Rating:  ☆☆☆1/2

Recommended by:

Author:   Arthur C. Brooks

Genre:  Non Fiction, Politics, Cultural

256 pages, published March 12, 2019

Reading Format:  Book

Summary

In Love Your Enemies, author, economist and former president of free market think tank The American Enterprise Institute, diagnoses a problem we all familiar with, namely the polarization of our country into “us versus them.”  His solution is bring Americans back together around principles of respect, kindness, and dignity.  Brooks advocates adopting a culture of warm-heartedness toward our political foes coupled with a vigorous, but respectful, competition of ideas.

Quotes 

 

My Take

I, along with many other Americans, am sick of the partisan rancor and divisiveness that has engulfed our country for the past 20 years.  I have a personal rule never to post anything political on Facebook as there is nothing to be gained by doing so.  I’m not going to convince anyone to abandon their position and will most likely only alienate them from me.  In fact, I adopted a rule that family gatherings which I host are “politics free zones.” This has made for a much more harmonious and loving co-existence.  I’ve also taught my children (now young adults) that ad hominen attacks are for the weak minded and should be avoided like the plague and that they should strive to disagree without being disagreeable.  As such, the premise of Love Your Enemies really appealed to me.   Brooks offers some interesting and practical ideas to improve our civil discourse.  Our country would benefit if more people read his book and adopted its principals.