DIVIDED WE FALL: AMERICA'S SECESSION THREAT and HOW to RESTORE OUR NATION (audiobook) by David French

 

Published in September of 2020 by Macmillan Audio.

Read by Sean Patrick Hopkins and David French.

Duration; 7 hours, 18 minutes.

Unabridged.

David French is, like me, a Never Trump Republican, which means he is a man without a party right now. French starts Divided We Fall with some observations that rang very true to me. For example, he noted that while he was still a part of the two party system, he didn't really think about the automatic intensely negative reaction both sides have to the other side's proposals. The other side isn't just misinformed, they are evil. They are not just mistaken, they are trying to overthrow America and all of its institutions. They want to murder us in our sleep by taking away our rights. They HATE us.

The author

It doesn't matter which side is the "they" and which side is the "us" - it is the same argument, it is a dangerous pattern and it threatens to tear the country apart as we self-segregate into communities that tend to think alike and sometimes literally don't know someone from the other party. 

The middle part of the book consists of possible scenarios that could cause a secession crisis. They are not meant to be literal predictions. Rather, they are possible futures in which one region becomes so disenchanted that it attempts to secede and what that means for national politics, the national . This section was valuable but it was stretched out way too long.

His answer to the problem (a renewed commitment to federalism and states' rights combined with an ironclad guarantee of the rights of minorities in every state) is probably the only real solution to the problem, but it will not be easy.  

This book is well worth reading, but the section with multiple secession scenarios was simply too long and almost felt like French was padding the book to achieve a pre-specified length. Also, what does it say about our the state of American politics right now when a book published in September of 2020 already felt a little dated because of the election of in November, the refusal to accept the result of the election throughout December and the January 6 attack on the Capitol Building?

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: DIVIDED WE FALL: AMERICA'S SECESSION THREAT and HOW to RESTORE OUR NATION by David French.

WHY LIBERALS WIN the CULTURE WARS (EVEN WHEN THEY LOSE ELECTIONS): THE BATTLES THAT DEFINE AMERICA from JEFFERSON'S HERESIES to GAY MARRIAGE by Stephen Prothero

Published in January of 2016 by HarperAudio.

Read by Tristan Morris.

Duration: 10 hours, 42 minutes.

Unabridged.

Stephen Prothero takes a look at American history in Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars. Culture wars, for Prothero, are more than the typical left-right discussion  - they are a left-right discussion with serious religious overtones.

Prothero's thesis is that the major debates in American history have been those types of debates.

He looks at 5 areas:

1) The fight over who would run the country after George Washington - the

John Adams (1735-1826)

inheritors of the Calvinistic Puritans (John Adams) or those with a vaguely defined faith (Thomas Jefferson);

2) Catholics vs. Protestants;

3) Everyone vs. Mormons;

4) Fundamentalism vs. Modernism as commonly typified by the Scopes Monkey Trial (which only gets a passing mention in this book);

5) Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority types vs. abortion, gay marriage, the Equal Rights Amendment and more.

While his discussions were interesting and make a lot of good points, I don't think they live up to the thesis named in the title. These 5 points are really more like 2 points. The first 3 are basically the same point - mainline Protestants (even as that definition evolves) vs. other takes on Christianity. The last two are also basically the same point as well, a point made in the book as it easily moves from point 4 to point 5.

And, defining America as mainline Protestantism vs other religions and cultural traditionalists vs variations on the traditional family (women working outside of the home, gay marriage, etc.) limits a lot of discussion. For example, where does slavery fit into this mix? How about Native Americans? Or, how about the social safety net? Defense policy? States' Rights vs. Federal power? Internal improvements? Rights vs. safety in the post 9/11 world?

So, in short, this is an interesting book and a good discussion, but it does not live up to what it promises.

I rate this audiobook 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: WHY LIBERALS WIN the CULTURE WARS (EVEN WHEN THEY LOSE ELECTIONS): THE BATTLES THAT DEFINE AMERICA from JEFFERSON'S HERESIES to GAY MARRIAGE by Stephen Prothero.

COSTLY GRACE: AN EVANGELICAL MINISTER'S REDISCOVERY of FAITH, HOPE and LOVE (audiobook) by Rob Schenk

Published in 2018 by HarperAudio.
Read by the author, Rob Schenck.
Duration: 11 hours, 26 minutes.
Unabridged.

