The Tyranny of Clichés
How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas
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Beschreibung des Verlags
The bestselling author of Liberal Fascism dismantles the progressive myths that are passed-off as wisdom in our schools, media and politics.
According to Jonah Goldberg, if the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist, the greatest trick liberals ever pulled was convincing themselves that they’re not ideological.
Today, “objective” journalists, academics and “moderate” politicians peddle some of the most radical arguments by hiding them in homespun aphorisms. Barack Obama casts himself as a disciple of reason and sticks to one refrain above all others: he’s a pragmatist, opposed to the ideology and dogma of the right, solely concerned with “what works.” And today’s liberals follow his lead, spouting countless clichés such as:
One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter: Sure, if the other man is an idiot. Was Martin Luther King Jr. a terrorist? Was Bin Laden a freedom fighter? Violence never solves anything: Really? It solved our problems with the British empire and ended slavery. Better ten guilty men go free than one innocent man suffer: So you won’t mind if those ten guilty men move next door to you? Diversity is strength: Cool.The NBA should have a quota for midgets and one-legged point guards! We need complete separation of church and state: In other words all expressions of faith should be barred from politics …except when they support liberal programs.
With humor and passion, Goldberg dismantles these and many other Trojan Horses that liberals use to cheat in the war of ideas. He shows that the grand Progressive tradition of denying an ideological agenda while pursuing it vigorously under the false-flag of reasonableness is alive and well. And he reveals how this dangerous game may lead us further down the path of self-destruction.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Conservative columnist Goldberg (Liberal Fascism) takes on those who, in his view, regurgitate popular nostrums as an alternative to conducting informed discussion. The wide-ranging narrative covers such topics as ideology vs. pragmatism; separation of church and state; the quest for "diversity"; social Darwinism vs. social justice; and the "Living Constitution." Though Goldberg's obvious purpose is to hammer liberal rhetoric, he relies on overstatement to clinch his points. Are we actually "almost at the point where we have a constitutional crisis if a kid says God bless you' to a sneezing public-school teacher"? Such hyperbole detracts from the legitimate concerns he raises, such as that sloppy language can lead to sloppy thinking or the easy acceptance of extreme ideas. While commitment to a partisan outlook does not necessarily invalidate the product, the observer of today's political whirligig will regard this book as a touch one-sided.
