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America at War with Itself
From poisoned water and police violence in our cities, to gun massacres and hate-mongering on the presidential campaign trail, evidence that America is at war with itself is everywhere around us. The question is not whether or not it's happening, but how to understand the forces at work in order to prevent conditions from getting worse. Henry A. Giroux offers a powerful, far-reaching critique of the economic interests, cultural dimensions, and political dynamics involved in the nation's shift toward increasingly abusive forms of power. His analysis helps us to frame critical questions about what can and should be done to turn things around while we can.
Reflecting on a wide range of social issues, Giroux contrasts Donald Trump's America with Sandra Bland's to understand who really benefits from politically fueled intolerance for immigrants, communities of color, Muslims, low-income families, and those who challenge state and corporate power. A passionate advocate for civil rights and the importance of the imagination, Giroux argues that only through widespread social investment in democracy and education can the common good hope to prevail over the increasingly concentrated influence of extreme right-wing politicians and self-serving economic interests.
Praise for America at War with Itself:
"This is the book Americans need to read now. No one is better than Henry Giroux at analyzing the truly dangerous threats to our society. He punctures our delusions and offers us a compelling and enlightened vision of a better way. America at War with Itself is the best book of the year."—Bob Herbert, Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos and former Op-Ed columnist for the New York Times
"In this current era of corporate media misdirection and misinformation, America at War with Itself is a must read for all Americans, especially young people. Henry Giroux is one of the few great political voices of today, with powerful insight into the truth. Dr. Giroux is defiantly explaining, against the grain, what's REALLY going on right now, and doing so quite undeniably. Simply put, the ideas he brings forth are a beacon that need to be seen and heard and understood in order for the world to progress."—Julian Casablancas
"In America at War with Itself, Henry Giroux again proves himself one of North America’s most clear-sighted radical philosophers of education, culture and politics: radical because he discards the chaff of liberal critique and cuts to the root of the ills that are withering democracy. Giroux also connects the dots of reckless greed, corporate impunity, poverty, mass incarceration, racism and the co-opting of education to crush critical thinking and promote a culture that denigrates and even criminalizes civil society and the public good. His latest work is the antidote to an alarming tide of toxic authoritarianism that threatens to engulf America. The book could not be more timely."—Olivia Ward, Toronto Star
"America at War with Itself makes the case for real ideological and structural change at a time when the need and stakes could not be greater. Everyone who cares about the survival and revival of democracy needs to read this book.”—Kenneth Saltman, Professor, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Author of The Failure of Corporate School Reform
Henry A. Giroux's most recent books include The Violence of Organized Forgetting and America's Addiction to Terrorism.
338 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 22, 2016
56 people are currently reading
802 people want to read
About the author
Henry A. Giroux
127 books228 followersAmerican cultural critic. One of the founding theorists of critical pedagogy in the United States, he is best known for his pioneering work in public pedagogy, cultural studies, youth studies, higher education, media studies, and critical theory.
A high-school social studies teacher in Barrington, Rhode Island for six years, Giroux has held positions at Boston University, Miami University, and Penn State University. In 2005, Giroux began serving as the Global TV Network Chair in English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
Giroux has published more than 35 books and 300 academic articles, and is published widely throughout education and cultural studies literature. Since arriving at McMaster, Giroux has been a featured faculty lecturer, and has published nine books, including his most recent work, The University in Chains: Confronting the Military-Industrial-Academic Complex.
Routledge named Giroux as one of the top fifty educational thinkers of the modern period in 2002.
A high-school social studies teacher in Barrington, Rhode Island for six years, Giroux has held positions at Boston University, Miami University, and Penn State University. In 2005, Giroux began serving as the Global TV Network Chair in English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
Giroux has published more than 35 books and 300 academic articles, and is published widely throughout education and cultural studies literature. Since arriving at McMaster, Giroux has been a featured faculty lecturer, and has published nine books, including his most recent work, The University in Chains: Confronting the Military-Industrial-Academic Complex.
