Mr. Book just finished Hatreds We Love: The Psychology Of Political Tribalism In Post-Truth America, by Stephen J. Ducat.
This book takes a look at why the right-wing loves to hate their political opponents, and anyone they perceive to be different from one. It looks at the issue from many different angles.
One of the highlights of the book was it showing this fact: political psychologist Lilliana Mason has done studies that “found that when liberal policy positions are attributed to conservative politicians, subjects who identify as Republicans tend to support them. And when those same positions are labeled in a way that suggests they originate from liberal policymakers, they are opposed. Likewise, the same Republican subjects can be persuaded to oppose conservative ideas when researchers attribute those ideas to liberal politicians.”
This book correctly asks the question, “To what extent can we say that the Confederacy lost the war? Black Americans remain disenfranchised in so many ways, despite laws and constitutional amendments, like the Fifteenth, to the contrary. Currently, one of this country’s two major parties, the GOP, is an unabashed white supremacist party with open racists and anti-Semites serving on House committees. To add irony to injury, then as now, the loudest voices decrying “voter fraud”—the rationale for voter suppression—have come from those who were perpetrating it.”
And, this isn’t the only book to raise that question. I own several that have that question as the entire purpose of the book.
I do have to take exception to a part of this passage: “Republican efforts to exploit and exacerbate racist sentiments in the country have only gotten more brazen over time. But there have been brief departures from that strategy, such as under George W. Bush. Not to diminish the ethnic targeting of individuals from Arab countries and the creation of “Black site” torture facilities, Bush created a more racially diverse cabinet and made some gestures toward a more just and less punitive immigration system.” Yes, the terrible Bush (worst president in history not named Donald Trump) did not target Muslims, had a more racially diverse cabinet and often spoke in terms of diversity. But, his administration spent 8 years implementing policies that were detrimental to minorities.
This book gives a lot of good information and discussion about the right-wing movement and its threat to the nation and the world.
I give this book an A. Goodreads requires grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews, and Goodreads.
Mr. Book finished reading this on September 5, 2024.
