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Bovard's 'Tyranny'
a nonpartisan success
By Paul Poenicke
Collegian Freelancer
The recent crop of
political books is overflowing with volumes that spurn thoughtful,
civil debate for angry, malicious attacks on their political
opponents. From the left we get authors like Al Franken, who
accuses conservatives of shallow rhetoric and disastrous policy;
Franken's words are only a mirror of the right, as Ann Coulter
and company accuse liberals of treason, stupidity and a thousand
other perversions and deceptions.
While some important arguments and opinions
are being made, the whole scene looks more like a bunch of kindergarteners
fighting over a toy than a group of citizens making a concentrated
attempt to formulate a policy that answers an unprecedented
threat.
Thankfully, there is one book that ignores
the partisan bickering and puerile name-calling to make a serious
review of the facts and a unique recommendation for the future:
James Bovard's Terrorism and Tyranny: Trampling Freedom,
Justice and Peace to Rid the World of Evil.
This politically and socially detached view
allows him to concentrate on the facts of each issue, as one
may notice right away by the abundance of endnotes. Bovard's
research covers 68 pages, and most chapters are bolstered by
over 100 pieces of information.
These outside sources are not books, magazines
or other outlets that specialize in government conspiracies-Bovard
makes great use of the government's own reports, along with
other notable news and magazine sources. The amount of research
and the way in which the author adds it to an easily read, yet
fast-moving prose makes this book an informative joy to read.
Bovard begins his book with "The First
American War on Terrorism," which outlines President Ronald
Reagan's problems with the Palestinian Liberation Organization
and other terrorists. It is the first of many implicit ideological
salvos from Bovard: The unspoken message is that America has
faced the terrorists before, dealt with them in a fashion that
the current administration admires, and failed miserably.
After the first chapter, Terrorism and
Tyranny begins to cover more expected ground, as "Blundering
to 911" is the first of six chapters dedicated to the use,
abuse and misuse of federal power. There is a plethora of well-documented
horror stories in these chapters, detailing an almost comical
mountain of lies, corruption and neglect that seem too extreme
to be true. The extreme nature of these chapters might lead
some to accuse Bovard of scare tactics or fabrication, but Bovard
does little editorializing here, letting his readers review
the facts for themselves.
From lies about the terrorists caught after
9/11 to the railroading of Congress to pass the Patriot Act,
from the incompetence of federal air marshals to the abuse of
federal seizure laws, Bovard has trapped Bush, Ashcroft and
other officials in a string of lies that warrant a serious discussion
about regime change in America.
The weakest part of the book, the final chapters
that include the conclusion and the author's recommendations
on fighting and preventing terrorism, presents the problems
in Bovard's writing style: He is able to bring together vast
amounts of information, but his narrative lacks structure and
a strong commentary that would allow him to fully explain his
opinions and create a logical progression to the book's content.
To finish his work, Bovard declines to spell
out a detailed, well-developed policy against terrorism that
relies on the information he has already presented; instead,
he resorts to terse, vaguely connected aphorisms, which bring
together still more information, to present his opinion.
Unfortunately, Bovard relies upon the implied
conclusions from the rest of the book and takes little time
to discuss many important questions, such as why his opinion
will work and how it could be feasibly implemented.
James Bovard is a one-man truth squad who
has combined an astounding amount of research into a fascinating,
readable book. His opinions, while not as well formed as his
research, merit consideration.
Ultimately, Bovard encourages us not to back
down from the terrorists or other powers who might take our
liberties from us.
In his encouragement of liberty, the author
finds America's best weapon against terror of any kind: an independent,
passionate citizenry whose vigilance against foreign attack
and governmental abuse allows them to be prosperous and free.
It is this courage of a patriot to defend
his liberty and give his fellow citizens a weapon to attack
those who might threaten their rights that makes James Bovard's
Terrorism and Tyranny a truly empowering read.
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