Customer Reviews

De-Valuing Of America: The Fight For Our Culture And Our Children

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is an excellent detail looking into today's educational value system. Being from a small town you might miss many of the problems in inner-cities that either go unnoticed or don't want any help and think they are doing things the right way. This is just a quality book from a quality writer.

One of the best books telling "how it is". While scary in context, it gives hope that good old fashioned values still exist in high places. I only wish Mr. Bennett could write an "update" chapter following up on the effect of the 90's. I highly recommend this book for those wishing to be more informed

This book is absolutely one of the best contemporary conservative reads. Dr. Bennett's explanation of his doings as Education secretary are wonderful and inspiring. I particularily enjoyed his look at K-12 education and the need for evolution from the current education policy standstill. The one knock I will give the book is its lack of depth on the issue od drugs. Generally, I am solidly behind Dr. Bennett on the drug issue, and I have supported him for some time. However, the complexity of the "drug war" in the '80s and early '90s led by him needs to be far better examined, explained and explored. I suppose that issue- from Bennett's perspective- could consume more than one entire book of Kissingeresque size, but I still would've like to have seen a more thorough debriefing of Bennett's experiences in this volume. All in all, I HIGHLY recommend this book to everyone. I it is a *MUST READ* for contemporary conservatives.

Bill Bennett, former NEH Chairman, Secretary of Education, and Drug Czar takes on many important cultural issues. He writes with passion and great credibility, for example while Secretary of Education, Bennett not only visited but TAUGHT in over 100 schools around the country. His account of the woeful state of public education in America is particularly compelling- a chilling indictment of liberal social policy run amuck!

This book should be read by every young American. A truly remarkable look at the American society, from education to abortion to drugs, Mr. Bennett's well rounded and conservative approach is a breath of fresh air.

Though an older book, the principles William Bennett puts forth are still as true as ever. Bennett hits hard at the problems that have plagued our country for decades and he puts forth solutions to them. An excellent book and one that I would like my children and grandchildren to read one day. Ben Radin

In 1994, I read a book that inspired my future path from a career in journalism to one in public policy. The title of this book is "The Devaluing of America: The Fight for Our Culture and Our Children" by William Bennett. It truly called out to me and shifted me into wanting to restore hope in our education system and made me want to challenge and conquer the thinking in DC and eventually led me to working in DC. I hope this book inspires others, too!- Shawnna Bolick

In The De-Valuing Of America, William Bennett gives his perspective of his long government career. Bennett was the Secretary of Education under President Ronald Reagan, and what was known as The Drug Czar under President George H.W. Bush. Bennett was known for his strong opinions and his ability to create programs that worked towards the outcomes he wanted to occur.

When it came to drugs, Bennett felt it was a major misservice to our young people to just throw in the towel and say that there is no way to stop drugs. He focused on interdiction and making drugs more expensive. As he traveled throughout the country, he found that parents wanted the government to intervene, and that improving the drug issue would also improve street crime, lack of student motivation and other ills that are often called endemic. During his tenure, in July of 1989, The National Institute of Drug Abuse released it's ninth National Household Survy on Drug Abuse. From the book:

The estimated number of Americans using any illegal drug on a "current" basis had dropped 37 percent: from 23 million in 1985 to 14.5 million in 1988. A survey of high school seniors recorded record significant drops in their overall use and tolerance of drugs. Drug use was down everywhere: in inner cities, in rural and suburban areas, among blacks and whites, rich and poor.

Bennett also held views on education that were not in the mainstream of educational thought. He believed that different standards for children of different races or cultures was reverse discrimination, and set those with lower standards up for failure in later years. He disliked the trend of multicultural education, if it came at the expense of the canons of Western civilization. He was not a fan of teacher unions.

I've had this book for quite a while, and finally decided to read it. It was interesting to me to read his viewpoints and his championing of conservative tenets, and to hear his take on this period of history. This book is recommended for fans of history and political science.

The De-Valuing of America, by William Bennett, is a sobering look at what our culture has become and how terrifying it is for parents with school-age children. There is no middle ground when it comes to a book of this nature. There are both cheers and applause from conservatives, who despise secularized big government intrusion and a national nanny-state system, and boos and hisses from the secular progressives who brazenly cry "Tolerate anything but conservatives!", "Viva diversity!" and "Your government knows what's best for you!"

Bennett can often seem like a lightning rod of controversy. In this book he again stands up and boldly analyzes an American culture that he believes is in serious trouble, and one that is sinking fast. In his usual thorough style, Bennett confronts the cultural subjects that most clearly picture what he sees. Like American education, drugs, racial atmosphere, and religion in American politics. But he doesn't just identify what he thinks is wrong. He also provides clear and rationale solutions to each crisis. Some reviewers criticized him for his one-sided solutions. Since when is a strong, well thought out solution worse than a tolerate anything, popularity-pole leadership? If you don't like Bennett's solution, fine, come up with better ones. But don't sit there behind your computer keyboard and just hurl labels like hateful, racist, homophobic, biauriculate and Christian supremacist. That provides absolutely nothing toward a solution.

Those who know anything about William Bennett know that he brings to this book an enormous resource of experience in key positions. He's not just some "Johnny-come-lately" white guy who is talking about critical issues in America off the top of his head. As the former Chairman of the NEH, Secretary of Education, and Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Bennett saw from the front lines what America was becoming, and pours much of that hands-on insight into this book. Disagree with him, fine. But do not marginalize what he knows about this subject because you don't like the tone of his book.

If you have ever heard Bennett speak, you know his is a man of passion, a great passion for America and all of its citizens. Some see this as hatred. Some, just because they disagree with him, accuse Bennett of being arrogant, self-righteous and intolerant. Well, here is a challenge. Check the audio book of The De-Valuing of America out of your local library and listen to it. I did that several years after I read the book. While listening to Bennett read his own book, I noted things I hadn't noticed when reading it myself. I had imposed on the text my own impressions of what Bennett meant by what was in the book. After listening to him read it, I quickly realized I was wrong in many areas. Just try it.

All in all, Bennett does a great job of cutting through the nonsense in this well-written book and getting down to the root of the matter. This is no knee-jerk reactionary look at America, but rather a close examination of our cultural problems. He carefully chronicles his encounters with some remarkable teachers, principals, law enforcement officers, high-level public figures and regular citizens who have really made a difference. He draws of a wealth of material to support his viewpoints on how to reclaim our culture and protect and nurture our children.

Bennett makes few if any good points in this book about the problems our culture faces. Most of the book is spent showing how many people were "critics" and how he showed them who was boss. Bennett criticizes anyone who wishes to include diversity in the American life: through "controversial" art which he deems a "bad joke" simply because it may shock viewers, through a desire for schooling that does not impose Christian ideals upon its students by force, through courses that don't only include dead white men of the western world, etc.

Bennett's argument is that his racist, homophobic, beauraucratic, Christian-supremicist version of morality is the only feasible one and must be imposed upon all children in any institution of education.

He spends most of the book laughing off his critics and indignantly ignoring any of their points, casting them off as just being jealous that their plans aren't as good as his. Yet he thinks vouchers will help poor students, that an abolishment of affirmative action will help minorities, and that "beheading" drug dealers is morally plausible.

The section on drugs has a little bit of insight, but the books few good points are obscured by his blatant arrogance and conservative ideals.