Customer Reviews

The War For America: Morality, Ideology, and the Big Lies of American Politics

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The War for America is written with purpose, intelligence, passion and a clear sense of history. It wants to revive the spirit of why the United States of America was founded in the first place; to embody freedom and democracy. It spells out with unabashed candor and bias how the current holders of the reins of government are betraying the promise upon which this nation was founded i.e., to be an heroic leader in the world not the archetype for shallowness, consumerism, jingoism and arrogance. A few weeks ago when I went to take the oath of U.S. citizenship I carried a copy of the War for America with me. Partly because I happened to be reading it then, but partly because the book represents for me what is great about America: freedom of thought and expression, courage, creativity, inclusion, service and heroism. As I said the oath I thought of how fragile this republic is and how another few years of the Patriot Act, pre-emptive war and "national security" as a pretext for tighter controls could ruin everything forever. If the War for America contributes to our accepting the challenge of heroic leadership again it should be a best seller for years!

This is an important book! There's plenty of backup for what Mr. Morris is presenting (the "hidden factors shaping our world", and source material for the claims about what has been said), but the brilliant and daring accomplishment here is that he's willing to face bluntly the key issue (FREEDOM) that lies at the center of this upcoming election and that underlies the battle for our votes. If you're driven by political correctness then you'll fear his arguments. Read this book - then vote your head and your heart.

Morris captures the underlying motivations behind the Republican Party's ideologies in this carefully researched and well-written book. Clearly identified, explained and substantiated, Morris exposes the blind spots in the right wing's manipulative strategies and how they affect the critical human challenges we're facing today and will be facing in the future. Discussions on morality, global positioning, resources, the economy, the environment, education and many other 21st century issues are thorough, and in aggregate, downright disturbing.

The author weaves the imperative for stronger liberal leadership throughout the book, and draws a clear road map for the Democratic Party to follow in order to meet and defeat those currently in power.

Further still, he gives us hope (when we we're all wondering if there was any way out of this mess that we ourselves have created!) Addressing methodologies to deal with these enormous and yet interrelated problems, Morris invites us to draw on informed intelligence, systems thinking, and a new model of leadership to design a new tomorrow that works for everyone.

This book is a must-read for anyone that holds strong political beliefs no matter where he or she may fall on the political spectrum, but is most palatable to those who are socially, globally and environmentally conscious.

The War for America, Morality, Ideology and the Big Lies of American Politics @ 2004 Landgon Morris iUniverse, Inc. New York, Lincoln, Shanghai
ISBN: 0-595-32442-8 (pbk) ISBN: 0-595-7750407 (cloth)
*****
A must read-Morris uses a story of his patriotic ancestor (a story Mr. Bush appropriated to embellish his first nomination acceptance speech in 2000) to launch explorations probing current contentious ideological battles. Broad systemic understanding of symptoms, fear of the complex change that confronts our modern world and the abundance of political manipulation that powers the divisive leadership crisis plaguing our society today, provides nourishing mental fodder.

Landgon Morris' oft dispassionate analysis presents future opportunities well, sees important political actions needed to create and encourage continuing dialogue. To engage participating citizens at all levels, he presents an essential process honestly responsive to the complicated realities of today. For democracy to succeed (and for the world to survive) we all need design together our positive human future.

This outside the beltway view, provides some hopeful distance for whatever happens in November, despite the intensity of the political crisis that pervades my little downtown DC garden environment. His assumptions about the complex global future ring true no matter where you reside across our ever more connected planet. It commands your attention no matter what comfort you think your current ideological worldview and simplistic political "label" provides. The entire political spectrum will find useful insights to ponder.

Highly recommended
Robert Darling (Washington, DC)

The War for America has short, easily digestible chapters, and although much of the data is disturbing, I was compelled to read more. I had given up trying to understand politics and what drives the political parties, but thanks to this book I GET IT. Plus, I got the added bonus of understanding the impact and responsibility of my choices on the world and the environment. This is not just a matter of Republican vs. Democrat. It is a fight for our rights to grow and change as a society while the conservative-right holds tightly to keeping things "the way they have always been". Progress has never been made, nor freedom won, with this philosophy. Mr. Morris provides the past, present and future of the critical issues of our time. He provides solid information that is very well documented (unusual for a political book). Information that is designed to educate and join people together rather than elicit further polarization. He manages to do this without the rhetoric, name calling and fear-mongering I've come to expect from politics and political books. I now understand that this is not just an American problem and I'll never look at the choices I make the same way again. Thanks for showing us the world-view and motivating me to become involved in politics for the first time.

Morris's call for a new kind of leadership, that is able to handle the complexities of the increasingly complex world, is not only apt but is long been wanted. Morris does not imply a cosmetic change, but a fundamental change based on a systemic perspective that acknowledges the interconnected of with each other and with the environment. The problem, however, I feel is that humans are fundamentally limited in their cognitive process to be divisive and fragmented. Our psychological evolution has not really caught up with its technological and biological counterparts. Hope it does, lest it spells disaster!

Langdon Morris brings the dream of the Founding Fathers into critical and poignant focus, by envisioning history as a compilation of multiple generations of human ambitions, accomplishments and follies. His basic premise is that we have simply been overwhelmed by the complex technological social environment we have created, and that the forces of biological evolution have not yet had time to respond to the new techno-environment in which we live and work on a day-to-day basis. He points out that if we are to avoid a global economic and environmental disaster, we must martial a boldness of vision to move beyond our conservative attitudes of denial, and our dependence on fundamentalist doctrines of present mainstream thought and political leadership. He highlights the fact that the decline of every great civilization that preceeded us, has its roots in economic collapse, and complexity, which overwhelmed the social consciousness of the times. For us to advance to the next stage of human evolution, Morris urges us to detach our thinking from our conservative roots, which are wedded to mountains of past written dogma, overly simplistic ideas. and overwhelming fear of change. To renew the dream of America's Founding Fathers, Morris suggests that a new set of Leaders will emerge, who will have the ability to "create their own context," and will build a set of inspiring and positive futures which will include America and the larger Global Economy, involving intelligent management of new emerging technologies. This new Spirit of Leadership would thus function to creats a brighter and more positively spirited America for both the present and future generations, and also help create a better life for people everywhere on Earth. Elliott Maynard, Ph.D. Arcos Cielos Research Center, Sedona, Arizona.