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Julian J. Rothbaum Distinguished Lecture
How America Lost Its Mind: The Assault on Reason That’s Crippling Our Democracy (Volume 15)
Americans are losing touch with reality. On virtually every issue, from climate change to immigration, tens of millions of Americans have opinions and beliefs wildly at odds with fact, rendering them unable to think sensibly about politics. In How America Lost Its Mind, Thomas E. Patterson explains the rise of a world of “alternative facts” and the slow-motion cultural and political calamity unfolding around us.
We don’t have to search far for the forces that are misleading us and tearing us apart: politicians for whom division is a strategy; talk show hosts who have made an industry of outrage; news outlets that wield conflict as a marketing tool; and partisan organizations and foreign agents who spew disinformation to advance a cause, make a buck, or simply amuse themselves. The consequences are severe. How America Lost Its Mind maps a political landscape convulsed with distrust, gridlock, brinksmanship, petty feuding, and deceptive messaging.
As dire as this picture is, and as unlikely as immediate relief might be, Patterson sees a way forward and underscores its urgency. A call to action, his book encourages us to wrest institutional power from ideologues and disruptors and entrust it to sensible citizens and leaders, to restore our commitment to mutual tolerance and restraint, to cleanse the Internet of fake news and disinformation, and to demand a steady supply of trustworthy and relevant information from our news sources.
As philosopher Hannah Arendt wrote decades ago, the rise of demagogues is abetted by “people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.” In How America Lost Its Mind, Thomas E. Patterson makes a passionate case for fully and fiercely engaging on the side of truth and mutual respect in our present arms race between fact and fake, unity and division, civility and incivility.
We don’t have to search far for the forces that are misleading us and tearing us apart: politicians for whom division is a strategy; talk show hosts who have made an industry of outrage; news outlets that wield conflict as a marketing tool; and partisan organizations and foreign agents who spew disinformation to advance a cause, make a buck, or simply amuse themselves. The consequences are severe. How America Lost Its Mind maps a political landscape convulsed with distrust, gridlock, brinksmanship, petty feuding, and deceptive messaging.
As dire as this picture is, and as unlikely as immediate relief might be, Patterson sees a way forward and underscores its urgency. A call to action, his book encourages us to wrest institutional power from ideologues and disruptors and entrust it to sensible citizens and leaders, to restore our commitment to mutual tolerance and restraint, to cleanse the Internet of fake news and disinformation, and to demand a steady supply of trustworthy and relevant information from our news sources.
As philosopher Hannah Arendt wrote decades ago, the rise of demagogues is abetted by “people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.” In How America Lost Its Mind, Thomas E. Patterson makes a passionate case for fully and fiercely engaging on the side of truth and mutual respect in our present arms race between fact and fake, unity and division, civility and incivility.
- GenresPoliticsNonfiction
193 pages, Hardcover
Published October 3, 2019
39 people are currently reading
223 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 30, 2024
8/30/2024 addendum: the title kinda says it all...
Deep down, we know the answer to the question. And the answer isn't "Trump" or "Biden", as much as our gut response wants it to be. Because our gut response is a product of a whole slew of factors that have hardened each of us, politically, into the people we have become.
The answer to "How America Lost Its Mind", according to Thomas E. Patterson, is a complicated one. It's a finely-constructed combination of a political atmosphere predicated on stonewalling rather than compromise, a media that has become so hyper-politicized that true objectivity is non-existent, a populace that has become so enflamed with nationalism and anti-intellectualism, and a rampant demagoguery on both ends of the political spectrum. In a nutshell.
It's a big nutshell, though, as Patterson points out in his 2019 book. And it's full of nuts.
It's a tough one to crack, too, but Patterson does offer some solutions.
Elect more moderates in both parties, as the Far Right and the Far Left have essentially taken over the majority of the GOP and the Dems. As Patterson points out several times in in his book, the least liberal of any Democrat currently in Congress is still far more liberal than the most liberal Republicans. Compromise simply can't exist under these conditions.
Bring back the Fairness Doctrine. In case you've never heard of this, it was created by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1949 as a way of making sure that two sides of any issue were given fair and equal time in the media. It was abolished in 1987, which ushered in a new era of politically-biased and propagandistic media such as FOX News.
