Why We Whisper: Restoring Our Right to Say It's Wrong
by Jim DeMint, J. David Woodard
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Book Summary Information
Author: J. David Woodard, Jim DeMintEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-01-25
ISBN: 0742552527
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Book Reviews of Why We Whisper: Restoring Our Right to Say It's Wrong
Book Review: Not a waste of time
Summary: 2 Stars
"Why We Whisper" is meant to rally support around a generalized conservative religio-political agenda, one that seeks to gain control by limiting federal oversight and overpowering local opposition. Those fearful of this strategy are thus forewarned.
That stated, the book has content worth recommending to anyone. Despite a devotion to coded name calling, the observational narrative is compelling (those on the other side of the aisle will have to drop a bagful of preconceptions to appreciate its flow). The conclusions, skewed toward political correctness and ideological purity, are often unconvincing and generally not well thought out, tend to shift blame and confuse cause and effect; but whether viewed as righteous dogma or a shower of hubristic debris, the delineation of values, their assigned cost/benefit scale, and the utter freedom from objectivity make for an intermittently entertaining read. Obviously, the book is not geared toward persuading ideologues of whichever stripe to seriously reconsider their positions.
All the standard social conservative topics appear in random mishmashes of reportage and propaganda, alternately cogent and flawed, enervating and shallow, factual and irrational. The less familiar idea of "para-governmental" organizations is interesting, but too narrowly handled. Wavering stylistically between fluid testimonial, and clotted, graceless pamphleteering, the tone is sourly condescending, sprayed with the lack of respect commonplace in current political discourse, but over-arched by a tight, sunless layer of atmosphere. With repetitiousness kept light, the interludes of feigned objectivity feel like literary structure.
Forays into history, sociology and science add little to the text, there being no evidence that either author possesses the kind of scholarship that brings depth to these subjects. The historical plasticity of moral and natural law, with the tendency to conform to contemporary sentiment, circumstance and convenience, and change in general, is overlooked by Woodward and DeMint even as they introduce politicized considerations as newly minted moral law. Dubbing themselves traditionalists, the authors offer pages on their own victimization at the hands of secularists, prefaced by a single clause reducing traditionalist histories, such as slavery, to "blemishes." Statistics are read politically, which doesn't automatically support or negate them: the financial effects of single parenthood seem clear, while numbers can't explain the obligatory animus toward gays. Fortunately, Woodward and DeMint don't go much further into science than to give the literary stink eye to anyone who might question the orthodoxy of Intelligent Design.
Freedom of speech, ostensibly the central theme, is the most effective argument of the book (read this section first, instead of the rather indulgent introduction), but the actual main event is traditionalist vs. secularist. The issues are real, but the choice is false: most Americans look elsewhere for leadership and inspiration. Since neither camp is yet willing to remove politicking from the search for answers, the book's importance becomes its vivid, particular account of various and general social decays (apparently, we all need reminding).
Be aware: "Why We Whisper" is a partisan election year political tract, one essentially identifying Republicans with God, and Democrats with childhood obesity, among other things. A more honest title: "Why They Should Whisper Instead of Us."
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