Culture Warrior (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: culture warrior, secular progressive movement, smear merchants, United States, The Factor, New York Times (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his latest screed, the host of Fox News'The O'Reilly Factor mobilizes fellow "traditionalists" against a "secular-progressive movement" supposedly led by billionaire George Soros ("public enemy number one") and the liberal rhetorician George Lakoff. O'Reilly condemns the "erosion of societal discipline" flowing from an alleged "S-P [secular-progressive]" agenda of drug legalization, teenagers' rights, moral relativism, church-state separation, therapy instead of punishment for criminals and, above all, the "communist" freeloader's doctrine that the government should tax the rich to fund housing, health care and early-childhood education for the poor. None of this coheres well, but O'Reilly keeps fans stoked with red meat, including tales of ACLU Christmas-bashers who wanted schools to stop teaching kids to sing carols, and permissive judges who go easy on child molesters. Too often, though, he feuds with personal enemies like "smear-merchant" Al Franken, Hollywood liberals, press critics and unnamed "black-hearted websites." As a result, his populist swagger subsides into kvetching ("Clooney's press agent, a guy named Stan Rosenfield, began badmouthing me and Fox News around Hollywood") and paranoia ("S-P power-brokers... will command their forces to attack me in every way possible"). More resentful and self-pitying than feisty, O'Reilly may be suffering from battle fatigue. Photos. (Sept. 25)
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From Booklist

Forget the battle between liberals and conservatives. According to the anchor of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, the real action is the battle between secular progressives and traditionalists engaged in an epic struggle to dominate American culture. Though there is a high correlation between the liberals and SPs and conservatives and traditionalists, it is not absolute, and O'Reilly gives credit to the occasional liberal who stands up for traditional values by his measuring stick. He sees himself as Numero Uno fighting on the side of traditionalists in the front line of the culture war--the media. Rating major media figures, he gives high marks to the late Peter Jennings and low marks to Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw. O'Reilly takes to task conservative talk-show hosts, including Rush Limbaugh, for focusing on politics and ignoring the culture wars. O'Reilly also names names leading the opposing side: UC Berkeley professor George Lakoff, wealthy financier George Soros, and--the usual suspect--the ACLU. O'Reilly outlines the battleground on a number of issues, including the celebration of Christmas, separation of church and state, and gay marriage. O'Reilly offers a "code of the traditional warrior," appealing to traditionalists to take the high ground in the battle and not indulge in the unethical tactics employed by the SP, including personal attacks and invective. Fans of O'Reilly will cheer; detractors will cringe. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 219 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; 1 edition (September 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767920929
• ISBN-13: 978-0767920926
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (509 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #77,170 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars His Best Book To Date? I Give It A 4.3 Overall., March 26, 2008

By	Steve Guardala "Support The ASPCA. Ignore All... (?????) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

First, I must say that I would recommend Pat Buchanan's "Day Of Reckoning" over this book because he is less angry, more intellectual, & goes more in depth into the issues. This is a book about very different & often opposing beliefs of the USA & the world in general. He asks the crucial question, "who are we as a people?" He points out that if the opposing groups do not come to some sort of agreement we could in future decades come apart as a country. The author feels that the Secular Progressive folks want to turn the USA into a European style Socialist country. But, here he could have been much more specific. He delves into how this culture war with the traditionalists is happening across academic institutions, TV, Radio, the print media, & internet blogs. Such as George Soros' bank rolling left wing "air America radio", the cult of moral relativism{the what about me victim groups seeking special rights}, the womb to the tomb nanny state, teenager rights, & the ever growing secularization of religious holidays.

A personal example: a few tears ago in Macy's I said happy holiday to one of the people who work there & they said that they were told not to reciprocate because some folks get mad. That is crazy, I don't even know any atheists who would be offended by someone wishing them a happy holiday. All of these extremes are capable of changing our culture. Just think about the changes of the 1960's. Some were for the better like civil rights, & the negatives like the growth of the drug culture.

The book is divided into three parts. "The Conflict: America in The year 2020, The Culture war Where You Live, & The Struggle For The Soul Of America." The term culture war does on some level seems to fit since both sides rarely appear to agree on much. The traditionalists believe that our country was well founded & has done great things for the world. the secular progressives are hypercritical of our traditional beliefs & wish to move us closer on many levels to a European model where religion has been in decline for decades. This is not the stereotypical battle between liberals & conservatives. At the begining of each chapter are clips of certain famous people, some real others fictional. Ex's: "To conquer a nation, destroy the values of its people-Sun Tzu." George W. Bush is the greatest terrorist in the world-singer Harry Belafonte." Several chapters include interviews with folks on both sides that he has interviewed on either his TV or radio shows. He exposes the lenient sentences that many pedophiles get, & the ACLU who defends these perverts. They often believe in therapy over punishment. The last third of the book is the most crucial. He believes it can't be won in the religious sphere because the secular progressives have a near monopoly in Hollywood, the media, & academia. He feels the secular progressives have to be persuaded that traditionalism is in their best interest since it is far closer to what the founding fathers set up for our country to be. This includes far less reliance on big government, hard work, more personal & family responsibilty, & a better sense of community.

Many readers like myself{an agnostic} will find they have some beliefs of both. Though I personally think that I am 60% traditionalist, & 40% secular progressive. But, the author makes vividly clear that you can agree with aspects of both. I have often found that the differences between the two groups come from how they approach problems & life in general. It is a culture war as much about methodology as it is about individual or group beliefs. In conclusion, there is plenty of room for compromise if we try?

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Just what you would expect, February 2, 2007

By	Sean (SC, USA) - See all my reviews

Don't get me wrong. I agree with Mr. O'Reilly often and really enjoy watching "The Factor" from time to time. I also agree with his premise and data regarding left wing smear tactics and Bush bashing. But, there is also much I disagree with him on. For one, he seems to always assume guilt of the accused and is a little overzealous in his support of police power and legislating morality. I'm no bleeding heart liberal nor an advocate for being soft on crime. I side with conservatives more often than liberals but I most strongly advocate liberty and my libertarian views often clash with his staunchly conservative views.

If you don't know what O'Reilly is all about or if you are a staunch conservative, you will probably like this book. If you are independent you will find some things you like and some things you do not. If you are a liberal you will want to toss it into the nearest garbage can. Take it for what it's worth.

32 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bet the Secular Progressives Just despise This One!!!!!, May 14, 2007

By	JVB (So. California) - See all my reviews

Wow! What excellent,excellent exposure of Secular Progressives! Traditionalists,Conservatives, just plain good Americans better read this one. See where you stand and what are you going to do about this? How do we fight this? This is so serious! So urgent!!!!!!!

SPs believe the average American is just plain stupid and can't think for himself. Conservatives, traditionalists stand up, speak up and make yourselves heard....before it's too late!

What motivates such driven crazies to do this to America..and Americans????? Why are they so full of hate towards America and God? Find out their schemes, positons and methods of destroying this beautiful country of ours. If you live in America you must read this book and find out the hidden truth about SPs and their lies and schemes and how they are propagated, funded, and soliciting the innocent, our young.