Routledge named Giroux as one of the top fifty educational thinkers of the modern period in 2002.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 25, 2016
The author calls Donald Trump "the symbol of a new authoritarianism, which is to say, the sign of a democracy unable to protect and sustain itself." He says that "Trump represents corporate domination set free, a political ad economic engine that both fuels and feeds on fear and intolerance," and that he "is the symbol of a frightened society that is increasingly seduced to choose the swagger of a vigilante strongman over the processes of collective sovereignty, the gun over diplomacy, and the wall instead of the bridge." [p.33] For the author "Trump's rise indicates the increasing confluence of religious fundamentalists and economic activists who insist that social, racial, economic, and environmental justice are wrong, lead to big government, and are malignant to the nation." [p.34]
While Donald Trump is probably the author's most frequently used example of and evidence for his thesis that America is well on its way to becoming a country that is authoritarian (a nicer way to say fascist or totalitarian) and militaristic rather than democratic, there are others, including, but not limited to, the Flint water crisis, the crisis in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, covert drone operations against ISIS that result in serious collateral damage, various incidents in which police target blacks, and the violence against Planned Parenthood clinics. The author seems to believe this movement towards authoritarianism has resulted, at least in part, from too much emphasis on the proposition that individuals are responsible for themselves and do not have any responsibility for the welfare of the society as a whole, i.e., that many Americans have lost a sense of social responsibility and an understanding that many issues are ones that must be addressed collectively rather than individually. The author seems to feel the slide can be corrected through education, implying it is due to a failure to teach critical thinking as more and more emphasis is placed on testing and memorization.
There is value in this book. The author points to a number of issues we should be concerned about, regardless of whether we individually are directly impacted. However, when he talks about solutions, he goes to the 30,000 foot level, writing in generalities focused on the education system.
The book seems to have been rushed to publication. The copyright for the book is shown as 2017. When I asked the clerk at the City Lights Bookstore (the publisher) why it was on the shelves in August 2016 if the copyright is 2017, he indicated that it was originally to be published in 2017 but had been published early. This is understandable given the Trump examples, but the book could have used the time until the originally expected publication in 2017 for some editing. It is quite repetitious. In addition, the text is rather academic, using terms that are not typically used by the general population, even those with advanced degrees. The chapters addressing the slide to authoritarianism and militarism would have been more effective if shortened and written less academically, including the elimination of many of the quotes. The endnotes are sufficient for those interested in exploring the thesis presented. The first two chapters (up to page 58) do a nice job of setting for the author's thesis - they are clear and relatively succinct. Thereafter the book starts to get increasingly repetitious. It was harder to discern the points being made and what, if anything, was added to the points laid out in the first two chapters. The last section (IV) contains only one chapter. In it the author suggests that the way to stop the slide is through education. However, this part lacks specific examples of how the author believes education should be done and where the teachers trained to teach in the manner he suggests are to be found or trained. He seems to be saying that teachers must teach critical thinking. This is a no brainer - isn't it what teachers are supposed to do? And if they aren't, what is the solution to that?
While Donald Trump is probably the author's most frequently used example of and evidence for his thesis that America is well on its way to becoming a country that is authoritarian (a nicer way to say fascist or totalitarian) and militaristic rather than democratic, there are others, including, but not limited to, the Flint water crisis, the crisis in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, covert drone operations against ISIS that result in serious collateral damage, various incidents in which police target blacks, and the violence against Planned Parenthood clinics. The author seems to believe this movement towards authoritarianism has resulted, at least in part, from too much emphasis on the proposition that individuals are responsible for themselves and do not have any responsibility for the welfare of the society as a whole, i.e., that many Americans have lost a sense of social responsibility and an understanding that many issues are ones that must be addressed collectively rather than individually. The author seems to feel the slide can be corrected through education, implying it is due to a failure to teach critical thinking as more and more emphasis is placed on testing and memorization.
There is value in this book. The author points to a number of issues we should be concerned about, regardless of whether we individually are directly impacted. However, when he talks about solutions, he goes to the 30,000 foot level, writing in generalities focused on the education system.
The book seems to have been rushed to publication. The copyright for the book is shown as 2017. When I asked the clerk at the City Lights Bookstore (the publisher) why it was on the shelves in August 2016 if the copyright is 2017, he indicated that it was originally to be published in 2017 but had been published early. This is understandable given the Trump examples, but the book could have used the time until the originally expected publication in 2017 for some editing. It is quite repetitious. In addition, the text is rather academic, using terms that are not typically used by the general population, even those with advanced degrees. The chapters addressing the slide to authoritarianism and militarism would have been more effective if shortened and written less academically, including the elimination of many of the quotes. The endnotes are sufficient for those interested in exploring the thesis presented. The first two chapters (up to page 58) do a nice job of setting for the author's thesis - they are clear and relatively succinct. Thereafter the book starts to get increasingly repetitious. It was harder to discern the points being made and what, if anything, was added to the points laid out in the first two chapters. The last section (IV) contains only one chapter. In it the author suggests that the way to stop the slide is through education. However, this part lacks specific examples of how the author believes education should be done and where the teachers trained to teach in the manner he suggests are to be found or trained. He seems to be saying that teachers must teach critical thinking. This is a no brainer - isn't it what teachers are supposed to do? And if they aren't, what is the solution to that?
