It started with an e-mail from my conservative friend Alex, who I mentioned in yesterday:

I don't know if this is the type of book you'd be into but this is what I was talking about at the Nisei (sic) on Friday night...

Nissei is a local pub where the Hi-Volters hang out after Calgony Springs, and the book Alex was discussing is Useful Idiots: How Liberals Got It Wrong in the Cold War and Still Blame America First.

Despite Alex's slightly passive-aggressive tone, I know he has strong convictions. Alex wants me to read this book, I just know it.

As a true "lefty," I respect any American's Constitutional right to believe and say whatever they want. I also believe we should get along, and the only way to do that is to understand the context that frames certain beliefs or life experiences. Therefore, ladies and gentleman, I am prepared to take that fall for you. Read on...

To Alex, my conservative friend (and I mean that -- "friend"):

Yes, I'll read the book. You have to make a deal with me, though. Right here, on the public forum that is my blog, I am throwing down the guantlet.

From the descriptions and the reader reviews, I think I know in what direction the book you are recommending goes. In order to read this book with an open mind, however, I have to put my preconceptions aside. The following began as a stream of consciousness rant that I've edited slightly.

Any political ideology in the extreme is bad, and Communism is very bad. Sharing for the good of the country is a positive ideal -- it worked in the United States during the Depression and World War II. Communism, however, takes it to the extreme, basically stating, "Share or we'll kill you." Communism is the extreme of liberalism, as I'm sure you know.

The other end of the spectrum is Fascism -- bolstering the military, rewarding the privileged, and worsening the lives of the needy and those the regime considers unworthy of fair treatment, a judgement often governed by religious ideals. Fascism is the extreme of conservativism, as I'm also sure you know.

Both Fascism and Communism have one thing in common -- political infidels are imprisoned, even tortured and killed. From the Amazon.com description of the book you just recommended to me:

"One example tells of Katie Couric's visit to Cuba in 1992. Upon her return, according to Charen, Couric raved about Cuba's 'terrific health-care system,' but uttered not a word about the men and women detained in Cuban prisons."

The author is right. Cuba still has some serious human rights issues to deal with. On the other hand...

-- continue to humor me, no matter how painful it might be --

...I'm of the opinion that Conservatives focus too much on extra-national military affairs and lose focus on those who need help in the United States. Why do the Republicans feel that the suffering, impoverished people of Iraq deserve free elections and universal healthcare when the suffering, impoverished people in their own backyard are told to suck it up and get a job? (That's not rhetorical -- I'd like to know the answer.)

It's not a question of selfishness on my part; it's a question of priorities. Reagan paid too much attention to corporations (i.e., the elite) and the Cold War, and poor and working families suffered. Bush is also paying too much attention to corporate interests and the obfuscating "War on Terrorism" to make lives better for Americans.

Gee -- bolstering the military, rewarding the priviledged, and worsening the lives of the needy (not to mention a leader who usurped the White House under dubious circumstances). Sounds frightenly similar to Fascism, does it not?

Sure, that's an extreme leap of logic, and not one I necessarily believe, but I only do it to make a point. We should hold ourselves to the same standards we hold other nations -- no weapons of mass destruction, no unfair treatment of its citizens. Hell, the government isn't even living up to its own standards -- what happened to innocent until proven guilty, Mr. Ashcroft?

I also believe that the many problems of the Cold War were exacerbated by Conservatives. McCarthyism. The arms race. Religion versus Marxism. Hell, a great deal of the trouble we're in right now with the threat of terrorism was largely influenced by conservatives' attempts to fight Communism, like the rise to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan, or providing weapons to the Iraqis to fight the Iranians (we're just as guilty as the French, you know).

I doubt that this book will sway me into believing that Liberal choices towards the Cold War were unpatriotic. As I see it, there is a huge difference between Patriotism (belief in one's own country and the people that inhabit it) and Nationalism (belief that our country is better than your country). Nearly every group that Conservative administrations have supported in the interest of US nationalism, like those in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Nicaragua) have come to bite us in the ass. If that amount of money and energy was committed to feeding, medicating, and educating Americans instead of arming radical fascists, we wouldn't need to spread the message of Democracy with tanks; instead, we'd simply set the example. THAT is why I'm a liberal.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the author of Useful Idiots can rightly criticize Katie Couric for not pointing out Cuba's human rights violations, but it sounds like she wants to deny my right to question the choices made by our own sitting government. If Democrats, liberals, and people like me are to be admonished by authors like Mrs. Charen, Attorney General Ashcroft, or our own President for speaking out against our government for serving its own interests and not serving its people, then we're one step closer to fascism ourselves.

Rant completed. I've cleared my head of the reasons why I would never read this book. Here comes the gauntlet:

You feel strongly enough about this book to have made a special effort to email me about it. After all, I disagree with a lot of the rhetoric of extreme liberalism -- I don't blame America for 9/11 (though I do think it is arrogant for us not to take a look at what we did wrong). I think cutting the dividend tax is a great idea -- it'll help revalue the stock market, which will bolster companies (not just the executives), investments, and retirement plans. I think health care should remain a private industry because private industry fosters innovation (though no one should be denied access to adequate health care). Furthermore, people like you, our bald bedroom musician friend, and your short Italian castmate were able to show me that a lot of my reasons for opposing the war in Iraq were faulty. (It actually helped me solidify a much stronger arguement in opposition to the war. Sorry.)

Bascially, I'm open to new ideas; if I wasn't, I wouldn't be a liberal. Therefore, I'll make a deal with you:

I'll agree to read this book if you agree to read any one of the following two books:

What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News by Eric Alterman

or

Pigs at the Trough: How Corporate Greed and Political Corruption Are Undermining America by Arianna Huffington

You pick the book and I'll supply it. If you'd like to write a rant about your preconceptions before reading it, I'll gladly post it here. When we've each read each other's book, we will then have the opportunity to respond to what we've read, and I will again offer up this website as the platform.

The choice is yours. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
Arlo ;->

Tune in tomorrow...