I just finished listening to the audio book, Hacks. I’ve enjoyed and respected Donna Brazile for ages. I don’t think I’ve ever agreed with this brilliant and beautiful spirit politically; but that doesn’t matter. I also revere Justice Ginsburg and don’t agree with her most of the time. I’m living in America. It’s okay to disagree and still admire someone. When Ms. Brazile was identified as one of the people who gave HRC a question (s) at one of the debate forums in the 2016 election, I was stunned and dismayed. How could she have done that? Outrageous. She just lost any credibility she ever had or would have. What’s the country coming to? I decided that every piece of journalistic integrity is now in the past.
I’ve been looking for good political writing for quite some time. I am interested in truthfulness, perspective and meaningful writing. I need something to be challenging. I am tired of “group-speak” and Political Correctness is just another way of saying, “I don’t agree with you so I am going to shame you into shutting up.” I don’t need for HRC to play the blame game and lie her way through another book tour aimed at making her even more money, while she tells America “What Didn’t Happen” (which is why I returned “What Happened”). I want dimension. I want someone to tell me where America went.
Hacks. I hate the title, but what a story. This was the best read/listen I’ve had in months. I am so enamored with this tale (not book, tale) that I also bought the hard copy to go with my audio. I had no idea what a wonderful writer Donna Brazile is. It is soul/inspirational writing in the clearest sense.
Here is a woman who woke up in a paradigm shift. She describes a world of circus mirrors and solid walls which she dutifully walked into despite the pain, peril and personal confusion. What was the key to political success in American politics was turned on its head. She described a world where the “boomer generation” inexplicably became “old” and what should be long awaited “boomer wisdom” was tossed aside in favor of cute algorithms, sophisticated ignorance, arrogance, insensitivity, rudeness and outright dishonesty. She wrote of fear. She wrote about belonging. She told a story of what it means to belong, yet have no place to fall asleep safely.
The reader can feel the writer’s heart break when she realizes something she has believed in and belonged to not only disappoints, but willfully ignores what is ethical, discarding all boundaries; forfeiting meaning and purpose. Direction is thrown out the window and the writer is tossed into a desert to wander.
As usual, I did not agree with Ms. Brazile’s politics, particularly her interpretation of “Russian hacking”, which is why I really don’t like the title. This is not a book about hacking, but change in America—change in American politics, ethics, thinking and belonging. She was a bit histrionic on the subject of Russian interference. In other words, I’m not going to start jumping under my desk in the next 5 minutes, believe me. But that is not what is important about this book. If you want to read about political gottcha—Trump-Bronx vs. Kennedy- Hainesport/Bush –Kennebunkport, wait 50 years for history to figure it out, then hope there are journalists who have the integrity to write the truth. If you are looking for a beautiful, well written story about politics in America, read this book. It is a great read!
This book was so funny I had to lie on the floor to laugh. Ms. Brazile will never know how much I appreciated that laugh. Whether you were for Trump or HRC in 2016, by the time November rolled around you were exhausted/drained. Believe me; I don’t know one person in my circle who was laughing about anything in Oct/Nov of 2016. Thanks for making me laugh. I’ll never look at Donald Duck the same again!
This book was so sad I had to say to myself, “How could I ever have stopped liking Donna Brazile. I do not agree with Donna Brazile. I am on the opposite side of the proverbial political spectrum, but how I revere this woman and writer for her courage, insight and colloquialisms.
Towards the end of her book, Ms. Brazile challenges herself and her reader. Can we not get to a place where it’s acceptable to raise the level of debate in our country without hating each other? There is no answer. But as her book ended, I thought of my great-grandmother and grand-mother (who did not always have the right to vote as American women). I thought about how sad my great grandmother would have been to hear the corruption HRC’s campaign brought to her beloved Democratic Party. My grandmother always said, following any election (depending on the outcome), “Well. The election is over. We voted. We live in America. The “other” guy won—let’s rise to the occasion and help ‘em succeed.” Or, “It’s over. We won. Let’s not gloat. We’re all Americans now.”
As Hacks ended (and I did not want it to end), Donna Brazile’s voice and words could have passed for the voices of 5 generations of women I have known within my own family. Can we not listen to each other once again without hating each other? Can we stop blaming each other? Hacks starts us on a quest that begins with the old cliché: when we know better, we’ll do better.
Finally, here is political writing we can be proud of; political writing that is worth reading and re-reading. The story leaves me wanting to encourage a new generation to arrive in Washington, DC. Reading Hacks made me want to saddle these “newcomers” with expectations to do the impossible—serve the will and needs of the people, knowing, without the slightest hesitation, that that is what Americans do best: accomplish the impossible through intelligence, honesty and inclusion. It’s time to leave HRC behind. She wasn’t the one. It’s time to rise above blame and hatred and get to work. America has female leaders—they are invisible and politics might not be the place for change anyway. There will be a woman president some day in America. She’ll be honest. She’ll have raised a family. She’ll have made mistakes and fixed them. She won’t have to rig the system to pretend she has the respect of her people. She’ll look just like our grand-mothers. That’s how we’ll recognize her. Donna Brazile’s book made me have that dream again.
Congratulations, Ms. Donna Brazile on a good book, a great read. I recommend your book to anyone who is looking for America and afraid she has become lost forever. If you ever read this review, don’t stop dreaming; recognize the enemy—hatred. I’m waving to you from the opposite end of the American Political Spectrum. You're looking good from where I'm standing, hope you see the same.
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About the author
If you were just as confused Election Night 2016 as I was...
Very entertaining. My 1st cover-to-cover read in YEARS.She has done a great job marketing this book. And a great job keeping the reader's attention from the Foreward until the end.Still hard to wrap my head around the seriousness of the Russian meddling. And not sure if more excuses were offered than explanations.This does help to answer alot of the "WTF..." feelings of bewilderment I have had for the last 15 months since the Convention.I would have purchased a copy for my Dad in Alabama, but they were sold out of hardcopies. So I overnighted him my copy immediately after I finished it.
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