Book Reviews: "Taking on the System" and "State of Confusion"

First is Markos "Kos" Moulitsas' Taking On the System: Rules for Radical Change in a Digital Era.  The "rules" Kos lays out aren't rocket science or anything, but they're interesting nonetheless. In fact, one of Kos' major case studies is none other than our own Draft James Webb movement and netroots Webb campaign. In many ways, it's the same story Nate Wilcox and I tell in Netroots Rising, but it's interesting to see how the most prominent progressive blogger in the world views what we did.  

The way Kos characterizes it is that we "bypassed the gatekeepers" and drafted our own candidate.  We also helped to "influence the gatekeepers," several of whom - Chuck Schumer, for instance - ended up endorsing Jim Webb over Harris Miller in the primary.  Then, of course, we mobilized - Kos has subchapters entitled "Raise an Army" and "Don't Wait for Authorization."  Does that sound at all familiar to the draft, the "ragtag army" and the "be your own general" of the Webb campaign?

Finally, Kos advises that you attempt to "set the narrative" by "target[ing] your villain," "craft[ing] Your Hero," "exploit[ing] their weaknesses," and ultimately "own[ing] the story."  As Nate and I discuss in Netroots Rising, that's exactly what happend in 2006, starting very early on with slogans like "Jim Webb is George Allen's worst nightmare," the construction of a narrative in which Jim Webb was an American hero and George Allen a phony who had cultivated an image that could be shattered.  In short, it was REAL combat boots (Webb) vs. FAKE cowboy boots (Allen), a REAL son of southwest Virginia vs. a FACE "confederate" who actually grew up in Southern California, etc.

My main quibbles with Kos' book are the following: 1) no index, 2) no bibliography, and 3) no footnotes or endnotes.  I feel very strongly that all of those need to be in a book, particularly #2 and #3.  I'm not sure why they weren't in this one, but I suspect it's because of a rush to get the book out before the Democratic and Republican conventions and the kickoff to the fall presidential campaign. Still, Kos' book is an interesting read and an excellent companion to "Netroots Rising" if you want to understand how grassroots and netroots movements work.  

In short, as the book jacket of "Taking on the System" states - and as Nate and I discuss as the central thesis to "Netroots Rising" -  this is all about technology empowering the "ordinary citizen [to] inform, connect, and create in ways that can dramatically transform the world...using resources scarcely dreamed of a decade ago."  Or, as Howard Dean wrote back in May 2007, "The Internet is the most significant tool for building democracy since the invention of the printing press."  It's cool stuff to be a part of, as many of us were during the Webb campaign, and as many more of us are currently in the Obama campaign.
The second book is State of Confusion: Political Manipulation and the Assault on the American Mind," by Bryant Welch, PhD.  The thesis of this book centers around what Dr. Welch calls "gaslighting" - "an insidious set of psychological manipulations" that have "invaded our media, infiltrated our churches, and attacked our most basic free institutions." Yeah, it sounds a bit hysterical, but before you draw that conclusion (if you do so), I'd first recommend that you read Dr. Welch's book and see what you think.

Personally, I find it difficult to argue with the concept that many Americans, overwhelmed by a complex and frightening world, are vulnerable to manipulation by cynical but talented (hence very dangerous) political "gaslighters" like the infamous Karl Rove.  What these people do, and quite effectively, is to play on peoples' fears and self doubts in a manner that is politically advantageous to their clients and their ideological bent.  According to Dr. Welch, the three "highly charged emotional states" which the Karl Roves of the world tap into most effectively are "envy, sexual perpexity, and paranoia."  Combined, these "are the targets of the current assault on the American mind."

Written by a psychologist, it's not surprising that this book's focus is on the human mind and its need to resolve "cognitive dissonance," the projection onto "the other" of evil intent, the cultivation of paranoia and rage (remember the guy the other day at the McCain rally yelling "I'm maaaaaad?"). In the hands of skilled but amoral (or even immoral) politicians and/or political operatives, this can be a dangerous thing.

It can be an even more dangerous thing when the real world actually DOES provide strong evidence of frightening threats (9/11, the current economic meltdown) and confusing situations (globalization, rapid technological and societal change). These would be challenging and frightening threats under almost any circumstance, but certainly with political manipulators and unscrupulous media figures like Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh fanning the flames of fear, they're guaranteed to be. But these people don't just fan the flames, they fan them in a particular direction - liberals are evil, sexual minorities are dangerous, "the other" is out to get us and must be destroyed first, etc.  Crazy stuff, when you're thinking rationally, but seemingly reasonable when you've been "gaslighted" for several hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Sex is part of this too. as Dr. Bryant notes, "Clinton was impeached, not Bush," despite the fact that Clinton merely lied about a consensual sex act, while Bush lied to take the country to war (and on many other things, such as the Valerie Plame case, which Dr. Bryant correctly asserts is a "high crime" under the constitution's definition as much as anything can be). Basically, people are uneasy about sex, and in our society we're constantly bombarded with sexual images and messages, primarily via TV and advertising. Thjis is energy for "gaslighters" to use - and they do, all the time, which is part of how people end up voting against their own economic self interests (distract them with "gay marriage," abortion, Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, or whatever other nonsense).

I particularly enjoyed Dr. Bryant's slam of "infotainment" as a "serious threat to the effective functioning of the traditional independent press and, ultimately, to the American mind." I couldn't agree more, which is why I have almost completely stopped watching TV, the optimal home for the "gaslighter" and also a medium which "promotes a shift from an active to a passive mind," where "stimulation comes from without, not from within."  No thanks.

In addition to "sexual perplexity" and "paranoia," Dr. Bryant identifies manipulation of people's natural tendency towards envy as a "powerful source of latent hatred," in a society which contains "a lot of unmet self-esteem wishes" in a "culture of narcissism."  By the way, if this sounds like psychological mumbo-jumbo, then I'm doing a bad job of describing the book, because it most certainly is not. To the contrary, Dr. Bryant is an excellent writer - clear, logical, authoritative, compelling - and I'm confident that this book and its important subject material will grab your attention and keep you turning the pages.

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