Read a book. People are stupider. (Okay, so that's my own conclusion, not Patterson's.) Too many are too easily led to believe the bullshit and lies that are spoon-fed to them by their respective political leaders and media sources, and they don't do their own research. Fact-checking used to be something everyone did if they questioned something someone said on the news. Nowadays, most people aren't even asking the questions.
Deep down, we know the answer to the question. And the answer isn't "Trump" or "Biden", as much as our gut response wants it to be. Because our gut response is a product of a whole slew of factors that have hardened each of us, politically, into the people we have become.
The answer to "How America Lost Its Mind", according to Thomas E. Patterson, is a complicated one. It's a finely-constructed combination of a political atmosphere predicated on stonewalling rather than compromise, a media that has become so hyper-politicized that true objectivity is non-existent, a populace that has become so enflamed with nationalism and anti-intellectualism, and a rampant demagoguery on both ends of the political spectrum. In a nutshell.
It's a big nutshell, though, as Patterson points out in his 2019 book. And it's full of nuts.
It's a tough one to crack, too, but Patterson does offer some solutions.
Elect more moderates in both parties, as the Far Right and the Far Left have essentially taken over the majority of the GOP and the Dems. As Patterson points out several times in in his book, the least liberal of any Democrat currently in Congress is still far more liberal than the most liberal Republicans. Compromise simply can't exist under these conditions.
Bring back the Fairness Doctrine. In case you've never heard of this, it was created by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1949 as a way of making sure that two sides of any issue were given fair and equal time in the media. It was abolished in 1987, which ushered in a new era of politically-biased and propagandistic media such as FOX News.
Read a book. People are stupider. (Okay, so that's my own conclusion, not Patterson's.) Too many are too easily led to believe the bullshit and lies that are spoon-fed to them by their respective political leaders and media sources, and they don't do their own research. Fact-checking used to be something everyone did if they questioned something someone said on the news. Nowadays, most people aren't even asking the questions.
February 22, 2020
I found this a very good,unbiased view of how we got to where we are today.It started before our current regime.Trump has only taken the bull by the horns and made America hate again.Around and around we go. Peter Lerman was a fine narrator. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
March 16, 2021
Excellent read for both liberals and conservatives.
November 16, 2024
[I read Audilble version with narrator Peter Lerman.]
This is another book that explains, to me, a lot about the rise of MAGA politics and divisiveness. Main arguments that resonate with me is that we are:
1) Distracted by infotainment broadcasting instead of nonpartisan, hard news we are increasingly an uninformed and easily mislead electorate
2) Our attention-taking toys and entertainment are dulling our acumen. Referenced is Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
3) Intertwined with all this, we don't interact with each other sufficiently often find consensus opinions.
This is another book that explains, to me, a lot about the rise of MAGA politics and divisiveness. Main arguments that resonate with me is that we are:
1) Distracted by infotainment broadcasting instead of nonpartisan, hard news we are increasingly an uninformed and easily mislead electorate
2) Our attention-taking toys and entertainment are dulling our acumen. Referenced is Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
3) Intertwined with all this, we don't interact with each other sufficiently often find consensus opinions.
December 3, 2019
“How America Lost Its Mind” by Thomas Patterson is a short, tightly-written and impressive examination of American tribal politics of the 21st century. Patterson’s approach is extremely balanced, he spare neither ‘side’ (Democrats or Republicans) from their contributed guilt, nor does he merely throw up his arms in exasperation at the futile nature of present day American politics. At its heart “How America Lost Its Mind” is about the two vastly different realities our political left and right currently find themselves in, and how this is facilitated and enforced by our leaders, information systems and our own psychologies. In a highly readable, to-the-point fashion, Patterson walks us through: the basics of our current ‘information system’ and who we, the American citizens, have become Chapter 1. The Know Nothings); the Tribes that have resulted from these dynamics (Chapter 2); the major contributors to our polarized misinformation system (Chapters 3. The Disrupters/4. The Performers/5. The Marketers); and finally our chance to redeem ourselves (Chapter 6. The Level-Headed). This book should be required reading for any American who cares about our democracy and honestly wishes to make it better. This is not for a tribal partisan but it could convert a thoughtful partisan into a thoughtful ‘level-headed’ citizen. 5 Stars!
