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Jonah Goldberg Suicide of the West: How the Rebirth of Tribalism, Populism, Nationalism, and Identity Politics Is Destroying American Democracy New York, NY: Crown Forum 2018.
J. D. Vance Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis New York, NY: Harper, 2016.
Reviewed by Howard A. Doughty
As long as he remains President of the United States and well after he departs, few books that touch on American politics, government, and public administration will be able to avoid the invasive, pervasive, sensational and spectral presence of Donald J. Trump. Almost anything said about such matters will be sensed through the dark clouds, thunder claps, blustery winds, thick mists, sinister shadows, acrid odours, frightening howls and clanking chains of this genuinely unique individual. Love him or loathe him (and there seems little space for indifference between those passions), he cannot wilfully be ignored, finessed or contemptuously dismissed.
Confronted with this singular personality who seems to possess an unnatural hold on his country and to display a bizarre being-in-the-world, some recommend pandering and flattering his insatiable ego. Some try to anticipate, avert, deflect or repel his feints, forays and thrusts. Some appear merely incredulous, dumbfounded and discomfited by their own deference. Some indulge in mockery or resistance. Some stand mute, disconsolate and eager to flee. Whatever cunning plans and clever strategies are contemplated in private by world leaders and followers alike, it is safe to say that there are few who, in the antique idiom of some remote parts of Scotland, find the courage "to stand athwart the Donald in full spate."
"Trump is a man of hate, violence, and can't be trusted to make moral decisions. We can't be silent anymore. He's on the wrong side of history."
- Spike Lee (Moran, 2018)
Somehow, however, he must be named, framed and conceptually contained. We must be able to speak cogently and coherent ly about him. Given the deep currents of emotion-whether of adulation and veneration or of repulsion and revulsion-that flow in response to the mention of his name, restraint and sobriety in thought, word and deed have become increasingly rare commodities. What, then, are we to make of him?
The two books here under review are widely hailed as serious attempts to...