In Costly Grace, Rob Schenck tells the story of his life as a story of three conversions. His first conversion was a conversion from Judaism to Christianity as a teenager. Soon after graduating high school, he married and began to work to his certification to join the ministry. He first worked in a shelter for junkies but he found that to be a little too dangerous for his wife. Plus, he longed for something with a larger impact.

He became a pastor with a church but still felt that wasn't enough. He participated in joint missions in Mexico to help those that live in the garbage dumps and scrounge them for food and recyclables. After one of his trips he found that his twin brother (also a pastor) had become involved in Operation Rescue, the anti-abortion movement that encouraged protesters to block the entrances to abortion clinics and use non-violent resistance to stop women from getting an abortion. Eventually, the police would show up and start arresting people and it would become a big spectacle that would make the news.

Schenck was persuaded to attend a protest. This was his second conversion. He promised his wife that he wouldn't get arrested - he was just going to observe. But, the lure of the action was too much and he ended up getting arrested. He was hooked. He loved the idea of taking direct action in the name of the Lord.

He became a top figure in the anti-abortion movement. He confronted public figures for their support (twice he ended up being held for questioning for confronting Bill Clinton). He carried actual aborted fetuses to rallies to show people what they were really talking about when they discussed abortions. He became very familiar with the process of being arrested for the cause.

And the cause was also becoming an influential force in Republican politics.  Schenk worked with all the major players. At this time, he began to seriously study the works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran minister who was placed in a concentration camp for his constant questioning of Nazi authorities. Eventually, he was executed by  the Nazis just days before the end of World War II. His studies of Bonhoeffer made him question what he was doing as a Christian.  He began to question the cozy relationship he had with the powers that be in Washington. His questions led him to conclude that his fellow evangelicals were wrong in their unlimited support of the NRA and gun rights, especially after two abortion providers were assassinated.

But, he was most moved by the reaction of several Amish families after a school shooting in an Amish school by a non-Amish man. This is a very powerful section of the book. He begins to openly question how one can be pro-life and pro-gun. Should Christians trust a pistol at their side more than the God who says they should "fear not" and trust only Him? How many other things had he not considered? This is his third conversion.

This third conversion made him look at the close relationship between church and the GOP that he had been advocating since Ronald Reagan first ran for President in 1980. Was the church selling its soul for access to political power? Were basic Christian tenets being forgotten for the opportunity to use the government's power rather than depend on God and his people? Was the price of access to the pinnacle of power too high, especially in the Age of Trump?

Costly Grace is an interesting trip down memory lane for me in a lot of ways. I very much remember Operation Rescue and the mass abortion clinic protests. I also happened to stumble upon a documentary made about him ("The Armor of Light") that struck me and made me do some thinking. Ironically, I didn't remember that he was the subject of this documentary until he described one of the scenes in this book.

Rob Schenck reads his own audiobook and does a good job with it. The book is a little slow at times, but I found the discussion of his third conversion to be well worth the wait. Easily the best part of the book. I know that Rob Schenck and I would not agree on everything, but I also know that it would be a respectful and meaningful discussion. Very thought-provoking book.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: COSTLY GRACE: AN EVANGELICAL MINISTER'S REDISCOVERY of FAITH, HOPE and LOVE.

Live from Middle America: Rants from a Red-State Comedian by Brad Stine

 

Up and Down throughout the book

Published in 2006 by Hudson Street Press

In Live from Middle America Stine comments on any number of popular culture items, including tobacco, abortion, God in public schools, baseball, Las Vegas, banning guns, bumper stickers and Wal-Mart. Each little rant comes in short chapters averaging around 4 pages each.

Now, my review:

I wanted to love this book (since I am  the exact target for this book: a Christian, a conservative and I am a proud resident of Indiana - a red state since LBJ in 1964 with the exception of Barack Obama in 2008) but I could barely get myself to like it.

Brad Stine

First and foremost, I quickly grew tired of the publisher's decision to pull little tidbits out of the text and highlight them with a box right next to the text that contains the exact same sentence? What was the point of that?

Secondly, Stine blames everything in the world on liberals (even for bumps in the road). He assumes that liberal automatically means atheist (well, I guess my dad, the church elder is not going where he assumed when he dies) and assumes that conservative automatically means Christian (what about Milton Friedman?).

Thirdly, Stine seems to confuse "Red State" with "Redneck" at many points, saying things like Red State parents make their kids smoke and they eat animals they run over with their cars. I think I've heard all of this before and it the routine always ends like this, "...you might be a redneck."

