society. Let me add that the study of the Classical languages, Latin and Greek, helps not only with the understanding of English grammar, but with the art of English elocution!

Now, let us consider the literary art contained in these few lines!

First, note the use of the word "rare" about the candy bar. Clearly, Sarah and her siblings did not get to enjoy chocolate every day; still, the use of the word "rare," which would more properly be applied to objects of great value, is humorously attached to the poor old Hershey's bar. We may describe this as a species of hyperbole, rhetorical exaggeration. Its effect is to make us chuckle!!

Next, note the double-edged effect of the verb "graze." To put the matter succinctly, Sarah associates herself with the sheep, both in sense and in sound. By applying the term "graze," which properly applies to the eating (by sheep, etc.) of growing grass/herbage, by applying the term to herself, Sarah links herself to the sheep. Also, she says that she intended to "graze" while she "gazed." The similarity of sound completes the jesting joining of herself with the sheep!!

Finally, and briefly, note the nice alliteration of the sounds of "coveted candy."

The very juxtaposition, to wrap this up, of the horror of Sarah's parents when they thought she was gone forever; of their relief at finding her; and of the funny picture of a sleepy eight-year-old with melted chocolate all over her, produces a scene of incredible power and pathos: so sad, so beautiful, and so funny...all at the same time.

And this is the lady who, her vile enemies like chris matthews, et al., claim, cannot even read, much less write. Mein Himmel!!!!!

Next, we may note in passing yet another wonderful tribute by Sarah to her marvelous dad (and, BTW, even this should not be taken for granted: Think of the kids today who are ungrateful to their parents; indifferent to them; even hostile and filled with hatred towards them--the tribute of filial piety is beautiful to behold; its opposite is ugly and horrible to witness!!)

Anyway, Sarah says:

"Every spring, Dad would bring his sixth-grade class up to the park on the Alaska Railroad for a weeklong field trip to experience what they'd studied all year about animals, geography, geology, and the environment. I was happy to tag along and appreciated that what his students learned during the school year in Mr. Heath's classroom was what I got to learn every day from Mr. Heath, my dad."

Verba ipsa loquuntur

...loosely, "the words speak for themselves"!!

Finally, towards the middle and bottom of the page, Sarah says:

"...My parents instilled in me that appreciation; we were not to take for granted the wonder of God's creation.

"To this day, we still call each other even in the middle of the night to report an awe-inspiring aurora borealis display. We never tire of the dazzling Northern Lights, shimmering like the hem of Heaven. So it's not uncommon to get a midnight call from friends or family: 'Quick! Look out the window! They're dancing!'"

Guys, my gut reaction to this power of ever-green and ever-young wonder and delight in the Lord and the Lord's works is to say, "Wow, they are so alive, so real, so true this lovely family from The Great Land, The Last Frontier, The Land of Seward's Dreams!! Behold the deepest bonds of blood and affection between them all. These are the people elected by the Lord, as David was chosen, people after the Lord's own heart!!!"

Let us rise up, then, America, and shout from the mountain tops:

Away with obama!!

Away with Chicago thugs!!

Away with filth!!

Away with legalized theft!!

Away with tenured traitors!!

Away with corruption!!

Away with slander!!

Away with manipulation!!

Away with lies!!

Away with treason!!

Away with treason!!

Away with treason!!!!!!

We will have NO MORE of creatures like obama, ayres, van jones, pelosi, reid, boxer, kagan, and the whole bought-and-paid-for filthy crowd of them that infest government; infest the media; infest academia!

AWAY WITH THEM!!

WE WILL HAVE, if the Lord in His Mercy will grant it to us, WE WILL HAVE THE BEAUTIFUL PALIN FAMILY FOR OUR FIRST FAMILY; FOR OUR MODELS; FOR OUR EXEMPLARS; FOR OUR LEADERS!!!!

ARISE, AMERICA: FOR GOD, FOR COUNTRY, FOR SARAH!!!!!!


Read It For Yourself:

Read It For Yourself:

Other Great Sarah Books:

Other Great Sarah Books:

Palin Essentials:

Palin Essentials:

Credits:

All sidebar photos are from Wikimedia. I have tried to post all royalty-free images or to get permission, but in a few cases I could not locate the original source of a photograph or find a way to ask permission.


Contact info: bbrianus@gmail.com.

