| A RETURN TO COMMON SENSE How To Fix America Before We Really Blow It Leigh McGowan New York: One Signal Publishers, September 2024 |
Rating: 5.0 High |
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| ISBN-13 978-1-6680-6643-0 | ||||
| ISBN-10 1-6680-6643-2 | 293pp. | HC | $29.99 | |
This is an especially stressful time in America.1 The Republican Party has come under the sway of Donald Trump and a coterie of his enablers. Their goal is to turn the country into their private fiefdom where an elite class lords it over a population educated according to utilitarian doctrine doing the menial tasks for barely adequate pay while the upper crust and those they deign to admit into their midst enjoy a comprehensive education and the luxury of wealth.2
The Republicans (or Trumpeteers, as I call them now) are very close to achieving their goal — but they haven't reached it yet. We must, if we wish to preserve the America we have, need to learn how it is supposed to function and dedicate ourselves to making sure it does work that way. I think those things are worth doing, and so does Leigh McGowan.
That is why she wrote this book. Her purpose is twofold: to remind us in clear terms how the system of government the Founding Fathers left us is meant to work, and to explain how dedicated, at this late date, we the people must be if we are to succeed in restoring it.
Once again, America finds itself at a tipping point where it could go one of two ways. Once again, our leaders need the inspiration and courage to pick the harder, but more rewarding path. And once again, it will come down to the will of the people to determine our fate. If we choose to continue down the path of division and inequality, with hatred and misinformation impeding our progress, we'll end up right back where we started, under some form of top-down rule. However, if we choose to address our flawed but inspired democracy now, I believe we can rebuild this nation on a stronger foundation than we began on. It's my belief, as Paine argued all those years ago, that there's only one right path, and if we fail to choose it, we'll lose the opportunity to choose again. This time the choice isn't between subjugation and independence, but between democracy and plutocracy. We either to continue to favor the wealthy and influential, while we strip citizens of their rights and shore up minority rule, or we get serious about living up to the ideals we've sold to the world. – Pages 3-4 |
The book, her first, lays out in 26 pages the framework of our federal government: the three branches of that government and the Articles of the Constitution that organze them. Then there are "The Six American Principles" that make up the heart of the book.
I propose the Six American Principles. Six things that we, the people, no matter our politics, persuasion, or background, can agree on. Six ideals we can use as guideposts to not only find our way out of the mess we're currently in, but to set a course for a future of which we can actually be proud. If we start here, we start strong.
– Pages 37-38 |
I won't attempt to comment on her explanation of these principles. That stands very well on its own. The text is clear and readable, and very well researched. Numerous references are mentioned along the way, and the narrative is supplemented by blocks of text labeled "America 101:..." which explain particular topics in more detail. There is a "Further Reading List" which covers organizations, books (only one of which I've read), podcasts, newsletters, accounts on social media (50), and journalists she admires. There is an extensive set of Notes. There is an excellent Index. And there is a banana bread recipe.
Grammatical errors are few and far between. I noted the over-use of commas, and sentence fragments appear frequently. But the former is not objectionable, and the latter actually makes the book more readable as it reflects her conversational style. So I give this book top marks and rate it a must read.
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