I've never seen Stine in person, so perhaps knowing his act really would juice up a lot of this - I don't know. His funniest comments are about Trick-or-Treating on Halloween, "God is my co-pilot" bumper stickers, turn signals, gay marriage (he's remarkably middle-of-the-road on this) and abortion. The abortion commentary isn't particularly funny but it is a much more coherent argument than the rest of the book presents and really is the best piece in the book. On the other hand, his commentary on foreign-made goods is not terribly coherent nor is it conservative.

So, I give this one 2 stars out of 5. It would have been worse except for the strong section on abortion.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Live from Middle America : Rants from a Red-State Comedian by Brad Stine.

Reviewed on August 8, 2007.

Be the People: A Call to Reclaim America's Faith and Promise by Carol M. Swain, PhD

Sometimes incredibly strong, sometimes deeply flawed.

Published in 2011 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Carol M. Swain's Be the People: A Call to Reclaim America's Faith and Promise is a look at several broad areas of concern in American policy, including the high divorce rate, abortion, gay marriage, illegal immigration, race relations in America, HIV, school prayer, and the high unemployment among those with lower levels of education.

First, the positives:

-Swain's personal story is inspirational and she shares it as she writes about these issues.
-Swain provides a humane 15 point plan to deal with illegal immigration.

-Her commentary on race and racism are quite interesting and well thought out. I teach in a multi-racial school with a near even mix of whites and blacks and a great number of Hispanics as well. It can be tricky and Swain accurately describes many of the issues that I have encountered.

-Swain's section on abortion is also rock solid. There are profound arguments for why it is immoral and should be illegal from a number of sources, including from babies that survived and grew up, mothers that regret the decision (Swain is one of those mothers), medical evidence for increased cancer rates and solid philosophical and legal arguments.

Weaknesses:

-There are times when the text is confusing, almost like it was not proofread, merely spell-checked. For example, on page 123 she paraphrases a CDC report "....estimated that as many as one-third of black men were HIV positive..." but two sentences later notes that Washington, D.C. has the "highest rate of infections in the country, with an estimated...7 percent of its black men infected." Which is it, 33% or 7%? 

Another example: on page 134 she is discussing the National Council of La Raza and claims that La Raza is Latin for "the race." It is Spanish, not Latin - a fact that she gets correct in her end notes on page 289. On page 42 she is upset that the Obama administration correctly followed American flag protocol by allowing the Chinese flag ("signaling to the world that China was on equal footing with the United States") to fly alongside the American flag at a state dinner. The American flag flies higher than state flags, but at the same level as those of other countries. This is not an insult to America, it is international flag protocol.

-Sometimes it seems as though she is mystified that people who move here do not completely abandon their religious beliefs and immediately become Christians upon entering the country. On page 168, she notes that the Sabbath rules in Israel apply to the whole country, not just to the Jews. She then laments that newcomers to America sue to have their customs respected. My first thought was that Islam's Sabbath day is Friday and every Muslim student I have had came to school on their Sabbath and only one has made a stink about wanting time out of class to pray at the proscribed time.

-She wants prayer returned to school  (pgs 34-35). I teach in a public school and I am a devout Christian - I only miss services 2 or 3 times per year. I have taught Sunday school, worked with the youth group, worked in more Vacation Bible Schools than I care to remember, have been a member of a small group Bible study for more than 15 years and I come from a line of Lutherans that probably knew Martin Luther (the man who started The Reformation) personally. I do not want prayers in public school. 

Why not? 

Whose prayers do we use? A generic multi-faith prayer that means nothing? A rotating prayer that includes some Hindu prayer, some Muslim prayers, some Christian prayers, some Wiccan prayers and so on? I have taught with Muslim, Hindu and Jewish teachers. Are they going to be forced to recite a Christian prayer? Would I want to be forced to recite a prayer from outside of my faith by my employer?

It is my understanding that Swain is a frequent guest on the Sean Hannity show. The parts of the book that I disliked were exactly the parts that appeal to the scream and yell "debate" with outrage gotcha type shows, like Hannity's. The other parts were well thought out - too bad the other stuff was not equally well considered and argued.

I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze review program. They made no demands on the type of review I wrote, but I am forced to disclose this arrangement due to federal regulations.

I rate this book 2 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Be the People: A Call to Reclaim America's Faith and Promise.

Reviewed on June 15, 2011.