March 10, 2017
Not an easy read. Not even a little. The author makes some great points about the new administration, the fall of democracy, and the rise of authoritarianism. I got about a third of the way into it before I couldn't take the run-on sentences littered with $50 words any longer. For example: “The extended arc of temporal relations in which one could imagine long-term augmentation of the common good has given way to a notion of time in which the horizon is contained within the imperative of increasing short-term profit for the financial elite irrespective of the consequences that doing so may visit upon others." I nearly had to draw myself a diagram to digest that one. And if I've ever seen a single word so overused in any book: Pedagogy. No less than 84 times! Ugh. I'm out.
April 16, 2017
It's good to read Giroux, like the process of purification by wearing a horse hair shirt. And the argument he provides for the root causes of the dysfunctional current state and worsening trends of the United States is convincing (not uplifting, not hopeful, but convincing).
July 10, 2017
I told the guy at City Lights this was probably going to depress me. He said it would arm me with information. We were both right.
February 9, 2017
Although occasionally repetitious, this is a very fine analysis of the assault on democracy, the movement toward authoritarianism and the marginalization of all but the economic elites. Giroux reminds us that we the people are entrusted with the constant struggle to achieve a truly democratic society. In the face of more and more indices of authoritarianism in American society, Giroux offers hope, not defeat. We can all benefit from this excellent book.
January 31, 2018
This is a book I wish I had the talent to write. It brought together in one cohesive theme many factors read about in years past to explain where we are and how we got here.
In last few years I have read many political themed books analyzing "current" political landscapes and cultural conditions. Some titles I recommend here - Empire of Illusions, Too Big to Fail, Dark Money, Hillbilly Elegy, Evicted, Who Rules the World and What's the matter with Kansas.? There are others that evaluate bits and pieces of the theme of this particular book.
This President is and was inevitable. He is symptom not cause.
I stated many times in last few years - since reading Empire of Illusions - that if anyone believed changing the person in the White House would fix things you did not understand the nature of the problem. I still agree. He, and his narcissism and lack of political experience add to the problem but those factors alone are NOT true cause. He, or someone like him would eventually have been elected. Had Clinton been elected we would still be mired in dysfunction, partisan politics, demonstrations, obstructionism, and flawed policies going forward. The only difference might have been speed and collateral damage to democracy itself.
I have been wrong to focus on his child like behavior and comments. I need to temper my knee jerk response to tweets and bluster filled comments. He could not be where he is without a back drop of years of slow, gradual, and mostly hidden creation of an oligarchy of corporate power in the United States and withering of true democracy as explained in this book. Today, you find even the Koch brothers - whose money supported and promoted many of the same gradual policy changes to their own best interests - are not happy with this President. He talks of deals and business changes they do not like, but, they contributed to the earlier process that put him in office even without benefit of campaign funding.
Everyone, especially political pundits and analysts want to find one or a few causes for how and why voters voted as they did. After reading this book I believe that search is fruitless and even if many agree on one or a few causes and try to change them - they are doomed to fail. This has been a systemic process controlled by players at many levels over time but all with same goal in mind.... bottom line. Here and there we see small cultural victories for freedom and civil liberties, but those come about due to no perceived threat to the bottom line and corporate powers who would easily squash such if it meant reduction of profits.
What has brought us here? Money and lots of it. If there is any single cause that would be it but its influence is pervasive and comes at us from so many different ways. More and more is spent in the service of global and American corporations to protect themselves, positions, bottom lines, tax breaks, stockholders, freedom from regulation, and outright greed at the expense of every day American lives. We have a country now where a pharmaceutical corporation advances a new drug that has known harmful effects despite FDA approval. That company can decide cost of lawsuit damages resulting from wrongful death of that drug is simply a cost of doing business and will not be a blow to profit margins. That is what they do. Same could be said for the automobile industry. Any one of them can create an auto for distribution that has known design or safety flaws but resulting law suits will not damage profit. If it were not for limited government regulations in place, as well as rule of law there would be more instances of this type of thinking. And it is this type of thinking that has permeated our culture, media, education, and general attitudes. This book lays out the many ways corporate manipulation of government, business, and media, has created a world where we all look the other way.
