“Trees cause more pollution than cars.” Ronald Reagan, 1981. Just in time for the 2016 election! With every great social issue America has faced: slavery, women’s suffrage, desegregation, the environment, interracial marriage, one side has always been wrong: the conservatives. Drawing from the Congressional record, the media, and the campaign trail, this book examines American conservatism in its own words. You’ll see how the beliefs and policies of yesterday’s conservatives sound odious and shameful to us now. You’ll also see the dark undercurrent of violence that has always accompanied protecting wealth and power. You get a powerful argument about how ignorant and vile future Americans will see this election year’s conservatives like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.
Clever and cogent, this book will be a conversation … Clever and cogent, this book will be a conversation starter, be you conservative, liberal, or numbed out. Substantive and silly by turns, there is little to laugh about in the range of quotes and history Ting assembles here. Nevertheless, laugh you will and the laughter itself will be transformative, revealing the tender points and vulnerabilities of participatory democracy, citizenship, and privilege. Bravo.
Even better, his book then lets America’s historic record reenforce … Douglas Ting’s title asks an important, provocative, and timely question. Even better, his book then lets America’s historic record reenforce that question with forceful, elegant irony.Why ARE conservatives always wrong?This is a question that every American — conservatives especially — should take seriously. For that reason, Ting’s book is one that every engaged American should dare to put smack dab on the coffee table.
Deceptively Powerful Ting has achieved something very important here, and very sneaky. His premise is deceptively simple, and one could be easily forgiven for mistaking this as liberal bait in an election year (just take a look at the title and the cover). That would be an unfortunate assumption. Assigning a conservative quote to each page, invariably accompanied by an older white male, Ting tidily assembles collections of once-considered thoughtful arguments in favor of slavery, male-only suffrage and other…