At Thanksgiving I wrote about Sara Palin’s new book, Going Rogue, and said that I planned to read it over the holiday break. That brought quite a response from many of you. Now, I want to let you know what I found out.

The good news is that I finished the book at all – it’s 400 pages! But it’s a quick and easy read. And it’s worth reading – I urge you to buy your own copy or get one from the library. But there’s more – much more.

All of us are shaped by our childhood and surroundings and Palin is no exception. She presents herself as an avid outdoors-woman, a person of the land and water, a no-frills individual. She even says she was a nerd all through school. She wears these attributes proudly. But at the same time she seems to leave little room for others, their background, and the things they value. In the book, you get very little sense that she’s thought much about, or appreciates, the rest of America – people who live in urban Detroit, suburban New Jersey, or southern California. As I flipped through the pages, I kept wondering: Does she see and hear all Americans, or just those who subscribe to her frame of reference?

At root here is an individual’s sense of their role in society. Is it simply to divvy up America, or find ways to bring people together? Is it to search for threads of common ground, or further tear the already tattered fabric of society? Is it to build something with others, or simply make something in your own image?

Then there is her discussion of policy – about which she said little considering this was a 400-page book. Yes, there were repeated references to natural resources and pipelines and foreign countries and such; but there was no actual discussion of them. For instance, I wanted to know, beyond her childhood experiences, what formed her beliefs, what does she struggle with, and how does she come to various conclusions. Or, how does she believe her “position” will address people’s real concerns, and help to fulfill their aspirations? There’s no sense of meeting a “test” of relevance to others. Indeed, repeatedly she came back to the phrase “common sense.” At one level I get this – she seems to be saying, “Let’s be real, let’s be clear, let’s tell it like it is.” Okay, good enough. But, tell me, exactly what is IT? And how did you get there, and why, and how will that help people?

There are lots of scores settled in this book, too. Palin repeatedly casts aspersions at those she feels have opposed her or caused her harm. She seems to believe that any problems in her past were the result of campaign aides, the news media, other political leaders, and on the list goes. Supposedly, these opponents forced her to take leave from a political race, an appointed office, and elected office. Take leave or quit?

At times Palin strikes me as having a similar draw as Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan, perhaps Ralph Nader, among others – people who help many Americans make sense of the world, reduce things to manageable bits and pieces, and who speak in clear, declarative language. Maybe some people want to condemn Palin for her views and positions; I don’t.

To me, the challenge goes something like this: How can any of us articulate a clear sense of direction that gives people faith that we can create hope and change in our society? And how can we do this by calling forth our best tendencies, not our worst? After writing the Thanksgiving blog I received a lot if emails and phone calls. Most people told me I was crazy to spend Thanksgiving break reading Palin’s book, and nuts to think that they would do the same.

But I’m still glad I read the book. And I still hope that you do, too.