Portents of the Real: A Primer for Post-9/11 America - Understanding Modern US Society & Culture | Essential Reading for History Buffs, Political Science Students & Cultural Analysts

Willis has an exceptionally sharp eye for how the fears of Americans churned up by 9/11 are glossed over or disguised and thus mollified by elaborate symbolisms, specious hopes and optimism, and other exercises in delusion and denial. She not only has a sharp eye, but also ranges widely over popular culture for examples of this. Any reader will run across new instances of errant patriotism, infantile trust, political ignorance, and rational concerns mutated into mythic horrors. And for the generally familiar instances such as the Washington D. C. sniper murders and the anthrax scares, the author brings out new facets of these. Willis discloses what the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse reveals about aspects of American society; and sees the values (e. g., the exclusionary social ideal of the white Protestant male) and activities of the Ku Klux Klan mirrored in the posturing, mores, and policies of the Bush White House. Surely controversial, but Willis's critique raises issues the country will have to deal with positively if it is to have a role of world leadership and stop the disintegration of the domestic social fabric.