For anyone who wants to delve a little deeper into how and why America has become such a polarized country it is today, how a blatant demagogue currently sits as the President of the United States (spoiler: it began decades ago) and is perplexed as to how anyone can support such a repugnant person with an absolute lack of basic decency and respect (yes, I have strong opinions on said person’s character), may I recommend this book to you as a great starting point.
I say this as an outsider who moved to the U.S in 2016, utterly shocked by the turn of events, attempting to observe and seek answers. Although I did have a high level understanding, I also found myself sitting next to a senior, white, middle-aged man who, regurgitating the day’s tweet, tried to school me on the different “updated” methods of wire-tapping he believed Obama deployed when Trump took over the White House (I actually thought he was being sarcastic at first). From then on, together with my travels around the States, I knew the situation was layered with much more complexity
The book provides historical examples of other countries’ preservation or destruction of democracy, such as Europe in the 1930s and South America from the 1970s. Of course, it also examines America’s history and the political norms that upheld America’s democracy. As someone who did not grow up studying American history in school, it was also an opportunity to learn more about American political history. I feel like this book should be a compulsory read, especially for anyone working for the White House.
I am most definitely living in the States in a critical time of its history.
As the 2020 elections looms, all I hope for is a fair and just future for the future generations to come.