Something has gone very wrong in America and in Eric S. Wyatt’s opinion manufactured fear, corruption, and excessive partisanship are to blame. “Facing the Coming Storm” is one citizen’s impassioned plea for a return to the fundamentals of the American experiment. Power, he says, needs to be removed from the hands of a class of political elites and returned to the hands of the American people.
In “real” America, it seems, politicians are considerably less virtuous and self-sacrificing than you might believe based on an average episode of The West Wing. In real life, too many politicians are like Barney Frank, who “cares not a wit about the public good, as long as he can scare up enough votes for reelection.”
Apathy and fear are the enemies here. The author’s passion is one that we assume he hopes will become the norm in American society. If anything good can come of this current crisis and political climate, at least apathy seems to be waning. But an uninformed involvement is no less destructive. “It is my desire,” Wyatt writes in the introduction, “to ignite a passion for further consideration in my friends, family, and anyone else who stumbles across these words.”
Wyatt’s writing is strong enough to get the point across without the moments of sarcastic cynicism but this cynicism is not without merit considering the many clear recent examples of the type of problems he examines.
And as an author, he passes where others fail by being equally critical of both the left and the right. The book is not an Anne Coulter-style screed against anyone who is a Democrat. Neither party is spared it rightful blame here for the state of the current ideological war in today’s American society.
He sees flaws in the current administration’s handling of the financial crisis, yes, but he wisely balances that by pointing out the many mishandlings by the previous administration as well. It is the political system itself, as well as the individual parties that have lost their way and caused the crisis we are facing today.
Government is most effective, he says, when it does less. Quoting Mark Skousen, he makes the point that, “Government should only do those things that private citizens can’t do for themselves.”
Whether or not you live in the same country the author does, “Facing the Coming Storm” is worth your time. Non-American citizens will gain a better understanding of the American political system and everyone will benefit from the chapters on protecting yourself from the financial disasters running rampant in today’s crisis.
Purchase at Amazon.com
