Still The Best Hope: Why The World Needs American Values To Triumph (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
This is an interesting book. Prager's major premises are a couple - first, he posits that the "American Trinity" is liberty, e pluribus unum and in God we trust. He also argues that Islamism (a specific brand of Islamic thought) and European Socialism are the alternatives in the world to the American Trinity. He concludes that the American Trinity is "still the best hope."He argues that the American left has systematically attempted (often with success) to substitute their own theology which tries to reduce liberty; transform (as Al Gore's slip of the tongue once commented) e pluribus unum into out of one many; and to eliminate all references to God. They substitute the law for morality.He argues that Islamism and European Socialism have some things in common - both propose to insert the state into all aspects of life. He describes in detail the problems with European Socialism including the sense of entitlement and the ultimate bankruptcy of offering something for nothing.In a section on environmentalism of the left and the application of the Endangered Species Act - I found he was almost saying that the left has created something which is anti-Darwinist. There are many perversions of rational thought in Prager's description of the left. Prager makes a distinction between the law and morality and if a society is only accountable to rationality it actually loses both rationality and morality. On hid radio show Prager can be polemic - the book has some of that. I am sorry that some of my friends on the left would be unwilling to engage on the substance of his arguments. But I am pretty sure they would dismiss his writing without encountering the ideas. I suffer through the Huffington Post and other stuff on the left and grappled with what I believe the failed ideas of Marx and a host of other left thinkers have tried to write - but at this point few are willing to cross over and engage. My one critical comment is that Prager often jumps to conclusions. While the book is often well argued there are passages where I think he took a pass. And although he argues that this is his work of a lifetime there are many things in the book that you might have heard from Prager before - "the larger the government the smaller the individual." Finally, I found several instances where he repeated a story or an anecdote. With those minor criticisms I believe the fundamental issue - about what he calls the American Trinity versus those on the left that seek to destroy each of the elements - is well worth the read. A good philosophical analysis of three competing worldviews: Americanism, Islamism, and Leftism. The first two sections of the book discuss Leftism and Islamism in intricate detail, with frankly too many examples included for support. The smaller third section introduces the "American Trinity" (the author's recommendation as the best of the three worldviews) as found on all US coins: Liberty, In God We Trust, and E Pluribus Unum. Prager is a master at breaking ideas down into their most basic components and then comparing them across divergent worldviews, all the while keeping the content readable for a general audience.
What do You think about Still The Best Hope: Why The World Needs American Values To Triumph (2012)?
It is a clear and concise read of what is needed to keep us great.
—hprynne2434
Only got half way through. Will pick it up to finish later.
—kayci1995
Well thought out and eloquently presented.
—hjm93452
