America by Heart
Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag
SARAH PALIN
Dedication
For Trig.
I’m glad you’re here.
“If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.”
—THOMAS PAINE, FOUNDING FATHER
Contents
Dedication
Introduction:
An American Awakening
One
We the People
Two
Why They Serve
Three
America the Exceptional
Four
Raising (Small-r) Republicans
Photo Insert
Five
The Rise of the Mama Grizzlies
Six
Are We Really the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For?
Seven
The Indispensable Support of Freedom
Eight
I Hear America Praying
Nine
Our North Star
Conclusion:
Commonsense Constitutional Conservatism
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Sarah Palin
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher
Introduction
An American Awakening
“Do you love your freedom?!”
The words rush out of me. It’s a rhetorical question, of course. No one could look at this crowd of rowdy patriots waving American flags and chanting, “USA! USA!” and not know the answer. What’s most amazing is that it’s April 14, the day before Tax Day. We’re in Boston, the home of the original American tax revolt. And everyone is in such a good mood. The crowd roars in the affirmative in answer to my question. And I look out on a sea of my fellow Americans: grandmas, college students, moms, dads, kids, veterans, people in business suits—even an aging hippie or two.
“If you love your freedom, thank a vet.” I ask all the men and women who have served or are serving our country in uniform to raise their hands. They wave, and the crowd explodes. “God bless you guys! We thank you. You’re the reason we can be here today. We salute you!”
The mainstream media has been working overtime to portray these Americans as angry and bigoted. But I look out and see happy faces—faces of all ages, genders, and hues. The Stars and Stripes is everywhere, rippling in the spring breeze from outstretched arms and attached to wheelchairs and strollers. Dozens of yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” flags glow in the morning sun.
But it’s the hand-painted, homemade signs that say it all. They’re everywhere. I see a young girl holding one that says, “STOP Spending Money I Haven’t Earned Yet!” I see a young man holding a placard that says simply, “I’m Privileged to Be an American.” One guy’s sign jokes, “I Can See November from My House!” And an older lady holds up a copy of the Constitution with the message “When All Else Fails, Read the Instructions.”
And my personal favorite, held by a mom with a stroller: “My Kid Is Not Your ATM.”
What honest, heartfelt sentiments, I think. These people aren’t an angry mob—they’re Americans. Why do some feel the need to demonize them?
And then I see them, on the fringes of the crowd: the professionally printed signs held aloft by a few counter-protestors. What a difference. Unlike the humor, color, and variety of the hand-painted signs, the printed signs are all the same (with the exception of one guy, who, in an attempt at humor—or at least distraction—is holding up a life-size photo of Levi Johnston’s centerfold). Written on those signs are the gripes of Washington special interest groups. The signs are held up by their hired stooges. And suddenly it comes to me: This is the central political struggle facing America today, being played out right here. With the exception of a few crackpots, the professionally printed signs all want something more from government—more for their union bosses, more for their special interest group, more for this government program or that.
In short, the people holding the uniformly printed signs have their hands out; Washington is spending away our kids’ future and they still want more. But the people holding the homemade signs are the ones paying the bills. If the mainstream media wasn’t busy insinuating that they’re all racists and haters, it would have to acknowledge this fact. So the media keeps the coverage based on these patriots’ motives. But what these good, honest Americans are asking for isn’t ugly and dangerous. It’s right there, on their signs and their flags and their faces, young and old and black and white: They want their country back.
I mention to the crowd that, this year, the Tax Day that matters isn’t April 15, but April 9. That’s the day the average American worker finally earns enough to pay his or her federal and state taxes, which means that the average American spends the first ninety-nine days of the year working for the government. The crowd’s roar of response tells me that these Americans are feeling overtaxed by Washington. But I can tell that it isn’t just high taxes that have brought these Americans here. Something bigger is going on, something much bigger.
My family and I have spent a lot of the past year traveling the country. I’ve visited dozens of cities in more than half of the fifty states on a tour for my first book, Going Rogue, helping out candidates running for office, and promoting pro-American causes. My visit to Boston was the next-to-last stop of the Tea Party Express in a forty-four-city, three-week tour. I was there when the tour began, in the desert sands of Searchlight, Nevada, when more than ten thousand citizens turned out to take back their government. And I was there in Boston for one last rally before the tour ended on Tax Day in (where else, when the issue is “taking back our government”?) Washington, D.C.
