To Make Men Free, Heather Cox Richardson

To Make Men Free:  A History of the Republican Party by Heather Cox Richardson is a book I picked up in response to an article by the author.  This is part of my effort to understand how Trump was elected and, so, once more into the breech.

Started:  2/24/2017

Completed: 5/21/2017

Recommendation: Highly Recommended

Recommended By: Nobody

Words for which I sought help:

primogeniture -- the right of succession being given to the first born child and inheritance especially in the form of real estate being provided entire.

Review:

It is hard not to agree with the Pulitzer Prize Winners who comment on the back of the dust cover about what a great book this is.  It is remarkably well written and tries hard to understand the threads of continuity in the Republican Party in light of the current manifestation.  The central argument is that Lincoln's party was perverted from a position that all men should be able to rise, to a position that the financial aristocracy should be protected (embodied by the slogan, "Greed is Good").

I liked this book because it tied together the dramatic influence of Roger Ailes in the current Republican party in ways that are probably clear to any historian, but were stunning to me.  It is truly a small group of people who have controlled the Republican party and the return of those same individuals to power under Trump is rather scary.

These leaders of the Republican party--Ailes, Chaney, Gingrich, and, peripherally, Limbaugh--are all pushing a strong pro-business agenda based on image rather than facts.  They truly believe that their approach will work in the absence of evidence that it will and with plenty of evidence that it simply does not work.  They believe this because they live in an alternate world of their own making (hence the reference to things like "alternate facts").  In this world of simplicity (good vs. evil--Reagan wore a white hat) there is no room for the nuances of reality.  This simplified world has simplified "facts" that have no necessity to agree with reality (reference Trump's claims that attendance at his inauguration was a record despite clear photographic evidence that it was much smaller than President Obama's).  Working on the basis of this simplified world (an ideology), Republicans have pursued their agenda and their appeal to voters is based on emotion, not reality.

The Other Wes Moore, Wes Moore

The Other Wes Moore:  One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore is a story written by a man about someone else who shared his name.  Their lives diverged and this is an accounting trying to understand the difference.

Started:  4/5/2017

Completed: 5/2/2017

Recommendation: Recommended

Recommended By:  My wife

Review:

There are interesting parallels between Wes Moore the Rhodes Scholar and Wes Moore the murderer.  They had a large number of parallels in the early part of their lives.  In the end, however, it looks like the Rhodes Scholar had extended family who were willing to sacrifice darn near everything to help Wes.  This does not minimize the effort made by the murderer's family, who also made great sacrifices.  First, raising a child in poverty is really, really hard.  Second, raising a child in a drug-ridden environment is really, really hard.  The Rhodes Scholar got out of the environment and that was certainly helpful--the murderer had some time out as well, but he was solidly into a life of crime before and after his brief move.  Third, raising a child without positive role models is really, really hard.  Children emulate those whom they admire.  What happens if you admire a scofflaw?

In the end, I am not convinced that one Wes Moore was necessarily smarter than the other (although society could easily make that assessment.  The author does a good job of making it clear that he feels either could have been in the other's shoes.  In the end, this is a sad story.  It is not a hopeful story.  It declares, describes, and contrasts the simple line that defines those who can leave poverty behind and those who cannot.  It marks the remarkably short lives of the poor.

I am sad to have lost Wes Moore, the murderer.  Who knows what positive contribution he could have made and his progeny represent another generation with a father behind bars.  I do not mean to suggest that the murderer should not be behind bars, I have no reason to believe that the prosecution was anything less than fair.  I am saying, however, that all of the people who die, end up in jail, or become involved in illegal activities are lost to society and those people are important to us all.