Al Franken
I will start out by defending my choice of literature. Quite frankly, I was in the mood for it. I was in the mood for something satirical and lighthearted, and I thought to myself, "Self, why not Al Franken?" I responded in the affirmative and spent my afternoon with this humorous account of the numerous follies of the post-2000 conservative movement.
I feel bad actually trying to review the book. I happen to agree with most of what Franken says (and I'm not good at numbers, so I can't crunch any of the tax stuff), although I'm sure that some of it is slightly distorted to fit his own agenda. However, I do think he makes a great point of specifically calling attention to numerous occasions that find our favorite conservatives actually lying, where it appears intentional. Many of the blunders Franken sights are from books by Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, and Sean Hannity. While I can see how someone could unknowingly lie while on the spot, it's hard to defend these kinds of boldfaced untruths when they are published.
The book is a moderate expose that is played for laughs more than anything. I can understand why conservatives were so riled up about the book when it first appeared, but I think that the entire country has to settle down and get a sense of humor. In fact, I think that the point that the book makes most of all is somewhat unintentional: the current state of the media and political discourse in this country is dreadful. All it amounts to is lie-slinging and name-bashing all around, on both sides (watch Fox News or even MSNBC for a glimpse), to say nothing of sensationalism. In a climate such as this one, based on immediate and complete gratification, it is almost impossible for the country to have a reasonable discussion.
Liberals have often come out on the very wrong end of this quagmire, labelled traitors and anti-Christian zealots. When it comes to exposing conservative hypocrisy and playfully engaging the political climate, Al Franken impresses and entertains.
Grade: A-I feel bad actually trying to review the book. I happen to agree with most of what Franken says (and I'm not good at numbers, so I can't crunch any of the tax stuff), although I'm sure that some of it is slightly distorted to fit his own agenda. However, I do think he makes a great point of specifically calling attention to numerous occasions that find our favorite conservatives actually lying, where it appears intentional. Many of the blunders Franken sights are from books by Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, and Sean Hannity. While I can see how someone could unknowingly lie while on the spot, it's hard to defend these kinds of boldfaced untruths when they are published.
The book is a moderate expose that is played for laughs more than anything. I can understand why conservatives were so riled up about the book when it first appeared, but I think that the entire country has to settle down and get a sense of humor. In fact, I think that the point that the book makes most of all is somewhat unintentional: the current state of the media and political discourse in this country is dreadful. All it amounts to is lie-slinging and name-bashing all around, on both sides (watch Fox News or even MSNBC for a glimpse), to say nothing of sensationalism. In a climate such as this one, based on immediate and complete gratification, it is almost impossible for the country to have a reasonable discussion.
Liberals have often come out on the very wrong end of this quagmire, labelled traitors and anti-Christian zealots. When it comes to exposing conservative hypocrisy and playfully engaging the political climate, Al Franken impresses and entertains.
No comments:
Post a Comment