Book review: The Assault on Reason
All of you, I'm sure, are aware of my wholehearted support for a Gore candidacy, so it should be no surprise that I found The Assault on Reason a truly terrific book. I haven't read any of Gore's previous books, however, so I was somewhat hesitant to pick this one up, in case all of my fears would come true and he would come across stiff, pedantic, or far worse, boring.
Fret not, dear readers, Al is definitely not pulling too many punches here. The Bush Administration comes under severe fire for its incredible resistance to good sense, in addition to its relentless disdain for honor, truth, or even its proper role in a democracy. Gore tells a tale fraught with danger--we are in serious peril of losing our nation's reason for existence. The reason for this is that our country's capacity and ability for rational thought are being overwhelmed by the wave of inane blather emanating from our airwaves. Anyone relying on the networks for their news (especially Fox, of course) are treated to never ending crises of meaningless events--witness their wall-to-wall coverage of Paris Hilton's recent lawless escapades--or, worse still, false information provided by a sinister government.
Gore provides many examples of this assault, including his personal experience in regards to his attempts to educate the public and the government about global warming, but he also relies on scholarly research to buttress his assertions. This is not a polemic, but rather a well-reasoned (not so ironically) and -supported treatise on the state of our union.
The one weakness I see in the book lies in Gore's reluctance to call Congress to task for its role in enabling Bush's Administration. It's not all Smirky's doing, Al, and laying the entirety of the blame on him simply allows the Republicans to distance themselves verbally and politically from his epic failures when they have been just as culpable. I can understand why he wouldn't want to alienate any of the current members of Congress--if he intends to run for President next year. That would be a nice way to implement some of the ideas he presents in this book, wouldn't it?
Fret not, dear readers, Al is definitely not pulling too many punches here. The Bush Administration comes under severe fire for its incredible resistance to good sense, in addition to its relentless disdain for honor, truth, or even its proper role in a democracy. Gore tells a tale fraught with danger--we are in serious peril of losing our nation's reason for existence. The reason for this is that our country's capacity and ability for rational thought are being overwhelmed by the wave of inane blather emanating from our airwaves. Anyone relying on the networks for their news (especially Fox, of course) are treated to never ending crises of meaningless events--witness their wall-to-wall coverage of Paris Hilton's recent lawless escapades--or, worse still, false information provided by a sinister government.
Gore provides many examples of this assault, including his personal experience in regards to his attempts to educate the public and the government about global warming, but he also relies on scholarly research to buttress his assertions. This is not a polemic, but rather a well-reasoned (not so ironically) and -supported treatise on the state of our union.
The one weakness I see in the book lies in Gore's reluctance to call Congress to task for its role in enabling Bush's Administration. It's not all Smirky's doing, Al, and laying the entirety of the blame on him simply allows the Republicans to distance themselves verbally and politically from his epic failures when they have been just as culpable. I can understand why he wouldn't want to alienate any of the current members of Congress--if he intends to run for President next year. That would be a nice way to implement some of the ideas he presents in this book, wouldn't it?
Labels: Al Gore, Bush Administration, George W. Bush, The Assault on Reason
posted by bryduck at 3:22 PM
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