America, You Sexy Bitch: A Love Letter To Freedom (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
A solid read that examines our political divide in a mostly funny but sometimes deep and revealing way. Pros:The concept is great. Two people who are basicly strangers, agree to go across the nation and take in this great nation since they have opposite political view. The book takes on most of the current big time political topics and has the authors break down their viewpoints on each issue. Both MIB and Meghan do a solid job explaining what and why they think the way they think. I found Meghan's explinations of her views very interesting and enlighting. It has funny parts. Reading reviews of the audiobook, it sounds like MIB's is enhanced in the form. Even still his remarks on Zappo's company culture, and his feeling on strippers(same as mine) warm my heart a little bit.The author's dynamic and interactions feel real and will remind many readers of how they interact with their own friends and family who have different politics.Cons: The writing. Meghan isn't very good at writing(Her entries feel very "bloggy") but she has interesting things to say, MIB is a much better writer but is suprisingly dry/boring in alot of spots. The premise makes it feel like it's going to be them off meeting "America" but really its just logs of their interactions, their political beliefs and their drinking. Not alot of much else.Other thoughts:Alot of other reviews stated Meghan is pouty. She might be but most of the pouting she does in the book is justified to me. She pouts when people don't shut up about Obama and how happy they are that her dad lost and she pouts when MIB is a complete dick to her. I can say I would likely join her in both of those issues if I was in her shoes. I liked Meghan, alot, but felt she does seem to suffer from a lack of self awareness at times. She says athiests are arrogant, then, in the same paraghraph, says she "feels sorry" for MIB since he is atheist and that all she wants to do is convince him that he is wrong. Later in the chapter she imply's that athiests are stupid. These statements are arrogant IMO. Meghan admits but brushes off the fact that we were led into the Iraq war under false pretenses but then spends some time shaming Clinton for lieing about a blow job. One led to thousands of deaths, the other did not. Still more inconsistencies include her talking about how the media wrongly portrays her as a wild party girl, then writes a book where she is smoking pot and she is drinking through half of it. It's a good look at two people's world view,how they got to their world view, and why they are willing to talk to others that have a different world view. All in all a solid read. Full disclosure: I love Meghan McCain. At a time when lots of people complain about political polarization, she's one of the few people with a national platform who's making genuine efforts to bridge the divide. She also reminds me of many of my Texas girlfriends—fearless, outspoken, and usually in heels. I also like Michael Ian Black, who’s a smart-ass and shares my political views.This book is a chronicle of their joint road trip across the US. The idea? To find out what real Americans think about politics and to seek out some common ground. On the way, they talk to strippers, Muslims, Log Cabin Republicans, and members of Congress, among others. The book alternates between McCain and Black writing, so in many cases, you get to hear how each responded to the same event. Black's wit is on full tilt, even if he doesn’t much question liberal dogma. McCain—a patriotic, gun-slinging Republican who is pro-gay rights, is worried about climate change, lives in the Village, and has read the Koran—was a bit more interesting to me. (And Democrats would be well-advised to heed her advice about how to talk to folks about the environment.) But they’re both pretty honest and introspective, and do a good job of explaining the underpinnings of their own beliefs, even when it might not be flattering. I do wish they would have dug a little deeper into their chats with some of the folks they talked to along the road. I think some of those conversations could have been explored a bit further. Much more of the book covers their own views. But overall, an interesting experiment and a fun read.
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