| | |  | Nutrition & Fitness | | Home » » » | | | | | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| David Callahan | | Hardcover:
| 272 pages | | Publisher:
| Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | | Publication Date:
| September 11, 2006 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0151011516 | | Package Length:
| 8.5 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.8 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.1 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.85 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 9 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 9 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 12 found the following review helpful:
"A liberal with a new emphasis on old values."Sep 17, 2006
By Luan Gaines
"luansos"
The author addresses a difficult theme, couched as it is in the entrenched rhetoric of today's politics, Conservative, Democrat, right and left. Yet at the heart of this argument is a call to return to the traditional values that are inclusive rather than exclusive. While the right champions a return to religion and family values, the left is mired in a definition that fails to bring them into the conversation. And at the heart of all is the free market, the cornerstone of personal liberty, the success of which depends upon the pursuit of self-interest. The question posed: are traditional values a match for unfettered capitalism?
Liberals have morphed into the ubiquitous "me generation" and social responsibility, although an intended consequence of the equation, is left languishing by the road in a rush of consumerism. The result is a proliferation of Care-Not's (as opposed to Cares), the Cares unable to make themselves heard, suffering a pervasive moral anxiety that has no apparent remedy.
Repeatedly offering a narrow interpretation of the problem, Democrats struggle to articulate a moral solution. As middle class insecurity grows with international competition, technology and corporations siphoning off the future, the economy must be dire for people to respond to this threat. At the same time, purchasing items at incredibly low prices has become pervasive, even though these prices are the result of global economics. We come to the premise of the book: Democrats or a new Third party can submit a moral agenda to restore America's values and politics. To this end, the following chapters address family, sex, media, crime, work, poverty and patriotism, establishing "a workable balance between freedom and responsibility."
The dynamic of the culture wars, tradition vs. modernism, misses the point in the current debate, where the real culprit is the free market. Any change in this culture that confronts the pertinent issues must be synonymous with real values for Americans, those we readily embrace, rather than the pandering of extreme ideologies. In essence, the author is asking us to put aside our differences, responding to the current divisiveness with an appreciation for the spirit of change for the better good. Neither party comes off well, the Democrats inarticulate, stuck in past decades of grandeur, the Republicans riding a wave of popularity with the marriage of evangelical fervor and a free market unhindered by social responsibility. A fine idea and well put, but not likely to be heard by either party in the current climate. Luan Gaines/ 2006.
Interesting IdeasOct 14, 2010
By Richard B. Wayne
"Mindhiker"
I read this book as part of a small, progressive book club in Texas. There are some really good ideas in this book that helped me to integrate some of my thinking. For example, the way money is essentially running the show now in this country. For example, how progressives and conservatives really have more in common than not in common.
Food for thought...Jul 25, 2010
By Blaze
For Callahan, self-interest is the key word. Excessive self-interest is what is ailing us - in business, government, and yes, even in the American family. And he makes a compelling case. Focusing on some alarming trends and statistics (in divorce, media violence, education, white-collar crime, increased aggression in children, etc. ) he argues that these issues should compel us all to meet in the middle, work on solutions, and to stop putting so much time, money, and energy into age-old cultural divides that inhibit the country from moving forward on issues that affect Americans, especially American families, today. He argues that in some cases old solutions are proving not to be working.
Callahan's writing reflects thoughtfulness and civic concern. Scratch the subtitle of the book and the quasi-guidebook-for-liberals tone interjected throughout, and this book could have reached a wider audience who are seriously concerned about some of the sociological ills of the day. The author provides plenty of food for thought.
 Important and entertaining.Apr 10, 2009
By Harmonious
"angelapi"
Author David Callahan has written a book that champions a new way to look at widespread American values from a progressive's perspective. The book is highly readable and full of information, statistics and, pertinent trivia. I learned a lot by reading the book and also was challenged in some of my beliefs. I do hope that Mr. Callahan will continue to write useful books like this one.
10 of 16 found the following review helpful:
 Not Compelling (2.5*s)Sep 21, 2006
By J. Grattan
"Ideas can move the world"
The title of this book is definitely overly ambitious. It is quite a stretch to claim that there is a moral center in the US. If anything, there is a lot of inflated, contradictory, hypocritical, cynical, and ignorant thought concerning a fundamental moral center. Actually most of the recent buzz in America concerning values is part of an immense propaganda campaign that panders to susceptible groups by constructing a specious and sinister social reality geared to manipulate behavior. The author makes a stab at detailing some of these contradictions, but does not really address the pairing of ignorance and propaganda that makes the continuation on the current course almost inevitable.
The author looks at the areas of family, sex, media, crime, work, poverty, and patriotism with considerable overlap to locate moral discontinuities and concerns. The biggest disconnect in American thinking in these areas is the notion that morality can survive the zealous drive to turn all areas of life into profit-making centers. The laissez-faire, free-market capitalism that is the current rage absolutely has no conscience, crushing social bonds and moral considerations in its path. Extremist individualism scarcely acknowledges social connections, morality, or values. The author is unwilling to really confront the American version of corporate capitalism other than to mildly chide it.
The following examples of the author serve to show the power of profits to overwhelm a culture, while simultaneously hiding their true impact. Cultural conservatives bemoan the prevalence of sex in the media but prefer to blame cultural elitists (liberals), while failing to see the immense profits of huge media companies. To not be working or to be impoverished is viewed by conservatives as an absence of personal character - again a complete failure to understand power dynamics of capitalism, where the welfare of individuals, families, and communities is irrelevant. There are no concerns for family values. Patriotism was once a shared value for all citizens, now it has become profits for the wealthy and duty and loss of life for the average citizen. Except for a very few high profile cases, corporate crime goes largely unpunished, while petty street criminals and drug users get prison sentences. Any concerns with this disparity are quickly labeled as coddling of criminals.
The author, like so many recent commentators, seems to think that pointing out these contradictions in a book will gain some traction with the public. But if Americans were inclined to analyze the cynical use of values and personal responsibility that is a part of the examples above, the US would not now be in its current state. Corporate capitalism now so permeates our entire society that it is ridiculous to suggest that a little information infused into this hegemonic situation will reverse our course. The wealthy, the wannabes, and all of those who have been so propagandized as to totally believe that liberals are destroying their way of life seemed to have formed a significant majority that is unlikely to diminish in the near future. The author's suggestion that liberals be more receptive to the American Dream, or the supposed opportunity to become rich, simply reaffirms the values of the selfish society.
There has been quite a spate of books in the last few years that purport to discuss American values and then suggest that liberals must adopt or recapture the meaning of conservative rhetoric. How this is supposed to happen, no one addresses. Just how is it that the media, educational institutions, and churches will be transformed from being propagandists for corporations into purveyors of knowledge and information for the benefit of all people. They just ignore that huge hurdle. There seems to be the belief that there are substantial numbers of untainted people just waiting to reject the current direction of society. Well, what have they been waiting for? Read the book if you want a quick rehash of the values clash - that's about it.
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