A good look at what is wrong with our country now, and what to do about it. Chuck goes back to the writings of our Founding Fathers to determine their intent when writing the constitution, as well as "real" history on the beginnings of America. Great "back to the beginning" suggestions on what to do to fix our current calamity. Love that his emphasis on the Christianity in the Declaration of Independence and the total Christian background of our nation's beginnings. We need to get back to God in order to fix our country.
The cover of Black Belt Patriotism by Chuck Norris reveals a key weakness right under the author's name: it says Norris is a "karate master, TV actor, political activist". Karate master? Yes. TV actor? Yes. Activist? No. And that's the trouble. Norris is a heavyweight fighter but a lightweight thinker, and his "prescription" for America is really a naive rehashing of simplistic ideas from the Christian right which makes numerous mistakes and offers vague generalities as solutions.
Surprisingly, this book is not totally clueless. There were some intelligent solutions buried in this right-wing handout. The best idea is FairTax, a terrific bi-partisan approach backed by $29 million of research which promises to end the horrific complexity of labyrinthine tax codes, promote savings, tax consumption, which has rebates to protect the poor, and which might end the calculation nightmare Americans face every April. FairTax is a sensible way to help re-start a stalled economy, and experts from both sides of the aisle agree. Further, Norris has intelligent ideas about home schooling, as well as intelligent observations about currency -- he asks why do pennies cost 1.2 cents to make, when they're worth less than this? And when Norris says he knows something is wrong about America, well, I agree, but this isn't new information.
But that's about it for the pluses.
I think America's problems are so substantial that neither a right-wing nor a left-wing strategy will fix them. The political process has broken -- partisan gridlock rules a corrupt national government. Legislators have rigged the rules for re-election so over 90% of representatives are routinely re-elected. Power has shifted from the states to Washington, and within Washington to the executive where there is a dangerous risk of tyranny. The Supreme Court has become politicized, making quasi-legislative rulings, despite being composed of unelected officials who are unaccountable to voters in elections. The federal structure has broken down, depriving state governments of authority to regulate their own economies. Washington has become the main economic regulator, and it does this job badly. The architecture of government hinders smart foreign policy, so we're left with a system that largely depends on the quality of the president -- a dubious proposition -- which determines foreign policy. Constitutional scholars have an increasingly long list of flaws with the Constitution.
The most dangerous problem is un-prevented nuclear terrorism, in my view. Chuck Norris is one more clueless American who has spent too much time in front of cameras and not enough time reading or listening or questioning or thinking. So it's a shame his lame-brained book squeezes out more intelligent approaches in the limited space of the bookshelf. I doubt Norris has ever read Benjamin Ginsberg's "The American Lie" or Gutzman's "Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution". I doubt he's ever read my book: "Common Sense: How to Prevent the Three Types of Terrorism." He hasn't read "Up To Our Eyeballs" so he doesn't understand the debt problem. The real villain, here, is Regnery Publishing, which should be boycotted for publishing such junk.
Norris makes a slew of mistakes in this book. First, he assumes people are "citizens". We're not. We're consumers, investors, workers. But we don't pay attention to politics, we don't discuss politics, we rarely visit our local city halls, we don't even know the names of our congresspersons. Why? Norris doesn't know. This assumption leads to a slew of naive suggestions, aimed at Americans, as if they're empowered to fix the problem, but they aren't, and Norris doesn't understand this. So all of his suggestions have a naive quality about them. Norris suggests Americans read the Constitution (most people are too busy watching lame-brained karate TV actors punch stuntmen); write our congresspersons letters (they're thrown out routinely by staffers, but Norris doesn't know this); spend less (Norris doesn't understand how the removal of safety nets has caused Americans to use credit cards in their stead). The height of this folly is Norris giving fitness suggestions -- eat more fiber! take multi-vitamins! I'm not making this up. Norris took one too many blows to the head, and he's apparently confused writing a political book with his personal TV fitness regimen.
Norris lists eight problems with America. (1) we've forgotten our roots (solution: begin by "educating yourself" -- Norris should take his own advice here) (2) run-away spending (agreed but there is no analysis of how this happened) (3) not enough border patrols (4) no moral compass (solution: Norris will begin his sermon here about God and such) (5) not enough value for human life (great, to fix America, let's confuse structural reform with a no-win divisive topic like abortion) (6) no future for our children (7) dissolution of the family (8) "no might to fight". This last one leads to his "fitness agenda". Solution to terrorism? He favors pre-emption. Didn't this get us into trouble in Iraq?
