Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: American Politics

RADICAL BETRAYAL: How Liberals and Neoconservatives Are Wrecking American Exceptionalism by Anders W. Edwardsson – American Politics, Political History, Political Analysis

Radical Betrayal by Anders W. Edwardsson explores American Exceptionalism and its echoes in today’s US politics and society. It offers a perspective on the nuances of the ideology and calls for its reworking towards a more united nation.

Donald Trump’s unexpected win shocked a major segment of the USA populace in 2016, raising a big question about a complete neophyte’s victory. For some, he was a messiah to renew America’s standing. For others, he was a candidate with an unconventional campaign of blunt, rabble-rousing talk, who surprisingly took over the electoral term.

What emerged as more remarkable is that, despite not winning the popular vote, the electoral college votes secured the 2016 US president his win. It added to the debate surrounding the election and highlighted the existing political divides in the states. Radical Betrayal examines why the 2016 election played out as it did, opening with its discussion of American Exceptionalism.

American Exceptionalism is the belief in the unique global leadership of the USA. This book follows the evolution of this ideology, starting from the blend of the nation’s founding ideals of Enlightenment and Religion. It covers various historical periods and traces the idea’s development over several presidencies. This discourse presents the basis for the thesis, paving the way to answer the controversial win of the 2016 election.

Radical Betrayal covers a labyrinth of movements like isolationism and interventionism in the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as the rhetoric of political leaders from George Washington and Theodore Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump.

What becomes clear is years-long tactic of harnessing American Exceptionalism to gain public support and justify policies. Not only this, the history highlights differences in how this strategy was approached, and its continued influence on shaping political takes and public views today.

The work creates an inclusive argument for why Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again” resonated with many people. To establish its position, Radical Betrayal works through the many political and cultural changes in American history that have created the appeal of this slogan. Different visions of Exceptionalism across history—inclusive and exclusive, active and passive—contribute to the debate on polarizing politics. They showcase a bridge between those conforming to two forms of this ideology—the more conservative form, and the broader, less focused version.

This book invites readers to help shape the future discourse around American Exceptionalism and its influence on the US.

Pointing to Trump’s presidency and the clear divisions in American identity during the era, Radical Betrayal suggests reassessing the power of Exceptionalism in shaping these national identities. It stresses the need to bridge historical ideals and modern realities toward a unified America. This journey to understand American Exceptionalism illuminates a potential for inclusivity in the nation’s rich tapestry of communities, races, and heritages.

An analytical approach with an encouraging and didactic tone shapes the pages of this book. Idealistic and inspiring, it opens the opportunity for further enrichment with discussions on potential obstacles in the journey to political refinement and growth.

The piece propels one toward reinterpretation and rejuvenation of American ideals, unity, and progress—the essence of American Exceptionalism itself.

June 12, 2024
MADDIE Q by Allan Havis – Political Fiction, Contemporary Social Issues, Psychological Literary Fiction

Maddie Q by Allan Havis illustrates one woman’s transformative journey through a web of dangerous beliefs.

The personality of conservative Maddie Crawford takes center stage as she finds an epiphany in the stormy aftermath of the January 6th Capitol riot. Existing beliefs collide, casting her into a churning sea of contradictory feelings. The author entwines her internal struggle of belief and identity with the contentious QAnon theory. Set against the backdrop of the COVID-19 Pandemic, this fusion gives rise to a storyline that harmoniously links personal introspection with societal upheaval.

The backdrop of the “Stop the Steal” march and the chaotic events of January 6th propel Maddie into disillusionment. Conspiracy theories and extremist beliefs entice her away from reality, radicalizing her. Maddie becomes convinced that only drastic measures can confront what she perceives as a corrupt establishment, exemplified by her attempt to kidnap a school trustee in the name of her skewed sense of justice.

Pushed to the brink of despair, she wrestles with the solitude that her beliefs brought her and even contemplates ending her own life. The question lingers as Maddie navigates her never-ending search for meaning: will she be able to conquer the engulfing darkness of past demons and find the way to illumination?

Havis investigates the complex interplay between personal challenges and the search for larger significance.

