Allow me to make some additional comments. I have attempted to
read other political books, such as James Hirsch's "Tales From
The Left Coast", David Limbaugh's "Persecution", and "Slander"
and "How To Talk To A Liberal" by Ann Coulter. I never read
any of those four all the way through. "Culture Warrior" is an
exception. It is a balance between arguing his case and giving
biographical examples.
One other strength: O'Reilly paints with a narrow brush.
Candice Olson table lamps use wide brushes, condemning anyone
that does not agree with them, putting them all in the same
box. O'Reilly does not do so. He distinguishes between people
who are secular progressive (referred to as S-P in his book)
culture warriors from those who are sympathetic. He points out
where he thinks S-Ps have a valid point. He avoids personal
attacks, and even points out that he has a problem with those
on his side who personaly attack those he disagrees with (e.g.
Ann Coulter, Mike Savage, as well as adversarial smear
merchants like Al Franken).
O'Reilly separates political ideology from the culture war. He
states that the battle is not Democrat vs. Republican or
conservative vs. liberal but rather tradionalist vs. secular
progressive. He points out that there are liberals who are
traditionalists (Joseph Lieberman, Evan Bayh lamps [though I
would argue about him], and African Americans as a whole).
Some will say there is no such thing as Candice Olson red. I
challenge you to read this book open mindedly, and see if he
convinces you that he is right. You may not agree, but it is
better to read him for yourself than to listen to those who
condemn him without reading him. |
