I got a letter in the mail last week. It was from Sarah Palin. I wasn’t expecting it.  After all, I don’t even know her.  But, nonetheless, there it was, lying in my mailbox, a letter from Wasilla, Alaska, the office of Sarah Palin. I’ve gotten mail from lots of famous politicians in my time: George W. Bush, John McCain, George H.W. Bush, and even from Ronald Reagan himself. But all of them had two things in common:  1) They had no idea who I was, and, 2) They were asking me for money.

So I opened this letter expecting a plea for much-needed funds to advance the TEA Party agenda or to help stop the Obama socialist juggernaut from sweeping across the land like a swarm of locusts, consuming everything moral and good in its path. But Sarah from Wasilla surprised me. It was a personal letter. It said:

“Dear Skip, Thank you so much for the copies of your books and for your generosity. Todd and I were happy to receive your encouraging message and we appreciate your thoughtfulness for taking the time to write. God bless you. Thank you again and all the best to you and your family. Sincerely, Sarah Palin”

The signature was in blue ink and very impressive. I could tell she was an “A” student in school. My wife is like that too.

But there it was, a personal letter from the most popular/notorious woman in America. It was short, but still, it was personal.

As you know, I’m the Founder of the Second Amendment March, and I had written Sarah asking her to speak at our event on April 19th, 2010 in Washington D.C. The letter was hand-delivered to her house by our Alaska State Coordinator along with signed copies of all my books. (That’s right. I was sucking up to her. I figured it couldn’t hurt.)

I’m a die-hard conservative, and when I think of Sarah Palin, I shiver with both excitement and dread. You see, I read Sarah’s book Going Rogue and was very impressed. Here was a real person, a real American, with real God-fearing American values and she was in politics to boot. It excites me because I want to believe she is the real thing. It terrifies me because few people ever go to DC without being corrupted. And America just can’t afford to have another hero go bad.

I think about Sarah Palin and I wonder. Who is she? Who is the real Sarah Palin? Is she the airheaded ditz depicted by Tina Fey and the rest of the mainstream media, or is she real? I want to think the latter. I want to think she’s the strong mother who holds Trig in her arms and kisses his forehead. I want to think she reads bedtime stories to her daughter, Piper. I like to think she’s still madly in love with Todd and her marriage is healthy and strong. The hopeful part of me wants to think all those things.

But…She’s a politician… isn’t she?

I’ve always subscribed to that old adage:
Question: “How do you know when a politician is lying?
Answer: “His lips are moving.”
But is Sarah different?

Every two weeks I meet with my Second Amendment March State Coordinators via teleconference and we plan and talk about the April 19th event. A few weeks ago we were talking about the possibility of Sarah speaking at our march and I asked Len Betts, our Alaska Coordinator, if he’d seen her. The conversation went something like this:

Skip: “Len, have you seen Sarah Palin lately?”
Len: “Sure, saw her at the grocery store just yesterday.”
Skip: “What! You’re kidding me! Sarah Palin buys her own groceries!”
Len:  “Of course. Sarah hasn’t changed. She’s still just like the rest of us. She’s not all snooty and she still talks to people just like she always did.”

I breathed an inward sigh of relief and that conversation brought me hope. But for how long? Everyone knows that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
But still…there’s that hopeful part of me that wants to believe that Sarah Palin is different. I want to believe she’s smart. I want to believe she loves her family. I want to believe that she is real. And, most importantly, I want to believe that once the people put their trust in her that she won’t change. I want to believe she’s a servant.

A few weeks ago I watched and listened as Glenn Beck interviewed her. Glenn shared the same healthy skepticism and hope that I did. I think a lot of people are like that. We want to believe, but we’ve been burned so many times before. Power does something to people. It either makes them better, or it makes them worse.

But I’m not responsible for what the rest of the country believes. I just have to figure this out for myself. What does Skip Coryell believe?

I believe that Sarah Palin is real. But the million-dollar question is: can she stay that way? For now, I’m filled with faith and hope. But then, I also believe in duty and honor and the strong serving the weak. I believe in Camelot.

Sarah from Wasilla — don’t let me down.

Editors Note: Please visit secondamendmentmarch.com to get information for the national march and your local march. The national march is April 19th. – Thanks!