Along the way, I’ve talked to literally thousands of Americans from all across the country. I’ve met with folks in their living rooms, at their businesses, and at boisterous, country-music-jammin’ rallies. What’s more, hundreds of people have sent me books, magazine articles, snippets of speeches, and their own comments with different takes on America.
What I’ve learned from all this traveling and meeting and talking and reading is this: the spark of patriotic indignation that inspired the Americans who fought for our freedom and independence has been ignited once again! Americans are reawakening to the ideas, the principles, the habits of the heart, and disciplines of the mind that made America great. This isn’t a political awakening. It’s an American awakening. It’s coming from real people—not politicos or inside-the-Beltway types. These are the Americans who grow our food, teach our children, run our small businesses, help out those less fortunate, and fight our wars. They’ve seen what is happening in America, so they’ve decided to get involved. They feel like they’re losing something good and fundamental about their country, so they’ve decided to take it back, because they love this country and are proud to be Americans!
One of my first clues to how real and how consequential this awakening is came from my own, independent-minded family. My uncle Ron and aunt Kate are businesspeople in Washington State. They’re not particularly political; they’d never been intimately involved with any party or movement. So when I found out they had attended Tea Party meetings, in the very, very early stages of this “people’s movement,” I knew it was time to ask: Who are these participants? And I realized that the
Tea Partiers are my uncle Ron and aunt Kate: normal Americans who haven’t necessarily been involved in national politics before but are turned on to this movement because they love America and they don’t like what they see happening to her. They’re so concerned about the path we’re on that they’ve decided to get involved. And believe me; they may not have done this two years ago. But they’re doing it today.
Just like at the rally in Boston, taxing and spending are the most frequent subjects of Tea Partiers’ signs and speeches. But Americans are coming to understand that the irresponsible fiscal path we’re on is just a symptom of a more serious disease. People approach me all the time to tell me they’re worried that we’re losing what’s best about our country. President Obama and the current Washington crowd have promised us a “fundamental transformation of America.” The Left seems to think that there’s something wrong with America—not something wrong with our policies or our government, but something wrong with our country and what we value. So they’re hell-bent on changing it. They don’t seem to share the timeless values that so many of us hold dear: our belief in our God-given freedom, our faith in free markets, and our certainty that the truths of our American founding are the way to a more perfect union.
A friend sent me a perfect illustration of this mind-set. It was a copy of the U.S. Constitution that was purchased with this warning label printed on the back: “This book is a product of its time and does not reflect the same values as it would if it were written today. Parents might wish to discuss with their children how views on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and interpersonal relations have changed since this book was written before allowing them to read this classic work.”
That’s right: a warning label attached to the Constitution of the United States! It’s outrageous, but in a sense it’s a perfect reflection of the thinking of those who believe America needs a “fundamental transformation.” They believe that the ideas of limited government and personal liberty that are contained in documents like the Constitution are dangerous and outdated. They honestly believe that our founding ideas and documents are obstacles to their vision of America. The Constitution doesn’t reflect their values because it is a document that fundamentally constrains government. So they work to get around those constraints. They put warning labels on those constraints.
But here is what you’ll learn if you’ll take the time to go out and see this big, beautiful country: Americans still “cling” (to use a word that’s been used before) to our founding values. We don’t want a fundamental transformation. America has problems—real ones. People are hurting and out of work. Families are struggling to pay their bills and save for the future. But what’s wrong with America isn’t that we’re America. Our country doesn’t need to change to get us back on track. It’s our leadership and its political focus that need to change.
It’s not necessary to participate in a multistate listening tour to feel the economic anxiety in the country. It should be obvious what’s motivating people like my uncle Ron and aunt Kate to come out and speak their minds: but it isn’t just fear about losing jobs and homes; it’s much more than that.
We’re worried about our families, and whether as a country we are honoring the role and responsibility of mothers and fathers. We’re worried that we’re not protecting the innocence and safety of children. And we’re worried that their future opportunities are being thwarted by shortsighted political decisions being made today.
We’re concerned about seeing that our laws are applied, equally and fairly, to everyone.
We’re worried that government and big business are in bed together; that the little guy no longer has a fair shot in America.
We’re concerned that in our quest to have freedom of religion, we are becoming a country of freedom from religion.
