A timely, engaging history of the United States from a progressive professor’s point of view.
America’s “common history,” shared by liberals and conservatives alike, as seen through the battles and accomplishments of the American left.
Despite the immortal words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” many of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence held slaves. Many believed, in the words of James Madison, that “the better sort of people” should govern, and only Federalist property-holding men should have the right to vote. They also had a tough time dealing with what constituted a person. In a series of essays, Ericksen convincingly argues that, since 1776, progressive, not conservative, politics have had the upper hand in reducing the “hypocrisy” of our founding fathers by bringing rights “closer to reality” for the poor, women, African-Americans, immigrants and LGBT persons. Historically, conservatives have tended to limit equality and fairness for all, while liberals have advocated for “the two principles vital to American democracy”: equal protection and separation of church and state. Ericksen breaks down the landmark accomplishments (FDA, FDIC, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid) that occurred during the three major periods of progressive change: from Jefferson to Jackson, Teddy to Franklin Roosevelt and Johnson’s Great Society. In a nation where “a portion of the American public has lost its mind,” respecting the laws of the free market and the laws of God above those passed by their own government, Ericksen explains how the Bible and Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” merged to supersede democracy and create the altar of American capitalism, as well as worker exploitation, monopolization, “socialism for the rich,” today’s tea party and our current government stalemate. Despite his hyperbolic title (used effectively throughout the book as a refrain and a “watchword,” Ericksen writes in a measured tone with thoughtful commentary backed up by a scholarly sway. The author fails to mention gray areas: Nixon pushing for comprehensive health reform, Clinton signing the Defense of Marriage Act (or his wife, as senator, voting to greenlight the war in Iraq). What might have come off as merely preaching, becomes teaching to the choir. Every once in awhile, all good choirs need to reassess and update their hymnals. Ericksen’s essays provide sufficient inspiration.
A timely, engaging history of the United States from a progressive professor’s point of view.Pub Date: July 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-1477539248
Page Count: 188
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular...
A neurosurgeon with a passion for literature tragically finds his perfect subject after his diagnosis of terminal lung cancer.
Writing isn’t brain surgery, but it’s rare when someone adept at the latter is also so accomplished at the former. Searching for meaning and purpose in his life, Kalanithi pursued a doctorate in literature and had felt certain that he wouldn’t enter the field of medicine, in which his father and other members of his family excelled. “But I couldn’t let go of the question,” he writes, after realizing that his goals “didn’t quite fit in an English department.” “Where did biology, morality, literature and philosophy intersect?” So he decided to set aside his doctoral dissertation and belatedly prepare for medical school, which “would allow me a chance to find answers that are not in books, to find a different sort of sublime, to forge relationships with the suffering, and to keep following the question of what makes human life meaningful, even in the face of death and decay.” The author’s empathy undoubtedly made him an exceptional doctor, and the precision of his prose—as well as the moral purpose underscoring it—suggests that he could have written a good book on any subject he chose. Part of what makes this book so essential is the fact that it was written under a death sentence following the diagnosis that upended his life, just as he was preparing to end his residency and attract offers at the top of his profession. Kalanithi learned he might have 10 years to live or perhaps five. Should he return to neurosurgery (he could and did), or should he write (he also did)? Should he and his wife have a baby? They did, eight months before he died, which was less than two years after the original diagnosis. “The fact of death is unsettling,” he understates. “Yet there is no other way to live.”
A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular clarity.Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8129-8840-6
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015
PERSPECTIVES
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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