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A cry from the far middle : dispatches from a divided land
Author
Title
A cry from the far middle : dispatches from a divided land / P.J. O'Rourke.
ISBN
9780802157737
0802157734
9780802157751
Edition
First Grove Atlantic hardcover edition.
First edition.
Publication
New York : Atlantic Monthly Press, 2020.
Copyright Notice Date
©2020
Physical Description
xviii, 230 pages ; 22 cm
Summary
"P. J. O'Rourke says we've worked ourselves into a state of anger and perplexity, and it's no surprise because perplexed and angry are what Americans have been since the Roanoke Colony got lost. This astute and entertaining look at the state of these United States includes essays on everything from our fraught history ("O Beautiful for . . . Pilgrim Feet?") to the political effects of social media ("Whose Bright Idea Was It to Make Sure that Every Idiot in the World Was in Touch with Every Other Idiot?"). A plan is advanced to reform federal poverty programs, "Just Give Them the Money." And a rant is made against the "Internet of Things" because your juicer is sending fake news to your Fitbit about what's in your refrigerator. Included is a quiz to determine whether you're a "Coastal" or a "Heartlander" (you know organic, fair-traded, locavore, and gluten-free, but do you know hay from straw?), an impassioned plea to license politicians (we license beauticians!), and much more. This is P. J. at his finest"-- Provided by publisher.
Format
Books
Language
English
Added to Catalog
March 30, 2021
Contents
Pre-preface: As we go to press . . .
Preface: Manifesto for extreme moderation
Introduction: O beautiful for . . . Pilgrim feet?
One nation-divided as hell
Coastals vs. Heartlanders
Goodbye to classical liberalism : "It's the end of the world!"
Big fat politics
But thank you anyway, partisan politicians
Robin Hood arithmetic
On the other hand . . . : just give them the money
It's time to make rich people : uncomfortable again
Negative rights vs. Positive rights : it's positively confusing
Sympathy vs. empathy : is it better to hold people's hands or bust into their heads?
Patriotism vs. nationalism
Big brother (and everybody else) is watching you : thoughts on rereading 1984
Whose bright idea was it to make sure : that every idiot in the world was in touch with every other idiot?
A brief historical digression on how communication has devolved
And while I'm ranting against the digital age, let me not forget to excoriate an aspect of social media that lacks even sociability . . . On the fresh hell of the Internet of Things
Lessons in fake news from two old masters of the form
Woke to the sound of laughter
Why kids r commies and never mind how the free market bankrupted that backwards r big box store that once held a greedy monopoly on selling toys
Knowing write from left
Educating my kids
My own lousy education and how it may be of aid to the nation
What we can learn from the sixties drug culture
Can the government be run like a business?
Two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate . . . The electoral college!
Is a reasonable, sensible, moderate foreign policy even possible?
The inaugural address I'd like to hear the president-whoever it may be-deliver
My own personal fantasy league : presidential election
A license to drive (me crazy)
The founding fathers have some words with us
What I like about U.(S.A.).
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