This book is a sad ad for Chuck Norris TV star. Its presence is a sign that publishers like Regnery think Americans are so dumb that they'll buy anything with Norris wearing a white karate suit with an American flag patch. And this unfortunate nonsense clutters bookstore shelves.
So, if you're a non-thinking member of the religious right, you'll like this book. Be warned: America's woes are serious. Our nation needs serious, non-partisan structural reform. Chuck Norris has his heart in the right place by wanting to fix America, but he'll do everybody a favor by staying out of the political sphere. Norris should return to the fake punching of fake TV villains on fake TV shows and stop faking being a political activist.
This was so good, I'll probably read it twice more before the year's end. There actually needs to be a Chuck Norris joke about how he makes conservative Christians look good. It turns out that Norris is well acquainted with not only the ideologies of America's founding fathers, but he has an integrated understanding of the Gospel and American history/ politics as well. I am so impressed with what he had to say about various issues that plague modern America. I won't spoil them, I'll just give the 5 stars and say that this is a MUST READ!!!! And don't mind the picture on the cover of Chuck in a gi, he doesn't really incorporate martial arts into this book other than to mention the Kickstart program he founded in the US.
Norris laid out a plan for getting American government and our fellow citizens out of its malaise. You could say it is very timely, but it was written over ten years ago. If anything, the problems Chuck lists are even worse than when BBP was published. For a few that may depend on your political POV, but there are several problems like youth obesity that should go beyond politics for a solution.
For anyone interested, read the book with your personal beliefs in neutral. Chuck does not advocate for either major party, and really pushes personal responsibility far more than anything else. It's a good read and worth your time.
I really liked this book. It contained some history of the United States and how we should be more closely following what the founding fathers new was best for us. I enjoyed finding out about Chuck Norris' testimony and the fact that he is homeschooling his youngest children. I had my Kevin read this as part of our Government class. He also thought it was a good read.
GREAT book!!! READ IT!!! I love how Chuck explains everything so simply that it makes perfect sense. We really need to get back on track to how our founding fathers set up our country, and it's awesome how Chuck writes the way we can do it.
I’m not the target demographic for this book (outside of enjoying some Norris movies), but at one point Norris suggests that Columbine happened because America teaches evolution in the classroom, so one star.
Chuck throws in alot of historical data to back up his opinion, which is a nice change of pace. Its basic principals that we all should learn and understand.
I give this book three stars which may be a bit generous, but I rank it that high because of its entertainment value, not so much for the content. I appreciate how Chuck Norris points out that he is not a scholar or an expert on Sociology or Political Science, but just a concerned citizen. I admire the fact that he is voicing is concern for the current state of our nation, since a lot of people seem to be apathetic.
I have to admit that when I looked at the table of contents for Norris' book I thought "Huh, I agree with him on a lot of these points". Ceasing our national debt? Yes please. Valuing human life? Of course. A call to get American's physically healthy. Oh yeah. But then I kept on reading and kept on getting frustrated. I could go point by point through the chapters and talk about why I disagree with Chuck, but I don't feel like that is the purpose of this review. Instead I'll just give you one tidbit that would have caused me to throw the book across the room had it not been a library book.
In making his case for the need for family values, Chuck lists off many statistics about the current state of the American family. In the middle of listing off percentages of family incomes and "latchkey kids" Chuck states that "Nearly half of America's labor force is women, and of course many of these women are mothers". He doesn't elaborate on what he means by this sentence, instead he continues to bombard the reader with more numbers. I'm left to assume that Chuck means the rightful place for women is in the home, especially if they are mothers. Oh Chuck, you're breaking my heart and this is only page 11.
I knew I wouldn't agree with a lot of what Norris would be talking about in this book which is why I read it. I think it is important to know what people are talking about on the other end of the spectrum, especially when they are people who have much public appeal. I realize that a lot of people would be more likely to pick up Chuck Norris' book than a Howard Zinn book.
All in all, this book wasn't a complete waste of time. It was much needed relief from the heavy reading that I'm doing at Seminary and it was good for a few laughs.
Picked this book off the audio shelf because how could I pass up Chuck Norris? Believe me, I'll be reading a very left-wing book to help balance out my book list after this one (I'm thinking it is time for The Communist Manifesto). But back to Chuck...why hasn't he tried running for President? With all the Chuck Norris jokes out there he'd be a shoe in...not saying I'd vote for him but I still think he should run.
I now know more about Chuck Norris than ever before and I don't like him any less. I don't consider this book a waste of my time...sure there are better books out there to read but this wasn't a bad book. It was a book to get to know someone other than my family. I loved hearing his conversion story. I felt like the book was a really long LDS Fireside talk or LDS Education Week speaker. My biggest beef with the audio book was that it wasn't read with Chuck's voice. My second beef is with the content, I got the feeling that the only way to be a good American was to be a good "Christian", and if you aren't "Christian" than you had to be a God-fearing person who agreed with Christians on everything...I disagree.