I have long believed that the stock market was legalized gambling. That has not changed any in recent years. And now purchases and sales are controlled by algorithms and computer programs where a single simple glitch can throw the market into free fall. Corporations are quite happy to let technology handle their stranglehold on the market and states have invested pension funds heavily in the market. But, the market is driven only but the bottom line and ever increasing profits regardless of what it takes to create them. When it does not come from innovation and new advances then it comes from cutting staff, benefits, and other human costs of doing business given those are all expendable in the goal of profits. It is the way to income inequality and the book lays out some of the less obvious ways this has been allowed to occur.
I have also believed lobbying is legalized bribery and its growth in DC is correlated with more and more partisan political positions given needed funding to get re elected. Term limits won't change the process only the players. Lobby funding has only one purpose - buying political power.
We have become a nation of consumers not citizens. Hence, we are treated as such and have a growing political process that strengthens that position. Social contracts existing for years are now tattered and worn. This book lays out how community organizations have been systematically maligned and marginalized adding to the growing dysfunction.
I have listened to this President's slogan - Make America great again. It bothered me from the beginning. First I was bothered by not knowing why it was not still great. But, then I saw and heard cries of wanting to go back - back to some other time, where if you look hard, was not so great for everyone. But, for those dreaming of a return to those days I see the appeal of the slogan. But, we can never go back. Too much has changed in our lives. The America to be made great again will not look like the old one. It can't. Gone are attitudes and goals of those times as well as forces that brought us together. It will be an America that does not look like anything anyone has even thought of yet.
I now hear the slogan and want to add two letters - n and s after America. Make Americans great again! Put Americans first NOT corporations. Listen carefully to all the rhetoric coming out of DC and the media. What really speaks to Americans without some deference to the needs of business?
I cannot get away from this book's emphasis on how that goal permeates everything in DC. It is the underlying and hidden theme of our dysfunction. Corporate America has created the narrative that they are not the enemy. Given all the energy expended about repeal and replace of the ACA - fingers pointing everywhere EXCEPT where true cause of the health care crises lies - insurance companies. As this book spells out -Americans have been taught to look elsewhere for blame for their problems, minorities, immigrants, liberals, gays, environmentalists, welfare recipients, drug addicts, etc. But, the solution is always let the free market work its magic. In our country the free market is an illusion and is anything but free.
We Americans have listened - some more than others. Time to wake up and point the finger at the real source of dysfunction and election of this kind of President. Money.... its influence is pervasive and ultimately will destroy democracy. Read the book.
In last few years I have read many political themed books analyzing "current" political landscapes and cultural conditions. Some titles I recommend here - Empire of Illusions, Too Big to Fail, Dark Money, Hillbilly Elegy, Evicted, Who Rules the World and What's the matter with Kansas.? There are others that evaluate bits and pieces of the theme of this particular book.
This President is and was inevitable. He is symptom not cause.
I stated many times in last few years - since reading Empire of Illusions - that if anyone believed changing the person in the White House would fix things you did not understand the nature of the problem. I still agree. He, and his narcissism and lack of political experience add to the problem but those factors alone are NOT true cause. He, or someone like him would eventually have been elected. Had Clinton been elected we would still be mired in dysfunction, partisan politics, demonstrations, obstructionism, and flawed policies going forward. The only difference might have been speed and collateral damage to democracy itself.
I have been wrong to focus on his child like behavior and comments. I need to temper my knee jerk response to tweets and bluster filled comments. He could not be where he is without a back drop of years of slow, gradual, and mostly hidden creation of an oligarchy of corporate power in the United States and withering of true democracy as explained in this book. Today, you find even the Koch brothers - whose money supported and promoted many of the same gradual policy changes to their own best interests - are not happy with this President. He talks of deals and business changes they do not like, but, they contributed to the earlier process that put him in office even without benefit of campaign funding.
