Blowing Smoke: Why the Right Keeps Serving Up Whack-Job Fantasies about the Plot to Euthanize Grandma, Outlaw Christmas, and Turn Junior into a Raging Homosexual Review
I really loved this book. It does a great job of giving you a framework through which to dissect the ridiculous arguments spewed on Fox and talk radio. It actually gets to be somewhat comical listening to conservative pundits once you realize that they use the exact same argument for virtually every issue:
1) Slippery slope. If we allow gay marriage, we'll have to allow human-toad marriage!
2) Conspiracy. George Soros, the ACLU, ACORN, and the "liberal elite" are beyond everything and have a secret plan to take away your rights!
3) Persecution as a mask for intolerance. I'm not homophobic, but if we legalize gay marriage, priests who refuse to marriage same-sex couples will go to jail. I'm standing up for the priests!
4) Zero sum. If we give more healthcare benefits to the poor, it will destroy healthcare for the rich. And its socialism.
It's also amazing to me to see how the same arguments have been used through history, whether its based on interracial marriage, communism, or equal rights. Arguments that we would consider ridiculous today ("I'm not racist. I want segregated schools because its best for both blacks and whites") are the basis for the flawed arguments we hear today.
Of course, tea partiers and hard-line conservatives won't read this book, but that's not the author's point. His point is to help everyday Americans (dare I say, "real Americans") de-construct persecution politics and either combat it or at least not fall under its spell. There's nothing wrong with Republican or conservative values, but there is something wrong with the way pundits are using racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and conspiracy theories to manipulate us for their own gain.
Blowing Smoke: Why the Right Keeps Serving Up Whack-Job Fantasies about the Plot to Euthanize Grandma, Outlaw Christmas, and Turn Junior into a Raging Homosexual Feature
- ISBN13: 9780306819193
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Blowing Smoke: Why the Right Keeps Serving Up Whack-Job Fantasies about the Plot to Euthanize Grandma, Outlaw Christmas, and Turn Junior into a Raging Homosexual Overview
- Television sensation Glenn Beck warns of White House plots to institute fascism, communism, and other terrifying “isms.”
- Radio titan Rush Limbaugh charges that a racist Obama regime encourages black schoolchildren to beat up white kids.
- Evangelical luminary James Dobson frets that Christians will be arrested for thought crimes and people will be allowed to marry donkeys.
- Protesters in knickers and colonial-style hats march on Washington with signs that order Hitler-like caricatures of President Obama to return to Kenya.
As madness reigns, pundits, politicians, and cab drivers debate the source of the hysteria. Some blame ignorance; some blame racism; some blame the economy.
After poring over mountains of political screeds and heedlessly subjecting himself to countless hours of Fox News, author Michael Wolraich discovered the secret formula that turns ordinary men and women into fire-breathing, smoke-blowing, right wing maniacs. It’s “persecution politics” . . again.
In Blowing Smoke, Wolraich documents, dissects, and deconstructs the myths that underlie the right’s growing reliance on the politics of persecution, from Joe McCarthy to the Tea Party movement. In the process, he delivers an original and compelling hypothesis with penetrating insight and blistering wit.
At turns hilarious, disturbing, and edifying, Blowing Smoke is a must-read account of modern American politics.
Available at Amazon Check Low Price !
Related Products
- Tear Down This Myth: The Right-Wing Distortion of the Reagan Legacy
- Reebok NFL Velocity Grip Football Gloves
- Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Baby Diapers, Stage 5 (Over 27 Lbs.), Case of 104 Diapers [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]
- Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
- Massenet: Manon
Customer Reviews
A Must-Read for Any Progressive - BK - New York, NY USA
Wolriach presents a well-researched, plainly stated case why Americans should be worried about the the so-called grass roots Tea Party, Fox News, and conservative talk radio. There's so much opinion out there on the TV and blogs, it's sometimes hard to separate truth from fiction. This book cuts through the fog of BS that is crowdiing out rational discourse. Where other people have opinions, this book is based on a deep examination of the historical roots of today's right wing backlash.
He Knows What's Going On - Marcus Aurelius - Brooklyn, NY United States
Our politics have become a bit... um... amped up lately, haven't they? Michael Wolraich could have taken it easy and just did a short and funny litany of extremist uterrings from the right. Instead, he took a more thoughtful approach. Why does our electorate believe things that are clearly false? Why is there so much misinformation in our politics? Wolraich brings the funny, don't worry about that, but this book as some enduring potential too. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to get beyond namecalling. A fun but serious book.
No comments:
Post a Comment