Fighting Back the Right: Reclaiming America from the Attack on Reason - Political Book for US Conservatives & Liberals - Perfect for Book Clubs, Debates & Political Discussions

Fighting Back the Right: Reclaiming America from the Attack on Reason by David Niose"Fighting Back the Right" is a compelling plea for secularists to take the lead in taking back America. This is a beautifully lucid narrative that emphasizes rational and human-centered policies in order to take back America. Legal Director of the American Humanist Association and author of the excellent book Nonbeliever Nation: The Rise of Secular Americans, David Niose provides readers with a treat. This powerful 256-page book includes the following fourteen chapters: 1. Corrupt Blessings, 2. Real-World Change, 3. Of People and Humans, 4. The Boomer Bust, 5. No Corporations in Foxholes, 6. "Our Son of a B****", 7. Fair to All, 8. New Traditions, 9. Same Old Deal, 10. A Higher Common Denominator, 11. Impossible Vigilance, 12. Sarah Palin's Massachusetts, 13. Taking Control, and 14. Reason for Winning.Positives:1. Well-written and well-cited book for the masses. Lucid and smooth prose.2. An important topic handled with expertise.3. Direct yet respectful tone throughout.4. Great use of history, sound logic and reasoning to make cogent points throughout.5. Very focused on the main theme of this book, "A central premise of this book is that we owe the dismal state of affairs in America to the failure of rational, human-centered public policy to gain traction--and that this failure is a direct result of a multipronged attack on reason."6. Discusses the roots of irrationality in our politics. "Religious fundamentalists frequently back policies that obstruct equality for women, gays, racial minorities, and religious minorities, as well as in economic anti-egalitarianism, where the support of religious conservatives enables policies favoring corporate interests and the wealthy and disfavoring the poor and middle class."7. Does a wonderful job of defining terms. "The word `freethought,' however, is not defined as giving license to believe any idea that is suggested but instead refers to a philosophical view that is more disciplined, holding that opinions should be based on reason, logic, and evidence."8. Makes a compelling case for change. "The American system needs major change, even radical change, but the modern progressive movement must operate within the framework of the real world, not theory."9. A look at how corporations became nonhuman "people". "The issue of corporate personhood vaulted to the front pages in 2010, when the Supreme Court ruled on Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, holding that certain political spending restrictions aimed at corporations violated First Amendment free speech protections. In fact, however, the problem of corporate personhood goes back to the nineteenth century, when the nature of corporations began to change radically, evolving from extremely rare and highly regulated legal entities to a common and largely unregulated business model." "If this is government "for the people," it's for corporate people."10. The Moral Majority and its impact.11. An interesting brief list of tyrannical regimes that we somehow backed.12. The facts about economic mobility.13. Eye-opening comments regarding corporate power. "Corporations have an interest in shaping society in a way that will maximize their pursuit of profit, and they will naturally try to do so unless stopped." "In essence, we have created a class structure whereby humans are second-class citizens in a society in which nonhuman people are the first-class."14. Rebuking the myth of supporting traditions and our heritage. "Far from adhering to tradition, today's conservative extremists are blazing a new trail that reflects the wishes not of the founders, but of the corporate entities that now control the economy and, for practical purposes, the political system."15. Correcting right-wing semantics. "In right-wing semantics, the principle of liberty is often used to justify public policy that leaves corporations unregulated and the rich untaxed while dismantling social safety nets."16. The rise of Elizabeth Warren. "Warren was seen as the obvious person to lead the newly created bureau, but financial institutions, the GOP, and even some Democrats with Wall Street connections (such as Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner) opposed her. As a result she never led the agency, but revenge was sweet when she was elected to the Senate to sit among the lawmakers and power brokers who had obstructed her nomination."17. Excellent examples that clearly show the conflict of interest between corporations and society. "As if we needed more proof that privatized prisons are a bad idea, consider the scandal that became known as `kids for cash,' in which two Pennsylvania judges were convicted in 2011 in a scheme to funnel children to two for-profit prisons in return for kickbacks."18. Makes a compelling case for a new strategy. "Thus, the first step in any strategy for long-term progressive success in America must be to educate the population about the nature of corporations and to initiate a discussion about their proper role in society." "The Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling made one fact very clear: Americans will never control corporate power without a constitutional amendment."19. Presents five key strategies to long-term success.20. Well-cited book with plenty of notes and a formal bibliography.Negatives:1. Lack of visual supplementary material that would have added more value to this wonderfully written book.2. Perhaps a tad repetitive but you leave with no doubt on what the main points are.In summary, this is an excellent book. There is a direct correlation between how much I like a book and how much I highlighted it; and I highlighted this book a lot. In a lucid and direct manner, David Niose makes a compelling case that secularists need to take the lead in retaking America from the right and provides guidelines on how best to achieve such goals. I really enjoyed this book, I highly recommend it!Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily DickinsonFurther recommendations: "Nonbeliever Nation: The Rise of Secular Americans" by the same author, "Attack of the Theocrats: How the Religious Right Harms Us All--and What We Can Do about It" by Sean Faircloth, "God's Defenders: What They Believe and Why They Are Wrong" by S.T. Joshi, "The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science- and Reality" by Chris Mooney, "Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party" by Max Blumenthal, "Society without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment" by Phil Zuckerman, "Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless" Great Christina, "Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson" by Jennifer Hecht,"The Conservative Assault on the Constitution" by Erwin Chemerinsky, "Why the Religious Right Is Wrong About Separation of Church and State" by Rob Boston and "American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America" by Chris Hedges.