Other Great Going Rogue Reviews:

Jedediah Bila:

"Palin’s inviting first-person narration that is sometimes whimsical, often confident, and always patriotic...Going Rogue is truly one of those reads in which you put the book down after your eyes graze the final lines and you somehow feel like the writer is someone you’ve known all your life."
John Ziegler:

"I was simply blown away by Going Rogue on almost every level. For many reasons, this is by far the best book and greatest literary achievement by a political figure in my lifetime..."
Brigadier General Anthony J. Tata:
"Her book washes away all doubts that any reader might have had about her readiness to be president. She comes across as exceptionally bright, dedicated, and passionate about public service. Her moral compass is strong, pointing true North in this case. And she has a wicked sense of humor."
Don Surber:
"Conservatives know why Palin is still standing — and standing taller today than those who tried to bring her down. What does not kill you makes you stronger. Thank you, Tina Fey."

Sarah Palin is Coming to Town

Review by Stanley Fish:

When I walked into the Strand Bookstore in Manhattan last week, I headed straight for the bright young thing who wore an “Ask Me” button, and asked her to point me to the section of the store where I might find Sarah Palin’s memoir, “Going Rogue: An American Life.” She looked at me as if I had requested a copy of “Mein Kampf” signed in blood by the author....

A few days later...I had begun reading Palin’s book, and while I wouldn’t count myself a fan in the sense of being a supporter, I found it compelling and very well done....

First, the art. The book has an architectonic structure that is built around a single moment, the moment when Palin receives a call from John McCain inviting her to be the vice-presidential candidate of the Republican party. When we first hear about the call it is as much a surprise to us as it was (at least as reported) to her, because for six pages she has been recounting a wonderful family outing at the Alaska State Fair. When her phone rings, she hopes it might be a call from her son Track, a soldier soon to deploy to Iraq, but “it was Senator John McCain asking if I wanted to help him change history.”

And that’s the last we hear of it for 200 pages. In between we hear a lot about Wasilla, high school, basketball, college, marriage, children, Down syndrome, Alaska politics, the environment, a daughter’s pregnancy. The re-entry of John McCain into the narrative on page 208 introduces Palin’s account of the presidential campaign and its aftermath, especially her decision to resign the governorship before the end of her term....

Paradoxically, the effect of the neatly spaced references to the call is to de-emphasize it as a dramatic moment. It is presented not as a climax, but as an interruption of matters more central to Palin’s abiding concerns — her family, Alaska’s prosperity, energy policy. (She loves to rehearse the kind of wonkish details we associate with Hillary Clinton, whom she admires.)

Indeed, it is a feature of this narrative that events we might have expected to be foregrounded are elided or passed over. Palin introduced herself to the nation with a powerful, electrifying speech accepting McCain’s invitation to join the ticket. It gets half a sentence (“I gave my speech”)....

The only event that receives an extended discussion is her resignation. It is important to her because as an act it reflects on her integrity, and she has to be sure (as she eventually was) that she was doing it for the right reasons.

Resigning was a moral act for which she was responsible. The vice-presidential candidacy just happened to her; her account of it reads like an extended “what-I-did-on-my summer-and fall-vacation” essay.

For many politicians, family life is sandwiched in between long hours in public service. Palin wants us to know that for her it is the reverse. Political success is an accident that says nothing about you. Success as a wife, mother and citizen says everything...

I find the voice undeniably authentic...It is the voice of small-town America, with its folk wisdom, regional pride, common sense, distrust of rhetoric (itself a rhetorical trope), love of country and instinctive (not doctrinal) piety.

It says, here are some of the great things that have happened to me, but they are not what makes my life great and American. (“An American life is an extraordinary life.”) It says, don’t you agree with me that family, freedom and the beauties of nature are what sustain us?

And it also says, vote for me next time. For it is the voice of a politician, of the little girl who thought she could fly, tried it, scraped her knees, dusted herself off and “kept walking.”

In the end, perseverance, the ability to absorb defeat without falling into defeatism, is the key to Palin’s character. It’s what makes her run in both senses of the word and it is no accident that the physical act of running is throughout the book the metaphor for joy and real life. Her handlers in the McCain campaign wouldn’t let her run (a mistake, I think, even at the level of photo-op), no doubt because they feared another opportunity to go “off script,” to “go rogue.”

But run she does (and falls, but so what?), and when it is all over and she has lost the vice presidency and resigned the governorship, she goes on a long run and rehearses in her mind the eventful year she has chronicled. And as she runs, she achieves equilibrium and hope: “We’ve been through amazing days, and really, there wasn’t one thing to complain about. I feel such freedom, such hope, such thankfulness for our country, a place where nothing is hopeless.”

The message is clear. America can’t be stopped. I can’t be stopped. I’ve stumbled and fallen, but I always get up and run again. Her political opponents, especially those who dismissed Ronald Reagan before he was elected, should take note. Wherever you are, you better watch out. Sarah Palin is coming to town.

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