Another way to be a good American is to lose weight and gt fit. Chuck Norris sort of has earned the right to lecture on exercise and being fit. I'm glad he included this topic.
I thought it was interesting that he gave so many props to fellow Christians who had books or ministries/businesses as if he were part of a Christian-networking MLM. Quickly I must go read (buy) all his favorite books and give money to all the groups he mentioned or I won't be a good Christian. Overall, good biased book about strengthening individuals and families the Chuck-Norris-way, which isn't necessarily a bad way unless you don't believe as he does. There are better biased books out there if you want to skip this one. But if you want to hear Chuck Norris share his testimony about God and Politics then give it read.
I don't know if Chuck realized but he quoted David O'McKay about how no other success can compensate for failure in the home. That made me smile.
“Black Belt Patriotism: How to Reawaken America” by Chuck Norris is a great book for our times. Written in 2008 yet as important, if not more so, today than when it was written. Mr. Norris articulates a list of issues with the current state of our society – and in my interpretation with what extrapolates to a primary focus on a loss of faith – faith in ourselves, faith in our country, faith in God.
Every time a Black Belt competes they know that their opponent has a unique style and set of skills. Because Chuck Norris isn’t a literary wizard, his points about the current state of our country are like his martial arts skills, direct and hard hitting, from a perspective that isn’t necessarily unique but is held and shared with much conviction.
A list of actions is proposed – nothing new, mostly things we have all heard before. But as any Black Belt knows, it is action, every small step taken, that eventually leads towards great achievements. Failure to achieve a Black Belt in nearly any form of martial art is failure to try.
Two primary topics that hit me personally were expecting more from and empowering youth; and being a better father/husband. The first is something I have always believed in and the second is something I am always aware of. I have already tried a few of the ideas he proposes and have gotten some strange expressions from my daughters – good, maybe it’s working!
Whether conservative or liberal, whether you whole heartedly agree with his assessments, somewhat agree, or adamantly disagree, there is plenty of historical anecdotes that make “black Belt Patriotism: How to Reawaken America” a fun and interesting read.
I will confess right up front. I skimmed most of it at Barnes and Nobles, and that was about as much attention as I felt it deserved.
It was full of the usual conservative drek. I wondered briefly if the person that had ghost written this book hadn't been moonlighting with Norris on his at the same time.
This book is only suggested reading material for post operative Brain Donors, people trying to calibrate the maximum levels of their BS-o-meters, and people that don't get the the Chuck Norris internet meme is actually a joke.
This book is waking up America and is written by Chuck Norris. He sees our problems as having too many illegal immigrants, our nation is drowning in debt, we remain vulnerable to terrorist attacks, and our faith and values are under attack. He would like to return to the time when we had a better America where we had faith, freedom, and respect for tradition, history, and human life. America has lost it's way. Everything he says is true but I feel the country is too divided and the government is too ineffective to make any changes.
I liked this book. I respect Chuck for his patriotism, and he apparently has done his homework on American history. He includes a lot of quotes from our founding fathers, has lots of appendices, and also a full copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in the back of the book for easy referencing. He offers practical solutions for America and this book makes me like him even more. Looking forward to reading his biography, "Against All Odds" next.
This book gives an interesting perspective of how we are failing as a country, why we are failing, and how to fix it. If you can get past the politically conservative overtones, it will challenge you to participate more in the governance of our country. What especially appalled me was reading the Declaration if Independence at the end and realizing that we are sliding into the same situation that inspired our revolution from Britain.
I really liked this book. There were two really good chapters about nutrition of all things, and the other one was about youth and patriotism. I don't think this book would be for everyone. The only reason I read it is because I was traveling and my hubby had it on CD and so I listened to it in the car. Good read, but not for everyone.
I really like Chuck Norris so the reason I'm not real excited about this book is because it's more for a beginner patriot. It's about building a patriotic character and exhibiting it in yourself, your family and your community. It's an easy to read book and you can get it at audible.com but it's I would recommend it to a younger person or someone starting over.
I am a huge fan of chuck Norris but I did not care for this book. I felt that the first half of the book was campaigning for mike huckabee an Ron Paul. I enjoyed the book more when he talked about his beliefs but there was little of that.
good book by the greatest living human being and really teaches us how we can return America to its former glory and how we can stop it from happening again
Aside from being able to lead a horse to water and make him drink, Chuck Norris is a good writer too. I really enjoyed this book which talks about faith, family, history and other things.