And we’re worried that our leaders don’t believe what we believe: that America is an exceptional nation, the shining city on a hill that Ronald Reagan believed it is. Our current leaders like to focus on America’s faults and apologize for her shortcomings—both real and perceived—to dictators and would-be dictators abroad. We know our country isn’t perfect, but we also know that Abraham Lincoln was right when he called it “the last best hope of earth.” We want leaders who share this fundamental belief. We deserve such leaders.
These are the concerns of Tea Party Americans and anyone else who understands how dangerous it is to erode our Constitution’s foundational principles.
I’ve noticed something since I’ve been out on the road. I give a lot of speeches and talk about a lot of things. I talk about how Washington spending is sticking our kids and grandkids with the tab for politicians’ irresponsibility. I talk about our need for energy independence. And okay, I’ll admit it: I talk a lot about Todd and my wonderful kids and my beautiful grandbaby. But the thing that gets the most enthusiastic response—the words that get people on their feet and cheering—is when I talk about America’s founding ideas and documents. Just one mention of the Constitution and audiences go wild with appreciation for our Charter of Liberty.
I think I’ve figured out the reason why. I have a kind of internal compass that keeps me sane and grounded when the media attack dogs bark and the days on the road get long. No surprise, I keep my internal compass pointed due north, to where my roots are. My family and my faith are my greatest sources of support. They are my true north.
I’ve thought and read a lot more about what it means to be an American since I was given the honor of being nominated to help lead her in 2008. What I’ve come to realize is that, as a country, our true north is the values and principles on which we were founded—those values that are under attack today. When times are uncertain—when we’re worried about the direction our country is headed in, as we are today—we can always turn to these fundamental principles. Truth be told, they’re old ideas, not just the notion that our government should be limited, but also that all men and women are equal before the law; that life is sacred; and that God is the source of our rights, not government. The wonder of America is that these old ideas created a nation that is always new, always innovating and moving forward. That is the miracle of America.
And the source of this miracle can be found in those “dangerous” documents—our “Charters of Liberty”—the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Most of us studied these documents in school, but I’ve noticed that many Americans are turning to them for inspiration and guidance today. At Tea Party events, people pass out copies of the Constitution like candy. And when I’ve spoken to other groups and attended their events, I’ve noticed that more and more have made defending our founding principles a main part of their mission. Americans who believe in the sanctity of life and advocate for the unborn, for example, no longer simply call themselves “pro-life.” Now they’re “pro-life and pro-Constitution.” Folks who care about the environment aren’t just “pro-conservation” anymore. Now they’re “pro-conservation and pro-Constitution.” And those Americans clinging to their guns? They’re not just “pro–Second Amendment.” They’re “pro” the whole darn thing.
I’m not the first American to notice this, of course. A friend recently sent me a speech given by one of our most overlooked presidents, Calvin Coolidge. Silent Cal had it nailed way back in 1926. Here’s what he said on the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence:
Amid all the clash of conflicting interests, amid all the welter of partisan politics, every American can turn for solace and consolation to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States with the assurance and confidence that those two great charters of freedom and justice remain firm and unshaken. Whatever perils appear, whatever dangers threaten, the Nation remains secure in the knowledge that the ultimate application of the law of the land will provide an adequate defense and protection.
Americans are awakening again to the wisdom of
President Coolidge and that sweet old lady at the Boston Tea Party rally holding up a copy of the Constitution: “When All Else Fails, Read the Instructions.”
When we take the time to actually read them, the instructions for America are pretty straightforward. They are the truths of our founding and more. They are the principles that have made our country great—keeping our government limited, our markets free, and our families strong. But the thing is, these principles, like all fundamental human truths, are not self-reinforcing. They have to be remembered, cherished, and taught to new generations of Americans.
Moms know better than most that we are all born unformed and fallen. Any parent of a two-year-old knows her child’s potential for both good and bad. And every parent of a high school graduate or a young soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine knows the sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with raising a good and decent child. Molding the crooked timber of humanity requires the grace of God, the patience of caring parents, and the dedication of good teachers. Creating a great nation from the diverse peoples who make America requires a strong sense of who we are and what we believe in. We have to know this, remember it, and teach it.
We have to know what makes America exceptional today more than ever because it is under assault today more than ever.
When I was preparing for my debate with then-vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden during the 2008 campaign I came across a quote from Ronald Reagan that perfectly expresses our need to preserve and protect American values. I quickly memorized it so I could use it for my closing statement, knowing that seventy million viewers would listen and learn from Reagan’s wise words:
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States when men were free.