Many of the characters must form undying resilience. Hortense, Maddie’s aunt, faces challenges that go beyond her physical ailments. She dreams vividly of existential concerns and mortality, proving her desire for enlightenment and life beyond the material world. Parallel to these two women’s struggles is Maddie’s sister Heather, a transgender woman who contributes to the story’s exploration of gender dynamics. The author aims to highlight the underlying thread that connects these characters – their defiance, reflection, and search for meaning.

Maddie Q shifts between different moments in time and points of view, enabling readers to grasp the internal and external battles that lead to each character’s beliefs.

This story delves into the complexity of political extremism and the individuals who are caught in its wake. Family dynamics, especially between Maddie and her aunt Hortense, underscore the intergenerational sharing and changing of values. Exploration into politics and conspiracy theories highlights the sheer power of extremist beliefs to control individual thought, paired with the tremendous reach of such views in the digital era. Readers are encouraged to challenge their perspectives and to look for common ground in the rich tapestry of varied ideologies.

Maddie Q navigates a plethora of beliefs and their immutable impacts on the psyche, emphasizing the human desire for understanding even under the heaviest convictions.

September 6, 2023
THE TRUMP DIARIES 2024 by Barry Robbins – Satire, Political Fiction, 2024 Election

Reviewing satire is challenging and so is reviewing diaries. Reviewing a political satire that is written in a diary format is no exception.

However, this reviewer was rewarded for taking on the challenge

The Trump Diaries 2024 by Barry Robbins consists of Donald J. Trump’s Diaries from 2024—the future’s past. The Publisher (a shadowy presence in the book) calls this “The document of the century,” so be sure to read every word from the beginning all the way through the end notes of this unique political satire.

Robbins treats us (particularly those who are not 45 fans) with delicious word twists, double entendre, and not-so-subtle subtext that sings with the sublime. In these 2024 diary entries, The Donald has questions and tries to understand some issues such as the Shakespearean misunderstandings he encounters, etiquette conundrums, and other misadventures with recognizable notables. As you read and digest the “daily diary entries” made by The Donald with the help of his interpreter, The Chronicler-in-Chief, you will find some of The Donald’s entries to be ‘groaners,’ just like this reader’s dear father’s dad puns. And then there are the ones just like the ‘love letter’ from George R.R. Martin to The Donald about the Ice Wall on the northern border of Westeros (of The Game of Thrones fame). Brilliant. Winter is coming.

Just like the ending to It’s a Wonderful Life makes everything better, so does the ending of The Trump Diaries. When The Trump Diaries 2024 comes to the end. Robbins leaves us with feeling good and with the belief that all will end well (at least for a few minutes In Real Life). Nonetheless, just like It’s a Wonderful Life, one must go on the journey to fully appreciate the ending. The insightful and witty Appendices with their wordplay from notable characters should not be overlooked. They are the proverbial icing on the cake that brings it all together in this work.

Robbins gifts readers with the opportunity to snicker and guffaw again and again as points connect through his story, just as they did in this author’s first two works of the four-book The Trump Satire series: Oh Daddy Chronicles, Oh Daddy Chronicles 2: Return of Covfefe, and Scales of Justice: The Trump Trials. You can read these cleverly written, humorous books in any order and still enjoy them.

Political satires and lampoons are often difficult to write. If a work goes too far, it risks its audience’s outright dismissal as nonsense. If it doesn’t go far enough, then you have a milquetoast work. Barry Robbins’s Trump Diaries 2024 brilliantly crafts the voice of The Donald in a genuinely unique manner that captures overtones, challenges, delusions, and his (Trump’s) inner mind workings and perceptions. This zeitgeist can be hysterical and sometimes chillingly scarily on target in its own absurd way which is hard to do when the In-Real-Life Donald Trump makes himself so hard to parody. Just like Sarah Cooper, who did a great job mocking Trump only using his own words and his own voice, or James Austin Johnson’s impersonation of Trump on SNL that reflects who Trump really is, Robbins seems to have some how gotten inside The Donald’s mind to come up with these hilarious parody diary entries from the future that have a bona fide ludicrous ring to them. Enjoy and remember to read to the very end.

January 6, 2023