March 20, 2020
This was definitely a thought-provoking book. I did not agree with everything, but it did bring up many good points. At first I thought the author was trying to be non-partisan, but then he dipped into partisan anti-Trump comments.
Although the narrator was a good fit for the content, at times I got tired of his voice.
Although the narrator was a good fit for the content, at times I got tired of his voice.
June 25, 2020
Note to myself: I sometimes have an inflated sense of how much I know
If a book makes you think about the world around you and more over how you act and or react in it, then it is a good book.
Shame that those who should also read it and think about it. May think they should not invest the time.
I for one will read it at least one more time this year.
If a book makes you think about the world around you and more over how you act and or react in it, then it is a good book.
Shame that those who should also read it and think about it. May think they should not invest the time.
I for one will read it at least one more time this year.
June 20, 2024
I wish everyone (especially my family) could read this.
August 24, 2020
Recommend!
This book has made me challenge my thinking and become more aware of the information I let in. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
This book has made me challenge my thinking and become more aware of the information I let in. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
September 3, 2024
This book needs way more attention. It's brilliant. Just like its author, Harvard professor Thomas E. Patterson, who has long exemplified rationality in the irrational world of American politics.
Few argue with the notion that American politics has become dysfunctional in a variety of ways. As Patterson explains in the book, American politics isn’t just incoherent and inconsistent--it's often downright delusional. Americans consistently accept or reject versions of the facts and reality based simply on their politics.
These aren’t merely quirky views at the margins. Many Americans have very extreme and highly divergent views about the basic contours of the empirical world.
Millions of conservatives, for instance, think Hillary Clinton and other Democrats ran a child sex ring out of Washington DC’s Comet Ping Pong pizza shop. And millions of liberals think George W. Bush purposefully allowed the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to help him politically.
In the book, Patterson highlights examples of widespread falsehoods (and the percentage of Americans who believe them):
• “Donald Trump won the popular vote in the 2016 election (20 percent).”
• “Iraqis used weapons of mass destruction against U.S. troops during the Iraq invasion (20 percent).”
• “The 2010 Affordable Care Act includes ‘death panels’ (40 percent).”
• “Childhood vaccines cause autism (15 percent).”
• “Global warming is a hoax (35 percent).”
• “Russia didn’t meddle in the 2016 presidential election (37 percent).”
Hard to fathom, indeed.
These beliefs aren’t just delusional. They’re dangerous. They seep into the bloodstream of American politics, proliferate online and elsewhere, and render large swaths of the electorate—from both political tribes—wholly detached from reality.
Few argue with the notion that American politics has become dysfunctional in a variety of ways. As Patterson explains in the book, American politics isn’t just incoherent and inconsistent--it's often downright delusional. Americans consistently accept or reject versions of the facts and reality based simply on their politics.
These aren’t merely quirky views at the margins. Many Americans have very extreme and highly divergent views about the basic contours of the empirical world.
Millions of conservatives, for instance, think Hillary Clinton and other Democrats ran a child sex ring out of Washington DC’s Comet Ping Pong pizza shop. And millions of liberals think George W. Bush purposefully allowed the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to help him politically.
In the book, Patterson highlights examples of widespread falsehoods (and the percentage of Americans who believe them):
• “Donald Trump won the popular vote in the 2016 election (20 percent).”
• “Iraqis used weapons of mass destruction against U.S. troops during the Iraq invasion (20 percent).”
• “The 2010 Affordable Care Act includes ‘death panels’ (40 percent).”
• “Childhood vaccines cause autism (15 percent).”
• “Global warming is a hoax (35 percent).”
• “Russia didn’t meddle in the 2016 presidential election (37 percent).”
Hard to fathom, indeed.
These beliefs aren’t just delusional. They’re dangerous. They seep into the bloodstream of American politics, proliferate online and elsewhere, and render large swaths of the electorate—from both political tribes—wholly detached from reality.
June 9, 2023
read for PSCI3893: Conflict and Compromise in American Democracy w/ Jon Meacham and John Geer
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews