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American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America
by Chris Hedges

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/69095.American_Fascists_The_Christian_Right_and_the_War_On_America?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1170703203m/69095.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/69095.American_Fascists_The_Christian_Right_and_the_War_On_America?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15438.Chris_Hedges">Chris Hedges</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/16386404?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 3 of 5 stars <a href="/search/search?q= Chris Hedges&t=author"> Chris Hedges</a> paints a rather frightening, regressive, misogynistic view of the underground Christian Right, a fundamentalist movement he alleges is closely linked to neo-conservatism and the American Republican party. Citing a plethora of anecdotal evidence -- which, I feel, both makes his thesis of Christo-fascism increasingly terrifying, yet also manages to come off as patently absurd -- Hedges tells a tale of a vocal minority of Christians actively working to dominate and oppress those they disagree with; their ultimate goal, he claims, is the eventual destruction of the tolerance and democratic values of our open society.
 
 While Hedges asserts at the end of the book that he feels that a Christian Fascism will not happen in America, he also claims that we are one major disaster -- be it economic, natural, or terroristic -- away from the Christian Right usurping power, at which point this body of people would establish a Christian theocracy.
 
 Much of the rhetoric used by the fundamentalists featured in the book is maddening; for example, many of the leaders of this burgeoning fascistic movement make the ludicrous claim that America was founded on Christian ideals, which is a revisionist spin of such magnitude, whole cities could by powered by dynamos attached to it. The book is filled with hate-filled intolerance aimed at homosexuals, liberals, and secular-humanists, the latter of which is apparently a gaudy, widely used pejorative.
 
 Hedges claims that the only way to combat those on the Religious Right is to take "acts of faith," thereby using the tools of these potential oppressors against them. He asserts that, at times, tolerance is not appropriate: in effect, we need to be intolerant of intolerance. He claims also that our current culture of run-away consumerism must be checked, at least to the point where jobs are returned to those they were stripped from.
 
 While he offers much in the way of anecdotal evidence to support his claims, Hedges often leaves little discussion for his points, other than to (possibly) take his quotes out of context to make them seem exaggerated and obviously ludicrous. Although I do not disagree with his viewpoint, nor most of his conclusions*, Hedges is not a powerful writer, and the editing of his book is rather choppy on occasion. His book would be appropriate to get a brash overview of the purported world-view of the Christian Right, but I would definitely recommend <a href="/search/search?q= Dawkins&t=author"> Dawkins</a>' <a href="/search/search?q= The God Delusion&t=title"> The God Delusion</a>, <a href="/search/search?q= Dennett&t=author"> Dennett</a>'s <a href="/search/search?q= Breaking the Spell&t=title"> Breaking the Spell</a>, or <a href="/search/search?q= Harris&t=author"> Harris</a>'s <a href="/search/search?q= The End of Faith&t=title"> The End of Faith</a> over <a href="/search/search?q= American Fascists&t=title"> American Fascists</a>.
 
 * As a staunch atheist, I do not feel that "faith" -- at least, in the quasi-religious sense that Hedges briefly mentions as being useful -- nor reading of Bible is imperative to rational discourse or nation-building.
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/834940?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Joshua's review
rating:
bookshelves: politics, rationality, religion

Chris Hedges paints a rather frightening, regressive, misogynistic view of the underground Christian Right, a fundamentalist movement he alleges is closely linked to neo-conservatism and the American Republican party. Citing a plethora of anecdotal evidence -- which, I feel, both makes his thesis of Christo-fascism increasingly terrifying, yet also manages to come off as patently absurd -- Hedges tells a tale of a vocal minority of Christians actively working to dominate and oppress those they disagree with; their ultimate goal, he claims, is the eventual destruction of the tolerance and democratic values of our open society.

While Hedges asserts at the end of the book that he feels that a Christian Fascism will not happen in America, he also claims that we are one major disaster -- be it economic, natural, or terroristic -- away from the Christian Right usurping power, at which point this body of people would establish a Christ...more Chris Hedges paints a rather frightening, regressive, misogynistic view of the underground Christian Right, a fundamentalist movement he alleges is closely linked to neo-conservatism and the American Republican party. Citing a plethora of anecdotal evidence -- which, I feel, both makes his thesis of Christo-fascism increasingly terrifying, yet also manages to come off as patently absurd -- Hedges tells a tale of a vocal minority of Christians actively working to dominate and oppress those they disagree with; their ultimate goal, he claims, is the eventual destruction of the tolerance and democratic values of our open society.

While Hedges asserts at the end of the book that he feels that a Christian Fascism will not happen in America, he also claims that we are one major disaster -- be it economic, natural, or terroristic -- away from the Christian Right usurping power, at which point this body of people would establish a Christian theocracy.

Much of the rhetoric used by the fundamentalists featured in the book is maddening; for example, many of the leaders of this burgeoning fascistic movement make the ludicrous claim that America was founded on Christian ideals, which is a revisionist spin of such magnitude, whole cities could by powered by dynamos attached to it. The book is filled with hate-filled intolerance aimed at homosexuals, liberals, and secular-humanists, the latter of which is apparently a gaudy, widely used pejorative.

Hedges claims that the only way to combat those on the Religious Right is to take "acts of faith," thereby using the tools of these potential oppressors against them. He asserts that, at times, tolerance is not appropriate: in effect, we need to be intolerant of intolerance. He claims also that our current culture of run-away consumerism must be checked, at least to the point where jobs are returned to those they were stripped from.

While he offers much in the way of anecdotal evidence to support his claims, Hedges often leaves little discussion for his points, other than to (possibly) take his quotes out of context to make them seem exaggerated and obviously ludicrous. Although I do not disagree with his viewpoint, nor most of his conclusions*, Hedges is not a powerful writer, and the editing of his book is rather choppy on occasion. His book would be appropriate to get a brash overview of the purported world-view of the Christian Right, but I would definitely recommend Dawkins' The God Delusion, Dennett's Breaking the Spell, or Harris's The End of Faith over American Fascists.

* As a staunch atheist, I do not feel that "faith" -- at least, in the quasi-religious sense that Hedges briefly mentions as being useful -- nor reading of Bible is imperative to rational discourse or nation-building....less

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