Everyone, especially political pundits and analysts want to find one or a few causes for how and why voters voted as they did. After reading this book I believe that search is fruitless and even if many agree on one or a few causes and try to change them - they are doomed to fail. This has been a systemic process controlled by players at many levels over time but all with same goal in mind.... bottom line. Here and there we see small cultural victories for freedom and civil liberties, but those come about due to no perceived threat to the bottom line and corporate powers who would easily squash such if it meant reduction of profits.
What has brought us here? Money and lots of it. If there is any single cause that would be it but its influence is pervasive and comes at us from so many different ways. More and more is spent in the service of global and American corporations to protect themselves, positions, bottom lines, tax breaks, stockholders, freedom from regulation, and outright greed at the expense of every day American lives. We have a country now where a pharmaceutical corporation advances a new drug that has known harmful effects despite FDA approval. That company can decide cost of lawsuit damages resulting from wrongful death of that drug is simply a cost of doing business and will not be a blow to profit margins. That is what they do. Same could be said for the automobile industry. Any one of them can create an auto for distribution that has known design or safety flaws but resulting law suits will not damage profit. If it were not for limited government regulations in place, as well as rule of law there would be more instances of this type of thinking. And it is this type of thinking that has permeated our culture, media, education, and general attitudes. This book lays out the many ways corporate manipulation of government, business, and media, has created a world where we all look the other way.
I have long believed that the stock market was legalized gambling. That has not changed any in recent years. And now purchases and sales are controlled by algorithms and computer programs where a single simple glitch can throw the market into free fall. Corporations are quite happy to let technology handle their stranglehold on the market and states have invested pension funds heavily in the market. But, the market is driven only but the bottom line and ever increasing profits regardless of what it takes to create them. When it does not come from innovation and new advances then it comes from cutting staff, benefits, and other human costs of doing business given those are all expendable in the goal of profits. It is the way to income inequality and the book lays out some of the less obvious ways this has been allowed to occur.
I have also believed lobbying is legalized bribery and its growth in DC is correlated with more and more partisan political positions given needed funding to get re elected. Term limits won't change the process only the players. Lobby funding has only one purpose - buying political power.
We have become a nation of consumers not citizens. Hence, we are treated as such and have a growing political process that strengthens that position. Social contracts existing for years are now tattered and worn. This book lays out how community organizations have been systematically maligned and marginalized adding to the growing dysfunction.
I have listened to this President's slogan - Make America great again. It bothered me from the beginning. First I was bothered by not knowing why it was not still great. But, then I saw and heard cries of wanting to go back - back to some other time, where if you look hard, was not so great for everyone. But, for those dreaming of a return to those days I see the appeal of the slogan. But, we can never go back. Too much has changed in our lives. The America to be made great again will not look like the old one. It can't. Gone are attitudes and goals of those times as well as forces that brought us together. It will be an America that does not look like anything anyone has even thought of yet.
I now hear the slogan and want to add two letters - n and s after America. Make Americans great again! Put Americans first NOT corporations. Listen carefully to all the rhetoric coming out of DC and the media. What really speaks to Americans without some deference to the needs of business?
I cannot get away from this book's emphasis on how that goal permeates everything in DC. It is the underlying and hidden theme of our dysfunction. Corporate America has created the narrative that they are not the enemy. Given all the energy expended about repeal and replace of the ACA - fingers pointing everywhere EXCEPT where true cause of the health care crises lies - insurance companies. As this book spells out -Americans have been taught to look elsewhere for blame for their problems, minorities, immigrants, liberals, gays, environmentalists, welfare recipients, drug addicts, etc. But, the solution is always let the free market work its magic. In our country the free market is an illusion and is anything but free.
We Americans have listened - some more than others. Time to wake up and point the finger at the real source of dysfunction and election of this kind of President. Money.... its influence is pervasive and ultimately will destroy democracy. Read the book.
December 4, 2020
Written four years ago, it's no less apropos now. Prescient in its depiction of the encroaching authoritarianism in the US. Giroux has a strong bead on the systemic racism, militarism, and raging capitalism that have brought us to where we are today. Even with his insight, predicting this nadir would have been nearly impossible (save for the likes of Bandy X. Lee, Elizabeth Mika, and their mental health colleagues, who saw the incorrigible, malignantly sick Trump from a mile away... as he was shooting people on 5th Avenue and getting away with it). Even as we attempt to segue from the malignancy of Trump to the resurrected neoliberalism of the kinder, gentler Joe - while suffering and enduring incalculable daily losses that couldn't have been imagined a year or four years ago - this volume is worth considering. The final 30 or 40 pages focus on pedagogy and Giroux's call for inculcating students with the ability to think critically and to be instructed as to the moral and political implications of what they learn. I suspect that his entreaty is falling on mostly deaf ears, unfortunately. His dense ending is a call to action but considerably slowed the pace for me. It's still worth the time, particularly in these quarantine days.
