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How the Right Lost Its Mind
How the Right Lost Its Mind | Charles J. Sykes
5 posts | 2 read | 11 to read
Once at the center of the American conservative movement, bestselling author and radio host Charles Sykes is a fierce opponent of Donald Trump and the right-wing media that enabled his rise. In How the Right Lost Its Mind, Sykes presents an impassioned, regretful, and deeply thoughtful account of how the American conservative movement came to lose its values. How did a movement that was defined by its belief in limited government, individual liberty, free markets, traditional values, and civility find itself embracing bigotry, political intransigence, demagoguery, and outright falsehood? How the Right Lost its Mind addresses: *Why are so many voters so credulous and immune to factual information reported by responsible media? *Why did conservatives decide to overlook, even embrace, so many of Trumps outrages, gaffes, conspiracy theories, falsehoods, and smears? *Can conservatives govern? Or are they content merely to rage? *How can the right recover its traditional values and persuade a new generation of their worth?
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Sace
How the Right Lost Its Mind | Charles J. Sykes
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Just finished this one. I grew up in a pretty liberal household, but the kind of anger and vitriol that I've from the right and left since the 2008 election has been really disheartening for me. This book really helped relieve some of my fear of the right...or at least what the right appears to be. I wonder if there is an equivalent of this book from the liberal perspective.

AmyG I like him. I see him on tv and he's a good pundit. 7y
Sace @AmyG I hate to admit I'd never heard of him until I watched a Bill Maher episode this summer. I really appreciate his perspective. 7y
youngreadrshelf I think I need to read this one also. As a liberal northerner transplanted in the south, I frequently don't understand what has happened. 7y
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Sace @youngreadrshelf I am a southerner and sometimes it's hard to understand and it's hard not to be angry. I didn't agree with everything in this book, but I did agree with a lot of things he said. 7y
youngreadrshelf @RestlessFickleBookSlut I think it's just that it was so pleasant moving from a place where everyone just spoke their minds to a place where people would stop and listen, even if they didn't agree. Now everyone just shouts over each other. 7y
Sace @youngreadrshelf yes! And I know I've been guilty of not listening. I'm working on it. 7y
youngreadrshelf @RestlessFickleBookSlut I think it's something we all need to work on. I'd like to blame talk radio, but I don't think it's the main reason. 7y
Sace @youngreadrshelf actually he does touch on the great power of talk radio and the 24/7 news shows and how it all becomes an echo chamber b 7y
youngreadrshelf @RestlessFickleBookSlut I can see the echo chamber idea. Thanks for the recommend for this book. Got it from the library for my travel read. 7y
Sace @youngreadrshelf I hope you enjoy it! I can't wait for your review. 7y
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Sace
How the Right Lost Its Mind | Charles J. Sykes
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"Conservatives can be anti-elitist without being anti-intellectual or worse, anti-intelligent."

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Sace
How the Right Lost Its Mind | Charles J. Sykes
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And the author goes on to say that that "none of this seemed to matter within the echo chamber that was demanding scorched-earth budget tactics."

Clare-Dragonfly This sounds like a book I should get for my husband. He sadly changed his party affiliation to Independent a year ago, saying that the Republican Party had left him. 7y
Sace @Clare-Dragonfly that's exactly how my husband feels. And I get the impression the author feels the same way. 7y
Laura317 Adding this to my stack. Maybe it will help me understand. 7y
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Izai.Amorim I find it funny that some people worry about the size of government but not about its quality. We need first of all good government, that‘s the basic contract in a democracy. This “starving the beast” philosophy leads on the long run to bad government, which is poison to the people and the system. 7y
Leftcoastzen My mother is a fiscal conservative who has no interest in legislating morality.Also believes the party left her.She also cares about the environment. 7y
Yellowpigeon The book I'm reading talks about how a small but very wealthy group of libertarians took over the right. Illuminating but utterly frustrating. Recommend it but with a strong drink. 7y
Sace @Izai.Amorim and they forget the adage "you get what you pay for." 7y
Sace @Laura317 it's helping me quite a bit. At least the author has shown me that there is some reason out there. He's just as bothered by the bluster and lack of civility. 7y
Sace @Leftcoastzen it was mentioned in this book that Nixon created the EPA. I didn't know that. I'm so ignorant. 😔 Amen in that legislating morality. I have no interest in that either. 7y
Sace @Yellowpigeon stacked! 7y
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blurb
Sace
How the Right Lost Its Mind | Charles J. Sykes
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I've pretty much lost track of all photo challeges (not that I participate all that much in them), but today's #yesvember17 prompt from @Libby1 was fairly easy. I'm finding this book very #insightful and it has sparked a good discussion between my conservative husband and my liberal self. 😊

DivineDiana This looks interesting to a fellow liberal with a conservative husband. 😉 I just have such a difficult time remaining calm during any political discussions! 🙁 Stacked! 7y
Sace @DivineDiana @EchoLogical I could quote this whole book. I'm hoping I can get my husband to read it. He's so disillusioned with the Right. Of course, I'm practically reading it to him now. "Omigosh, listen to this, honey" ? 7y
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blurb
Sace
How the Right Lost Its Mind | Charles J. Sykes
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More #bookmail! The latest volume of one of my favorite #manga series and a book I hope will help me gain some understanding. Most of the people around me are conservative. My husband leans conservative and he cannot stand Trump. I am still trying to process how this all happened and I'm trying to find a balance of information. It's very hard.

Laura317 @RestlessFickleBookSlut I don't think that book will help. I would be wary of anyone telling you how conservatives think just as much as I would be wary of those telling me how liberals think. I think this is more of the "us vs them" type of thinking that hurts and divides us ore than bringing us together. Just my humble opinion. ? 7y
PerksOfBeingABookworm I don't know about this book, but I would 100% recommend Timothy Snyder's book On Tyranny. It's cheap and can be read in one setting. But it's pack full of information and has some tips for how we can work to maintain democracy. 7y
PerksOfBeingABookworm A book that I'm currently reading is Violence Against Black Bodies by Sandra E. Weissinger. It's fantastic. It looks at the myriad ways that white supremacy has manifested itself in our society. It doesn't look directly at police brutality, but I know the authors are working on a second volume. 7y
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Suet624 I appreciate you trying to understand. I have a hard time even dipping into that craziness. 7y
Sace @Laura317 I saw the author on Bill Maher's show and he seemed level headed. I am trying to find voices from both sides that seem somewhat calm 7y
Sace @PerksOfBeingABookworm I read that in March. It was amazing. 7y
Sace @Suet624 and I have a hard time with what the right has become. My husband grew up in a Republican household. He's generally voted Republican. I have family that votes Republican. It's hard for me to wholesale dismiss the right as crazy because there are people in love who are reasonable and also just as distressed. 7y
Laura317 @RestlessFickleBookSlut I look forward to seeing your review. It can be hard when loved ones are on opposite sides of the political/religious spectrum. I hope that you find the answers you seek. 7y
Sace @Laura317 it doesn't feel like they are though. That's what's so confusing. 😂 7y
Laura317 @RestlessFickleBookSlut Trust me. I understand. 7y
Sace @Laura317 😊 7y
JewelsEnd Right(pun intended) there with ya... 7y
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