Dumbocracy: Adventures with the Loony Left, the Rabid Right, and Other American Idiots [Paperback]

Marty Beckerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2008

"This is called thinking. And if more people - on both sides - were prepared to acknowledge their own shifts of view and to explain and examine exactly why they have changed with the times, our public discourse would be immeasurably improved."—Andrew Sullivan, the Atlantic

In this election year, we hear much about the all-powerful “bases” of each major party. Who are these activists? What drives them? And why are they all equally dangerous to our lives, liberties, and pursuits of happiness? In Dumbocracy, journalist Marty Beckerman spends four years with foot soldiers of the Left and Right—pro-choice and anti-choice, pro-gay rights and anti-gay rights, pro-war and anti-war—and delivers a searing, hilarious indictment of the True Believer mentality.

Whether it’s banning free speech to protect people’s feelings or banning adult entertainment to enforce morality, extremists have no use for our civil liberties. The ends justify the means for each side—such as brainwashing children and criminalizing dissent—because culture warriors have no other reason for living than victory. However, Beckerman is unafraid to expose their tactics—and their never-ending hypocrisies—with comical, over-the-top glee worthy of South Park or The Daily Show.

No extremist will escape unscathed, but moderate readers of all stripes will fall in love with Beckerman’s iconoclasm. In the tradition of P.J. O’Rourke’s Parliament of Whores and Michael Moore’s Stupid White Men, Beckerman’s grand political satire will have readers laughing on the floor and ripping the hair from their scalps.

Marty Beckerman, twenty-five, is also the author of Generation S.L.U.T. (MTV Books, 2004). He has written for Playboy, Reason, Discover, The Huffington Post, and New York Press. He has been featured by The New York Times, the New York Post, MSNBC, Fox News Channel, and National Public Radio. Hunter S. Thompson once called him a “morbid little bastard,” which Beckerman considers the greatest compliment of his career.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Marty Beckerman, 25, has written for Playboy, Reason, Discover, Huffington Post and New York Press. He has been featured by the New York Times, the New York Post, MSNBC, Fox News Channel and National Public Radio. Hunter S. Thompson once called him a "morbid little bastard," which Beckerman considers the greatest compliment of his career.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: The Disinformation Company (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934708062
• ISBN-13: 978-1934708064
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,731,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Edgy, interesting, funny., September 5, 2008

By 

Ann H. Webb "Psychologist, Activist" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dumbocracy: Adventures with the Loony Left, the Rabid Right, and Other American Idiots (Paperback)

Edgy, interesting, funny. Dumbocracy is the perfect antidote to both the Democratic and Republican conventions. Read this book, then take the politicizing from both sides with a few grains of salt. I highly recommend it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very apropos!, October 19, 2008

By 

M. Jacobsen "I am not young enough to know ev... (Through the Looking Glass) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dumbocracy: Adventures with the Loony Left, the Rabid Right, and Other American Idiots (Paperback)

With the U.S. presidential elections looming large (did everyone register to vote?), the American public is currently being inundated with political advertisements, televised debates, candidate mud-slinging and other ugly nonsense that typically accompanies our election process. Good times, right?

For those of you who are tired of the endless empty campaign promises, finger-pointing, and soapbox platforms, author Marty Beckerman has provided some much-needed comic relief in the form of Dumbocracy: Adventures with the Loony Left, the Rabid Right, and Other American Idiots.

It has ever been my contention that if we picked ten random Republicans and ten random Democrats off the street and locked them in a room together, we'd find that we meet in the middle more often than not. The problem is - and has always been - that the important issues are not decided by the "average" American. Rather, it is people with extreme, inflexible platforms who do their best to polarize the American public and make compromise impossible.

In a quest to understand the fundamentalists at both sides of the political spectrum (you know, the ones who make compromise impossible), Beckerman spent four years in their world, interviewing, attending thier funcions and rallies, and just in general taking one for the team and saving the rest of us from their extremist vitriol. Covering incendiary topics such as abortion, women's rights, freedom of speech, and international relations (amongst many others), Beckerman pokes fun at the ridiculous lunatics who shape our laws and policy, making for many laugh-out-loud moments.

As the title of the book implies, Beckerman goes after the left and right ends of the political spectrum with equal zeal. But underneath the sarcasm and humor this book brimming with good research. And it has to be, because you wouldn't believe the idiocy of our leaders without documentation to back it up. With biting wit and commentary Beckerman reveals the root of voter apathy: what sane person even wants to wade through the lunacy surrounding politics?

A word of warning: Dumbocracy is not for the prudish. Like most of us, the subject of politics brings forth language that would make a sailor blush (with apologies to any sailors out there) and this author is no exception. Crossing the line into unnecessary crudeness in places, you might want to skip this if you have delicate sensibilities. Don't say I didn't warn you. But you will laugh till your sides hurt, so don't say I didn't warn you about that, either.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why Politics Matter More Than Politicians, September 16, 2008

By 

Daniel Newman "Thinking Man" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dumbocracy: Adventures with the Loony Left, the Rabid Right, and Other American Idiots (Paperback)

In short, this might be the best political humor book I've ever read. If I were teaching a high school or college course to which it was at all pertinent, I would prescribe "Dumbocracy" as required reading. Young people need to know this stuff, that they may not become prey for political pedophiles aiming to indoctrinate kids too young to know better with their ideologies. While I detected a slight liberal leaning, make no mistake, the far left are not given any slack for their post-communist nanny state nonsense. Whereas the far right are thoroughly lambasted as the hypocritical fascist theocrats they are. I highly recommend "Dumbocracy" to anyone who cares about politics or social issues.