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Why I Turned Right: Leading Baby Boom Conservatives Chronicle Their Political Journeys
In a provocative compilation of personal political manifestos, a group of leading right-wing writers reflects on why America has become increasingly conservative, featuring contributions from David Brooks, Dinesh D'Souza, Rich Lowry, P. J. O'Rourke, Danielle Crittenden, Heather MacDonald, and others. 75,000 first printing.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published February 13, 2007
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About the author
Mary Eberstadt
29 books95 followersMary Eberstadt is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, consulting editor to Policy Review, and contributing writer to First Things. Her articles have appeared in the Weekly Standard, the American Spectator, Commentary, the Los Angeles Times, the London Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Her previous books include The Loser Letters and Home-Alone America.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 22, 2022
From the Beltway-NYC-Ivy League loop, where these suave, increasingly confident, and pretty well-off kids go to be schooled and groomed. A few of the dissenters from the liberal groupthink of at least three or four decades ago (as of this book published even before Obama was elected) speak their mind. As I am the exact age of more than one contributor who saw Reagan as their superhero, I could relate. Somewhat.
For my cohort and classmates hailed from blue-collar or modest middle-class families, often what's now marketed as 'first generation' undergrads. Whereas many included in this anthology hail from professional parents and privileged settings. This creates a sameness in these stories of conversion. One recruit (David Brooks, whose journalism I admire) to the conservative cause (usually doling out fellowships and friendships to these savvy, schmoozing scholars and strivers working their way into the corridors or anterooms of the rich and the powerful) gives a reverent bow to the likes of Milton Friedman, while seeming either unaware or unconcerned about his cruel counsel that the sole obligation of a corporation or entrepreneur concerns boosting wealth for stockholders. While my Kindle is full of highlights of narratives (uneven in quality, tone, and cohesion) on Burkean thought, the early stages of the academy's infatuation with first 'theory' and then identity politics, and post-Sixties disillusionment with the nanny state, the self-aggrandizing and insular attitudes of those on the make don't make much of a convincing case to turn towards the celebration of unfettered enterprise and laissez-faire indulgence for those in flyover country or the mocked postwar now 'inner-ring' working-class, often heavily immigrant suburbs, or raw exurbs full of those priced out of the coastal cities and tony neighborhoods where many of these authors live. Certainly, I'm on the 'right' side when they critique the fetishization of the underclass, the elevation of con-artists on the Left, and the coddling of undeserving beneficiaries of taxpayer revenue. Yet, these thinkers tend to overlook hundreds of millions struggling to get by amidst the damage done by both sides. A bipartisan monolith bent on elite control, perpetuated by those of supposedly polarized persuasions but united by their status and cronies.
For my cohort and classmates hailed from blue-collar or modest middle-class families, often what's now marketed as 'first generation' undergrads. Whereas many included in this anthology hail from professional parents and privileged settings. This creates a sameness in these stories of conversion. One recruit (David Brooks, whose journalism I admire) to the conservative cause (usually doling out fellowships and friendships to these savvy, schmoozing scholars and strivers working their way into the corridors or anterooms of the rich and the powerful) gives a reverent bow to the likes of Milton Friedman, while seeming either unaware or unconcerned about his cruel counsel that the sole obligation of a corporation or entrepreneur concerns boosting wealth for stockholders. While my Kindle is full of highlights of narratives (uneven in quality, tone, and cohesion) on Burkean thought, the early stages of the academy's infatuation with first 'theory' and then identity politics, and post-Sixties disillusionment with the nanny state, the self-aggrandizing and insular attitudes of those on the make don't make much of a convincing case to turn towards the celebration of unfettered enterprise and laissez-faire indulgence for those in flyover country or the mocked postwar now 'inner-ring' working-class, often heavily immigrant suburbs, or raw exurbs full of those priced out of the coastal cities and tony neighborhoods where many of these authors live. Certainly, I'm on the 'right' side when they critique the fetishization of the underclass, the elevation of con-artists on the Left, and the coddling of undeserving beneficiaries of taxpayer revenue. Yet, these thinkers tend to overlook hundreds of millions struggling to get by amidst the damage done by both sides. A bipartisan monolith bent on elite control, perpetuated by those of supposedly polarized persuasions but united by their status and cronies.
October 5, 2009
This is a great collection. Each writer describes their history and what brought them to their current political position. It's interesting because they are all very different, with different experience and different opinions (even different definitions of "right-wing" and "liberal").