August 28, 2019
Giroux covers a variety of contemporary issues in this book, though his focus is a great deal on Trump and his election. Though at the same time merely calls him a “symptom” of the greater problem. Which I do agree with, however the text reverts to Trump more than divulging into that greater problem. He gets the issues across well, gets to the point and even offers some solution (critical thinking, education).
Which, of course, I agree with. Overall, a good book, a good commentary and critique on recent issues and the state of the country. Is there a part 2?
Which, of course, I agree with. Overall, a good book, a good commentary and critique on recent issues and the state of the country. Is there a part 2?
October 25, 2021
Spot on, but …
Giroux provides a no-holds-barred takedown of the social and political mainstream in America, going far beyond tepid center-left criticisms to scrutinize the rot that is baked into our culture. The writing is lucid and the observations spot on. My only criticism is of the book’s structure: half of it is strung together quotes from other people, constantly referring the reader to the 60 pages of endnotes, and the work is a bit of a frothy book-length rant.
Giroux provides a no-holds-barred takedown of the social and political mainstream in America, going far beyond tepid center-left criticisms to scrutinize the rot that is baked into our culture. The writing is lucid and the observations spot on. My only criticism is of the book’s structure: half of it is strung together quotes from other people, constantly referring the reader to the 60 pages of endnotes, and the work is a bit of a frothy book-length rant.
July 7, 2017
Much of what I read in the book I hear from the talking heads on MSNBC and CNN. Trump is bad. The country is going to hell. I don't disagree. I just wish I read something more constructive in improving the national conversation. Author makes some good points. I think he does an excellent job of describing how Trump has taken power.
Borrowed this book from the library...
Borrowed this book from the library...
July 22, 2018
Interesting read which exposes many of the problems currently facing America. Particularly insightful commentary on Donald Trump’s election and what this signifies regarding the ethos of the broader American (or even global) community.
July 31, 2022
Giroux is a highly immoral person, selling lies to an unsuspecting audience. America was at war, back in the days of the Civil War. Today it's just different opinions of how to handle stuff, which is way too much for the endless gulag Giroux wishes for North America.
December 31, 2017
Fantastic. Lots to think about.
February 5, 2017
The book brings an interesting prospective to the current situation in politics, the dangers that may lie ahead for the future, and the worldly context of such impacts by the free market agenda.
September 22, 2017
It has a lot of good ideas, but it’s really outdated. The world has changed.
March 3, 2019
It's worse.
May 4, 2021
fantastic book on violence and America. easy to read, hard to put down.
Want to read
March 13, 2024ملاحظة لي: لم اقرا الكتاب بعد - الكاتب باحث في التربية النقدية مقابل قوى السوق
November 5, 2016
It has been many years since I have read Marxist criticism (not counting Thomas Franks). This one is at the Noam Chomsky/Howard Zinn level of America-sucksism, and about a third of the way through, I stopped reading. Not because it isn't interesting or on-point, but because it is repetitive. There are only so many ways you can say 'fascist-authoritarian-totalitarian' before it becomes redundant (also, point of order: the author never bothers to define those terms, which from a philosophical point of view, is a very telling weakness in his arguments. Fascism is notoriously difficult to define, but like the SCOTUS justice said of pornography, 'I know it when I see it.')
I do not believe America is ripe for a fascist take-over. Even if a bottom feeding low life like Donald Trump somehow becomes President, the tens of millions of people--hundreds of millions, really-- who did not vote for him and do not support him will hold off any right-wing forces bent on our subjugation. I am not worried about that. I am worried about violence, and small pockets of extremists taking out their anger on people with whom they disagree. That's something that really could happen.
In a larger sense, I am also worried about our nation's spirit. People are just sad. And angry. And afraid. And anxious. All of us, all the time. We are changing, have changed, so rapidly that I think the average person is left bewildered and frightened by the world around them. Everything is so different, and it's all happened so quickly. I was telling my ten year old daughter today how America is like a different country now when compared to how it was when I was her age 38 years ago. Change is hard, and not all change is positive. It's not a huge surprise to me that the volk are uneasy.
