Reviewed by: BigAl
Genre: Non-Fiction/Politics
Approximate word count: 65-70,000 words
Availability
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Author:
Born in
Rhode Island and raised in New York and Georgia, Mark Prior now lives in Los
Angeles where he works as a screenwriter and, for his “survival job,” as a
stagehand and lighting technician.
Description:
Mark Prior
believes that government in the US is becoming (has become?) dysfunctional and
explains the reason for this as lack of involvement. In his words, “America has
become a nation of political couch potatoes and that's what's screwing us up!” In
this book he discusses the political process, his suggestions for turning
things around, and some specific areas where he believes we’re headed the wrong
direction with his take on the reasons we’re headed that way and some suggested
solutions.
Appraisal:
Couch Potato Politics has numerous issues that should
have been fixed in the final polish of copy editing and proofreading and
weren’t. The most common are extra or extraneous words (“… choosing of that
date to to make their point …” or “… an area populated by primarily by …”) and
homonym errors (peace vs piece, bare vs bear, isle versus aisle, and reign
versus rein are a few examples I saw multiple times). Unless you’re a reader
very tolerant of these kinds of issues, you’ll find yourself tripping over a
sentence often. This problem is the primary reason for the low ranking and is
something that could potentially be fixed.
However, if
you feel that a lack of polish doesn’t matter if the story being told or, in
this case, the message being delivered is worthwhile, then you might want to
consider this book. If you aren’t happy with government, but aren’t involved in
making things better, you probably should.
Although
originally conceived as a series of essays on the politics of various subjects,
you’ll find, as the author did, that there is a theme running through these
essays which I’ll summarize as “if we sit on our couch and don’t get involved
in politics, we’ll get what the people who are involved want instead.” And as
he points out numerous times, what we end up with is a combination of solutions
dominated by ideas from the more extreme ends of the political spectrum, laws
beholden to special interests, or inaction when action is needed due to
partisan gridlock.
Prior
describes his politics as “moderate” (neither clearly to the right or left)
although tending to be slightly conservative on fiscal matters and a touch
liberal on questions of social policy. However, he makes the point that you
have to investigate and consider each issue on its own merits, and you’ll see
that on some issues he argues for a solution that goes against his natural
leanings while explaining why. I would expect the vast majority of people would
agree with Prior’s take on policy because, almost by definition, most people
are going to fall in the middle of the political spectrum. Prior is also not a
political commentator or acknowledged expert on the subject. He’s just a
regular guy, maybe a lot like you, who has done what he believes you need to do
for yourself, investigate and let your voice be heard.
Do you
consider yourself in the mainstream and mostly ignore politics? Is it because you
don’t think you can make a difference, assume it will all work out without you,
or don’t see why you should care? If so, this book is meant for you. It
delivers a message you need to receive and take to heart. I only wish it did so
with more polish.
FYI:
Rare
instances of adult language.
Format/Typo Issues:
Numerous
proofing and copy editing issues.
Rating: *** Three stars
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