Many people seem to be left-wing because it seems more "nice," because it feels like taking care of people (or making sure the government takes care of them). The authors in this book each show that this feeling is seriously mis-guided. Most became right-wing in reaction to the injustice and blindness they saw on the left in the name of being "nice" and "fair."
Why are they right-wing? Because they believe in:
• Being self-reliant.
• Letting everyone have their say, considering ideas impersonally, and arguing fairly (a classic liberal idea, out of fashion in today's universities and media).
• Equal opportunity, not equal outcomes.
• Taking care of people who need help, and letting responsible people make their own decisions.
• Minding your own business, and keeping your hands to yourself.
Each is eloquent, and each describes a different facet of the right-wing position and why it makes sense. If you've ever found it hard to express why you vote the way you do, read this book.
Many people seem to be left-wing because it seems more "nice," because it feels like taking care of people (or making sure the government takes care of them). The authors in this book each show that this feeling is seriously mis-guided. Most became right-wing in reaction to the injustice and blindness they saw on the left in the name of being "nice" and "fair."
Why are they right-wing? Because they believe in:
• Being self-reliant.
• Letting everyone have their say, considering ideas impersonally, and arguing fairly (a classic liberal idea, out of fashion in today's universities and media).
• Equal opportunity, not equal outcomes.
• Taking care of people who need help, and letting responsible people make their own decisions.
• Minding your own business, and keeping your hands to yourself.
Each is eloquent, and each describes a different facet of the right-wing position and why it makes sense. If you've ever found it hard to express why you vote the way you do, read this book.
October 11, 2011
I had a similar journey to many of these writers, although I was never far left as some of them were. Since very few of my friends or family changed their politics when they grew up – one can predict their voting perfectly from their politics of 30 years ago – I was interested in the experience of people who had shifted significantly as I have. There was a lot in here that corresponds to me.
Most Americans are bitterly partisan now so if you are a liberal or a Democrat you're unlikely to read a book like this because the very existence of conservatives and Republicans makes you furious. That's a shame. I believe strongly that political attitudes are formed for the most part in early childhood and most people hold childish caricatures in their heads of political issues. It would be as if as an adult your ideas about religion were at the Sunday School level of sophistication. So seeing how some people actually can think about this, challenge what they accepted unconsciously as children, and change their minds is interesting regardless of where they come out.
Most Americans are bitterly partisan now so if you are a liberal or a Democrat you're unlikely to read a book like this because the very existence of conservatives and Republicans makes you furious. That's a shame. I believe strongly that political attitudes are formed for the most part in early childhood and most people hold childish caricatures in their heads of political issues. It would be as if as an adult your ideas about religion were at the Sunday School level of sophistication. So seeing how some people actually can think about this, challenge what they accepted unconsciously as children, and change their minds is interesting regardless of where they come out.
May 7, 2015
A few of the essays were quite thoughtful and clearly written by very smart and interesting people. Some even showed their authors displaying unexpected empathy toward their fellow man. The rest were disappointing, with one or two bordering on the incoherent. Embracing the right just because one finds hippies smelly and distasteful does not for a solid political philosophy make.
April 5, 2010
Most of the content condemns the curtailing of free speech and exchange of ideas, deconstructionist literary criticism, and that feminism means all women must work full-time. I'm disappointed, was looking for some good disagreements, but all my emotional responses were to dumb snark about gays and blacks.
I would probably be better off finding some good conservative critique of welfare and social programs. Will take recommendations!
a chilling aside "All those beatnik girls had a history. And many of them wound up institutionalized." p. 25
"In a moment of childish innocence I once asked her what the difference was between Republicans and Democrats. She said, "Democrats rent."" p.26
"I realized, if my children think homosexuality is acceptable, it could lead them to think something really troubling - that sex is acceptable." p37 ???
"When I've made mistakes it has been because I've drifted too far toward one of the opposing poles - restlessly embracing grand, idealistic, transformative plans when I should have been more aware of the limits on what we can know and engineer, or, on the other hand, cautiously doubting conscious willed change, when in fact sometimes it really is possible for people to make big changes for the better." David Brooks, p. 72, doesn't sound particularly partisan.. and confusingly goes on to justify invasion and attempted nation-building in Iraq.
"in the normal course of events, cars do not deprive people of the power to control them. Barring catastrophic mechanical failure, when people lose control, it is generally their own fault. Your fate, at least in part, is something you make for yourself." p197 I'll have to sit on why it is that I disagree with this argument.
