LOVE YOUR ENEMIES: HOW DECENT PEOPLE CAN SAVE AMERICA from the CULTURE of CONTEMPT (audiobook) by Arthur C. Brooks

Published by HarperAudio in March of 2019.
Read by Will Damron.
Duration: 6 hours, 55 minutes.
Unabridged.

Arthur C. Brooks was the President of the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute from 2008 to shortly after the publication of this book in 2019. 

Brooks is deeply worried with the present level of political discourse in America. Debates where the candidates just insult one another. Derogatory comments rather than actual proposals. Look at your typical Facebook political argument. Anonymous posters with names like "Trump_2020_Forever" arguing with "Trumpsters_Suck" and using terms like "libtards" and "conservacunts" while they insist that the other side is nothing but a literal bunch of communists and Nazis.

This is getting us nowhere.

And that is his point in Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt.

What we are showing each other is contempt. He quotes a couples' counselor that he can work with all kinds of marital struggles - infidelity, anger, distance, physical issues. But, one thing he can't work with is contempt. If the two partners are rolling their eyes at one another and dismissing everything the other one says, the relationship is over.

The problem is, unlike a failed marriage, one half of the entire country can't just go off and find a new political partner to work with. We have a two party system. We need to work together. We are literally stuck with each other. 

The author, Arthur C. Brooks

Both sides need each other's ideas and both sides need to know that the other side is coming at the problem of governing the country in a sincere, meaningful way. They may have different points of emphasis but they can still work together. One of the more interesting chapters of this book explores the sociological differences between conservatives and liberals. It also shows how they can frame problems in such a way that the other side understands where they are coming from.

In the end, Brooks is advocating for a simple application of the Golden Rule - treat the other side the way you'd like to be treated. He's not saying that you shouldn't advocate for your ideas - he is saying that both sides need to listen, not be rude and look for ways to work together.

I highly recommend this book.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: LOVE YOUR ENEMIES: HOW DECENT PEOPLE CAN SAVE AMERICA from the CULTURE of CONTEMPT by Arthur C. Brooks.

Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism by Arthur C. Brooks

One of the most interesting and profound books I've read this year

Published in 2006 by Basic Books.

I'm a high school teacher that founded and sponsored the local Key Club (secular volunteer organization) at my high school for 7 years. My wife has been a professional volunteer coordinator for more than 15 years, in both religious and secular settings. There is nothing in these statistics that contradict our personal experiences.

So, what does Brooks say in Who Really Cares? "The conventional wisdom runs like this: Liberals are charitable because they advocate government redistribution of money in the name of social justice; conservatives are uncharitable because they oppose these policies. But note the sleight of hand: Government spending, according to the logic, is a form of charity. Let us be clear: Government spending is not charity. It is not voluntary sacrifice by individuals." (p. 20)

Brooks marshals a horde of facts to prove the point that the more politically liberal the individual, the community, the state, the country or the continent, the less likely that the individual, community, state, country or continent will be to donate to private charity in any form. Meaning, if a state voted for Bush in 2004, it generally gave more than a state that went for Kerry. The United States gives light years more to private charity than the nanny state European Union.

Why?

Generally speaking, it's because the general mindset is that there should be a government program to take care of that. This attitude affects volunteerism rates, monetary giving and even in-kind donations like giving blood or donating items to Goodwill. They are even more likely to give back extra change when the cashier makes a mistake.

Brooks breaks it down by income levels, religious affiliation, political party affiliation and even by race. The most determining factor is political affiliation and one party is way more religious than the other one so Republicans, specifically Conservative Republicans who go to church on a regular basis are far more likely to give money, time or in-kind goods than anyone else. Religious Democrats give more than any other sort of Democrat and more than many types of Republicans. The most generous of all? Working poor Conservatives - the old Reagan Democrats. Ironically, welfare payments suppress giving. People who were formerly working poor gave less when they accepted welfare, even if their income levels were comparable.

Brooks is quick to note that these are trends, not absolutes. There are religious conservatives who do not give and ultra-liberal, ultra-secularists that give plenty. But, his data does show certain trends.

Why?

"For many people, the desire to donate other people's money displaces the act of giving one's own. People who favor government income redistribution are significantly less likely to behave charitably than those who do not...For many Americans, political opinions are a substitute for personal checks; but people who value economic freedom, and this bridle against forced income redistribution, are more charitable." (p.55)

Brooks backs it up with 23 pages of data in an appendix and a healthy set of endnotes.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

Reviewed on December 22, 2009.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism by Arthur C. Brooks