Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy - Peter Schweizer
The notoriously anti-capitalist, pacifist Noam Chomsky is funded by the Pentagon. Michael Moore, the self-proclaimed representative of the "average guy" actually seeks to undermine the average guy with his documentaries. Al Franken is mean-spirited and racist. Ted Kennedy, the pro-environment champion, refuses to allow environmentally-friendly windmills to be near his home. The pro-tax Hillary Clinton does all in her power to not pay her fair share of taxes. Union-friendly Ralph Nader does not pay his staff union wages. Feminist Gloria Steinem is a closet romantic. The list could go on. Schweizer exposes how many liberals fail to live by their own creed. This exposes some of their ideas as invalid and unuseful - for if their ideals do not work for them, how do they expect their ideas to work for others? Certainly, there is hypocrisy on all sides of the political spectrum. Of that, there is no doubt. But the fact that many liberals fail to live up to their ideals - indeed, do all in their power to personally evade their ideals - exposes these ideals as unworkable. Sadly, I've come to be suspicious of all those in power. If nothing else, this book is a clarion call to me to attempt to live up to my own ideals to the best of my abilities. There is nothing worse than loudly proclaiming an ideal and then failing to live up to it. In fact, in light of recent moral failures from all sides, I've come to believe that the issue that people shout loudest about may very likely be the issue with which they struggle the most! In short, we relieve our own guilt by preaching strongly "against" that with which we most struggle. Perhaps this is true for liberal, conservative, and everyone else in-between! Now... what does that say about me?