So, be of good cheer, my people. I don't think we are in any real danger of becoming a fascist hellhole. We are in very real danger of declining 'not with a bang but a whimper.' Well...with a few bangs, because there are a lot to freaking guns out there. But we are not done yet, not by a mile.
Because 'Merica.
I do not believe America is ripe for a fascist take-over. Even if a bottom feeding low life like Donald Trump somehow becomes President, the tens of millions of people--hundreds of millions, really-- who did not vote for him and do not support him will hold off any right-wing forces bent on our subjugation. I am not worried about that. I am worried about violence, and small pockets of extremists taking out their anger on people with whom they disagree. That's something that really could happen.
In a larger sense, I am also worried about our nation's spirit. People are just sad. And angry. And afraid. And anxious. All of us, all the time. We are changing, have changed, so rapidly that I think the average person is left bewildered and frightened by the world around them. Everything is so different, and it's all happened so quickly. I was telling my ten year old daughter today how America is like a different country now when compared to how it was when I was her age 38 years ago. Change is hard, and not all change is positive. It's not a huge surprise to me that the volk are uneasy.
So, be of good cheer, my people. I don't think we are in any real danger of becoming a fascist hellhole. We are in very real danger of declining 'not with a bang but a whimper.' Well...with a few bangs, because there are a lot to freaking guns out there. But we are not done yet, not by a mile.
Because 'Merica.
November 5, 2016
I ordered this book after I read Giroux's interview on truth-out.org (http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item...). If you are considering reading this book, I would recommend reading that short article first, as it does a great job of highlighting the essential themes of this book.
Overall, this brief text does a wonderful job of contextualizing the movements we see in modern politics within the structural, institutional, and cultural history of the United States. I appreciated how Giroux situated the growing trend towards fascism, fear, and totalitarianism within a longterm historical context.
In each chapter, Giroux takes us deeper into the ways in which our nation is at war with itself -- in education, gun ownership, politics, and immigration. His essential thesis is grounded in multivariate contexts, and through each issue that he explores, we build a foundational understanding of the deep roots of these issues, and the importance of critical pedagogy which enables us to "think, doubt, question, and imagine the unimaginable" (p. 233).
By the time I reached the final chapter, I was highlighting and underscoring with increasing conviction and vigor. As an educator, his call to revolution was inspiring and empowering. We live in "dangerous times," but we also can develop a new discourse of "educated hope," and this is built on a foundation of understanding the ways in which issues interweave. I think that Giroux succeeds in modeling this new discourse in this text: he does not ignore the devastating realities facing our nation, and he simultaneously charges us to recognize the possibilities for a more just future.
Overall, this brief text does a wonderful job of contextualizing the movements we see in modern politics within the structural, institutional, and cultural history of the United States. I appreciated how Giroux situated the growing trend towards fascism, fear, and totalitarianism within a longterm historical context.
In each chapter, Giroux takes us deeper into the ways in which our nation is at war with itself -- in education, gun ownership, politics, and immigration. His essential thesis is grounded in multivariate contexts, and through each issue that he explores, we build a foundational understanding of the deep roots of these issues, and the importance of critical pedagogy which enables us to "think, doubt, question, and imagine the unimaginable" (p. 233).
By the time I reached the final chapter, I was highlighting and underscoring with increasing conviction and vigor. As an educator, his call to revolution was inspiring and empowering. We live in "dangerous times," but we also can develop a new discourse of "educated hope," and this is built on a foundation of understanding the ways in which issues interweave. I think that Giroux succeeds in modeling this new discourse in this text: he does not ignore the devastating realities facing our nation, and he simultaneously charges us to recognize the possibilities for a more just future.
December 17, 2016
Well, it really isn't finished, I just put it down one fifth of the way through. I didn't do this because it was awful, rather because it wasn't really saying anything which added anything to what I have long known. I scanned ahead, and, well, more of the same. Obviously rushed out to make some money off the times, the book could and should have just been an article in some magazine or in the web. It is probably 100 times the length it should have been. It's an opinion piece, not a bad one, but just that. I should have figured this out before I bought it. Anyway, I have other things I would rather read at the moment.
October 26, 2016
Very good reading.
December 1, 2016
Some of the author's views are unrealistic in my opinion. It's worth a read, gives one much to ponder.
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