Categories
culture

Breaking the News

I have been learning a lot from Breaking the News and noticing my perspectives on media, politics, politicians, and public debate changing. If I could spend about two uninterrupted days I would love to write a full reaction to the book. As it is I am planning to write a series of posts focusing on different aspects of the subject that the books covers. If anyone wants to get a headstart on me so they can debunk my thoughts (or enhance my understanding) they could prepare themselves by reading chapters 1, 4, and 5 of the book (possibly later chapters will be added to the list).

Also, I realized a flaw this morning in my assumtions to the question I asked yesterday. The assumption were that newspapers disappeared but radio and television remained. If that were the case little if anything would change because NPR (radio) already does as good a job at thoughtful commentary and reporting as most or all of our current newspapers.

Categories
General

The Revolution

After the primary season and the surprises from the Ron Paul campaign I have wanted to read his book, The Revolution – A Manifesto, for quite some time. I had to wait or quite a while before it became available at my library (apparently I was not very early in placing my hold). I was interested to see what Ron Paul would write considering what he had said and what had been said about him.

I think the shortest accurate review of the book would read like this:

Forget everything you know, or think you know, about Ron Paul before you start reading this book. After you have read it decide what you really think about what he says here.

I honestly believe that the greatest disservice that most people could do to themselves when reading this book would be to color their reading with preconceived notions of how radical his ideas are. Personally I think it is always well worth my time to explore the ideas of a person who can alienate conservatives and liberals at the same time as he unites people from across the political spectrum.

After having read the book I would love to have someone, anyone, go through the book and refute the points that Rep. Paul makes with evidence and statistics rather than the simple and meaningless marginalizing treatment that he and his campaign receved throughout the primary process. I would love to see someone who could do that or the entire book, but I would be surprised if anyone could accomplish the feat for a single chapter of The Revolution.

Categories
culture

Money – It’s Not Just for Rich People

Money - It’s Not Just for Rich People I have read a number of books on personal finance over the years because good money management is a key to happiness – it’s hard to really be happy when facing an endless mountain of debt. When I read Money – It’s Not Just for Rich People from Janine Bolon at SmartCents there were few really new concepts. Much of the financial advice is based on earlier works such as Your Money or Your Life, which I had read previously.

There was one major new principle though which goes beyond simple math and into the karma of financial decisions. That’s the 60/40 principle. I’ll leave the details to the book, but it was completely unique to find a book which acknowledged that financial success or failure is not exclusively tied to how much we earn and/or spend, but also to how we spend. Though she makes no reference to it, the sentiment is not unlike the invitation to:

Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. (Ecclesiastes 11:1)

If you want a real path to financial independence – something more dependable than winning the lottery – I recommend picking up this book. It distills the principles into a memorable formula and tells the truth about financial independence – it requires discipline in your spending habits and an accurate understanding of the difference between needs and wants.

So what does a book about personal finance have to do with conservative politics? Aside from the fact that all conservatives are either rich business people, stupid enough to think they can get rich, or just plain old ignorant bigots (tongue firmly in cheek), not much except that the principles of personal financial success and the principles of sound government seem to be equally misunderstood by the public at large. Also, I agreed to do a review on this book and it’s been a long time in coming.

Categories
General

No god but God

No God but GOD

I have been trying to learn more about Islam in an effort to sort out the truth from the fiction that is reported in conjunction with the war on terror and other similar realities of our day. As a part of that goal I recently picked up No god but God by Reza Aslan, an Iranian born and American educated Muslim scholar. I was well rewarded. This book is a must read for anyone trying to understand the religion that operates in the areas of the Middle East that have suddenly become so prominent in American politics. Not only did I come to a more complete understanding of Islam, but I came to a better understanding or faith, religion, society and America as well.

Aslan explains the difference between faith and religion and helps the reader understand the culture and history of pre-Islamic Arabia before trying to relate the rise of Islam with Muhammed and the changes that brought to the Arab culture of the area. The reader then learns how the challenges arising from the death of Muhammed eventually lead to the various movements in Islam such as Shi’ism, Sufism and Wahhabism.

After reading this book there was no more question in my mind as to why so much strife exists between the Shi’ites and the Sunnis as the Iraqis try to rebuild their country. In the struggle between the west and the people of Iraq in defining democracy in that country, Aslan helps differentiate between secularism and pluralism. With that distinction we may have less fear of letting the Iraqis set up democracy in a way that represents their culture rather than our own.

Representative democracy may be the greatest social and political experiment in the history of the world. But it is an ever-evolving experiment. These days there is a tendancy to regard American democracy as the model for all the world’s democracies, and in some ways this is true. The seeds of democracy may have been sown in ancient Greece, but it is in American soil that they sprouted and flourished. Yet precisely for this reason, only in America is American democracy possible; it cannot be isolated from American traditions and values.

Read No god but God to learn about the traditions and values that will shape the democracies that will make the world feel safe once again.

  • Title: No god but God: the Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam
  • Author: Reza Aslan
  • Publisher: Random House
  • ISBN: 1-4000-6213-6