Incorrect Thoughts: Notes on Our Wayward Culture

Description

In this new volume of political essays and social commentary John Leo offers a lively alternative to the Washington-oriented slant of much political journalism. Rejecting the dry insider's air of knowing punditry, Leo's conversational style and acerbic wit engage the reader with his insightful and humorous views of what is going on in education, law, advertising, television, the news media,... Read more

In this new volume of political essays and social commentary John Leo offers a lively alternative to the Washington-oriented slant of much political journalism. Rejecting the dry insider's air of knowing punditry, Leo's conversational style and acerbic wit engage the reader with his insightful and humorous views of what is going on in education, law, advertising, television, the news media, language, and the various liberation movements that are shaping-and sometimes convulsing-the country.The unifying thread of Incorrect Thoughts is the emergence of Political Correctness and its diffusion throughout American social and cultural life. Most of the media have viewed the rise of PC as a collection of unimportant oddball anecdotes, but Leo perceives it as a coherent social movement sweeping through colleges and schools, the courts, the media, the feminist movement, and the art world. Its goals are traditional goals of the left-equality, inclusion, liberation, racial justice-but, as Leo notes, the tactics employed are often less than noble and the contempt for tradition, standards, and Western culture has grown each year.The new orthodoxy has developed a taste for censorship and coercion. Speech codes and anti-harassment policies are used as weapons to silence and intimidate opponents. Speakers have been shouted down and whole editions of college newspapers stolen to keep students from reading the arguments of conservatives and moderates. Readers will find here judicious and often devastating appraisals of self-esteem and therapeutic trends in education, of efforts to revamp history along multicultural lines, and of the extremities and absurdities of identity politics among other of the latest fashions in radical chic.Drawing from ideas first presented in his U.S. News and World Report columns Leo charts the political fever of a contentious and disordered period in American society. At the same time his pointed humor, long-term perspective, and strong moral edge ensures his continuing importance to the debates of our time. This book will interest those who share Leo's concerns as well as those who appreciate models for incisive political commentary. Read less

1: Media; T his column almost matters; S cotch the ads? absolut-ly; P rime-time “gotcha” journalism; Why ruin a good story?; More guests who guess; B oyz to (marlboro) men; The selling of rebellion; Nothing but the truth?; T he joys of covering press releases; M edia bites self; A quiz for media mavens; A lovely day for a haranguing; 2: Education; True lies vs. total recall; Don’t get hysterical; D umbing down teachers; Let’s lower our self-esteem; Sorry about that 1992 report, we misspoke; That so-called pythagoras; Let’s attack merit!; Don’t listen to miranda; Good hair, bad cake; Separate and unequal; illing off the liberals; Hey, we’re no. 19!; Shakespeare vs. spiderman; Expel georgie porgie now!; Empty college syndrome; N o takeovers. please; The answer is 45 cents; how the west was lost at yale; Miss piggy was a smarter choice; Cop-killer and commencement speaker; Bold words for a new generation; Mainstreaming deviance; A ffirmative action history; N o books, please; we’re students; L et’s lower the bar; R eady for betty the yeti?; T ongue-tied by authority; 3: Family and Gender; Mars to venus: back off; Marriage bashing à la mode; B oy, girl, boy; P arenting without a care; T he joy of sexual values; P romoting no-dad families; D evaluing the family; T hings that go bump in the home; Defending the indefensible; Fairness? promises, promises; 4: R ace and M inorities; A dubious diversity report; A waspish, niggardly slur; J elly bean: the sequel; T he oppression sweepstakes; A sunny side on race; F eel abused? get in line; W ar against warriors; A second look at lani guinier; T he junking of history; O ur addiction to bad news; Y ou are what you eat; L et’s not call it a quota; 5: P olitics and L aw; A void ‘climate” control; W hen i was bill’s guy; W hat rhymes with carter?; The shrine at yorba linda; a fable: “pro-choice” in 1860; I n the matter of the court vs. us; I t’s a tort world after all; S teamrolled and bulldozed; C hanging the rules of a deadly game; P laying any reindeer games?; Are protesters racketeers?; W hen judges feel romantic; J udges 1, people 0; B ust those candy cane felons; P raying for sanity in schools; A man’s got a right to rights; 6: C ulture and L anguage; O f famine and green beer; The two sinatras; T he official column of champions; C heers, circa 1968; G unning for hollywood; H old the chocolate; A tower of pomobabble; h ow to be a rich genius; N obel prize for fiction?; H ow ‘bout those clichés?; Repackaging the perps; O pinions were expressed; L anguage in the dumps; C lose the envelope, please; O ur kinder, gentler army; I n the key of f; O h, no, canada!; T his column is mostly true; T he leading cultural polluter; The private parts of don imus; S elling the child-woman; D ecadence, the corporate way; 7: S ociety and S ocial B ehavior; T hank you for not smoking; D oing the disorder rag; M ay the feel be with you; M y sobbing valentine; Life among the cyberfolk; D amn, i’m good!; W e’re all number 1; M ainstreaming’s “jimmy problem”; T he “new primitives”; C hortle while you work; T hou shalt not command; T he unmaking of civic culture; W hen stability was all the rage; T he price is wrong

Editor(s)

Biography

John Leo

Incorrect Thoughts Notes on Our Wayward Culture

Description

Table of Contents

Editor(s)

Biography

SOCIAL NETWORKS

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