I would probably be better off finding some good conservative critique of welfare and social programs. Will take recommendations!
a chilling aside "All those beatnik girls had a history. And many of them wound up institutionalized." p. 25
"In a moment of childish innocence I once asked her what the difference was between Republicans and Democrats. She said, "Democrats rent."" p.26
"I realized, if my children think homosexuality is acceptable, it could lead them to think something really troubling - that sex is acceptable." p37 ???
"When I've made mistakes it has been because I've drifted too far toward one of the opposing poles - restlessly embracing grand, idealistic, transformative plans when I should have been more aware of the limits on what we can know and engineer, or, on the other hand, cautiously doubting conscious willed change, when in fact sometimes it really is possible for people to make big changes for the better." David Brooks, p. 72, doesn't sound particularly partisan.. and confusingly goes on to justify invasion and attempted nation-building in Iraq.
"in the normal course of events, cars do not deprive people of the power to control them. Barring catastrophic mechanical failure, when people lose control, it is generally their own fault. Your fate, at least in part, is something you make for yourself." p197 I'll have to sit on why it is that I disagree with this argument.
February 22, 2011
Basically what I expected. Though it was strange how direct the greed motivator was listed. It was the first example of why David Brooks "turned right", the setting was a hippie gathering where they were burning wallets (with money) and (as a child) he saw some money fly out of the burn barrel, and he want and grabbed it. I think it's kind of a silly example, but telling that he leads with that, maybe it's to show how silly the "left" was at that point, but I think it's more descriptive of the whole conservative movement, as far as I can tell the justification for pretty much every "conservative" decision or action is rooted in greed. Some would say it's rooted in religion, but that doesn't make sense to me when you read passages from the Bible describing how Christians should act, i.e. if someone asks for something, give it to them and more. But the current conservative stance is an ideological refusal to allow the state to help it's citizens, that's for people to decide on their own, an "individual choice". But if they understood the writings of the apostle Paul, "For I do not do what I want--instead, I do what I hate", one would expect having a true fulfillment of the obligation to help others in the form of taxes would be welcome, as they are to me.
June 30, 2012
A fun and interesting read
This quick read is also must read for any political junky. The book teaches the reader that there are many paths to conservatism but a whole lot of conservatives began moving to the right as a reaction against over-reaching on the part of liberals at one of our country's many fine universities. Practical experience in the real world does a lot of changing of political minds as well (that was the case for me).
Why I Turned Right: Leading Baby Boom Conservatives Chronicle Their Political Journeys also teaches the reader that there are lots of funny conservatives out there. P.J. O'Rourke's essay was a stitch. Danielle Crittenden's is funny and rings true to every parent.
Joseph Bottum's observation are not really humorous, but they are some of the most profound as he discusses society, the respect for life and how said it is that the 10 Commandments have been replaced by in our society by the two new great commandments: "Be Nice and Be Cool"(p. 156). this observation is so dead on and obvious to this public school teacher that I'm embarrassed that I didn't think of it myself.
A pleasure to read.
http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/...
This quick read is also must read for any political junky. The book teaches the reader that there are many paths to conservatism but a whole lot of conservatives began moving to the right as a reaction against over-reaching on the part of liberals at one of our country's many fine universities. Practical experience in the real world does a lot of changing of political minds as well (that was the case for me).
Why I Turned Right: Leading Baby Boom Conservatives Chronicle Their Political Journeys also teaches the reader that there are lots of funny conservatives out there. P.J. O'Rourke's essay was a stitch. Danielle Crittenden's is funny and rings true to every parent.
Joseph Bottum's observation are not really humorous, but they are some of the most profound as he discusses society, the respect for life and how said it is that the 10 Commandments have been replaced by in our society by the two new great commandments: "Be Nice and Be Cool"(p. 156). this observation is so dead on and obvious to this public school teacher that I'm embarrassed that I didn't think of it myself.
A pleasure to read.
http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/...
June 23, 2013
I picked this up since I searched for more Mary Eberstadt books in the local library. Glad I did. Got many different perspectives about how people became conservative and how they got there.
Inspired me to start writing an essay about how I became conservative from a fairly liberal family.
Inspired me to start writing an essay about how I became conservative from a fairly liberal family.
November 28, 2007
Read my review on my Book Blog!
Want to read
July 9, 2011How fascinating does this sound???
July 2, 2016
Various writers explain why they became conservative.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews