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Rating: 
Summary: Good book
Review: Enjoyed reading this book.
Jedediah has taken the time to travel and
has added some first hand information about what
foreigners think about USA.
The chapters on "The American Temper" and "The Memory of Wounds"
are worth memorising.
"In bloody-minded diasporas and nationalisms, the memory of wounds tells people who they are, who is their brother, and whom they ought to hate."
:(
The reference to caste and brahmins in particular was overdone.
Rating:
Summary: It's More Complicated Out There Than You Think
Review: For those who may have found Purdy's "Common Sense" entirely too earnest, and too impressed with his own high moral seriousness, "Being America" may come as something of a welcome surprise. Purdy's earnestness is still there, but it has apparently been tempered by its more complex and confounding subject: the American Empire. Taking Edmund Burke as his philosophical muse, believing Burke's positions on the American colonies and India are appropriate for today (pro-independence for the American colonies, and against the British exploitation of India), he uses Burke as a compass to help guide him through the confusing and sometimes dangerous waters created by American foreign policy over the past generation. Giving voice both to those who have been bounced around and/or sunk in the wake of America's exercise in gunboat and cultural diplomacy, as well as those who have been manning the bridge, Purdy does achieve useful insights. He clearly hopes his readers will find this view unusual, an antidote to the noisome cheerleading of the pro-globalization crowd who, he says, believe that all nations and cultures, for their own eventual good, should stop throwing up sandbags against the flood tide of the liberal economic system and instead, welcome its flows of capital and the disciplinary virtues of the commerce that come along with it. Or their opposites who maintain that cultural and political diversity are being ravaged by the imposition of the liberal economic ethos through agency of the WTO and its powerful sponsors, who see globalization as just the latest version of colonialism as practiced by a new public relations conscious class of blood-sucking imperialists. Purdy does steer a steady course between these extremes, partly because he has a searching, almost novelistic perspective that attempts to see the essential humanity of those who are not American and who are attempting to come to terms with the new "American" world they inhabit. In one instance, for example, he talks a member of an environmentalist group in Indonesia which has taken up the strategies of Green Peace to expose logging firms' illegal harvesting in the rain forest, who admits that he likes Osama Bin Laden because he is "confident" -- the kind of personal quality that a pundit here in the States might use to describe a presidential candidate. More and more, Purdy seems to be suggesting, image politics, born in the U.S.A., has become the politics of the world. Another riveting interview is with Beka Economopoulos, who works for the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), and who thinks of herself in the same way a McKinsey consultant might think about corporate branding, except of course, that she and her associates wish to turn the power of the brand against itself. By using the media to spread the word about Home Depot's purchase of timber from old growth forests, RAN forced Home Depot to swear off such purchases and institute new policies. These kinds of guerilla attacks, Purdy notes, have been very effective in the new brand-driven economy. But as Purdy also points out, it has also served to make the corporation more covert and cagier. Further, groups like RAN are forced to use the strategies and tactics of the public relations firms to get heard. Without putting people on the street as the left once did, such groups remain captive to a media system that may or may not cover their latest publicity stunt. Purdy also discusses the fickle sovereignty of the media and the post-modern interpenetration of commerce and image politics in his re-telling of the tale of the Zapatista insurrection. So effective was this made for TV guerilla "army" that they forced the Mexican government -- with the media eyes of the world upon them in the wake of NAFTA -- to parley with them on substantive landholding issues whereas in a former era they would have been rounded up and shot. Purdy notes with irony that when the Zapatistas marched to Mexico City for the meeting with the president (guarded by Mexican troops) they were met with crowds of people wearing their movement's signature black masks -- which were being sold as souvenirs by street vendors. Purdy points out that another South American revolutionary group took up the Zapatistas PR strategies (such as mailing gifts to reporters with snappy revolutionary sayings enclosed), only to find the media would only cover one PR savvy revolutionary group at a time. Purdy, turning his eye on America, suggests that America should try to stop being both so "universalistic" and "parochial," and rather, adopt more humane, more cosmopolitan views. America, which took its mission to be the exemplar Enlightenment's project of liberty and equality, which thinks of itself as occupying and exporting the "realm of revelation," can be blind to the way it imposes these views on peoples who have no wish to be enfolded in its embrace. Another difficulty Purdy notes is that American foreign policy has become so captive to the free market ideology that it has substituted for its banner of civil freedom the banner of consumer freedom. He believes we have done, and can do better. At the end of "Being America" Purdy places himself on the political map as a "democratic nationalist" in acknowledging his debt to Michael Lind as an initial critic of his manuscript. Lind, the former associate of Wm. F. Buckley, abandoned what he felt was a morally compromised movement interested only in power, to expound a position of "democratic nationalism," a worldview exemplified by such antecedents as Alexander Hamilton, Teddy Roosevelt, and Truman. Like Lind Purdy believes American power must be used, and Purdy's counsel of moderation, of America acknowledging past mistakes in foreign policy while setting a future course which more truly reflects America's older civil religion of liberty and equality, is a welcome one. Conservative, yes, but in the tradition of Burke, not those radical interventionists who would falsely sail under those colors today.
Rating:
Summary: Counseling Moderation in an Immoderate World
Review: For those who may have found Purdy's "Common Sense" entirely too earnest, and too impressed with his own high moral seriousness, "Being America" may come as something of a welcome surprise. Purdy's earnestness is still there, but it has apparently been tempered by its more complex and confounding subject: the American Empire. Taking Edmund Burke as his philosophical muse, believing Burke's positions on the American colonies and India are appropriate for today (pro-independence for the American colonies, and against the British exploitation of India), he uses Burke as a compass to help guide him through the confusing and sometimes dangerous waters created by American foreign policy over the past generation. Giving voice both to those who have been bounced around and/or sunk in the wake of America's exercise in gunboat and cultural diplomacy, as well as those who have been manning the bridge, Purdy does achieve useful insights. He clearly hopes his readers will find this view unusual, an antidote to the noisome cheerleading of the pro-globalization crowd who, he says, believe that all nations and cultures, for their own eventual good, should stop throwing up sandbags against the flood tide of the liberal economic system and instead, welcome its flows of capital and the disciplinary virtues of the commerce that come along with it. Or their opposites who maintain that cultural and political diversity are being ravaged by the imposition of the liberal economic ethos through agency of the WTO and its powerful sponsors, who see globalization as just the latest version of colonialism as practiced by a new public relations conscious class of blood-sucking imperialists. Purdy does steer a steady course between these extremes, partly because he has a searching, almost novelistic perspective that attempts to see the essential humanity of those who are not American and who are attempting to come to terms with the new "American" world they inhabit. In one instance, for example, he talks a member of an environmentalist group in Indonesia which has taken up the strategies of Green Peace to expose logging firms' illegal harvesting in the rain forest, who admits that he likes Osama Bin Laden because he is "confident" -- the kind of personal quality that a pundit here in the States might use to describe a presidential candidate. More and more, Purdy seems to be suggesting, image politics, born in the U.S.A., has become the politics of the world. Another riveting interview is with Beka Economopoulos, who works for the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), and who thinks of herself in the same way a McKinsey consultant might think about corporate branding, except of course, that she and her associates wish to turn the power of the brand against itself. By using the media to spread the word about Home Depot's purchase of timber from old growth forests, RAN forced Home Depot to swear off such purchases and institute new policies. These kinds of guerilla attacks, Purdy notes, have been very effective in the new brand-driven economy. But as Purdy also points out, it has also served to make the corporation more covert and cagier. Further, groups like RAN are forced to use the strategies and tactics of the public relations firms to get heard. Without putting people on the street as the left once did, such groups remain captive to a media system that may or may not cover their latest publicity stunt. Purdy also discusses the fickle sovereignty of the media and the post-modern interpenetration of commerce and image politics in his re-telling of the tale of the Zapatista insurrection. So effective was this made for TV guerilla "army" that they forced the Mexican government -- with the media eyes of the world upon them in the wake of NAFTA -- to parley with them on substantive landholding issues whereas in a former era they would have been rounded up and shot. Purdy notes with irony that when the Zapatistas marched to Mexico City for the meeting with the president (guarded by Mexican troops) they were met with crowds of people wearing their movement's signature black masks -- which were being sold as souvenirs by street vendors. Purdy points out that another South American revolutionary group took up the Zapatistas PR strategies (such as mailing gifts to reporters with snappy revolutionary sayings enclosed), only to find the media would only cover one PR savvy revolutionary group at a time. Purdy, turning his eye on America, suggests that America should try to stop being both so "universalistic" and "parochial," and rather, adopt more humane, more cosmopolitan views. America, which took its mission to be the exemplar Enlightenment's project of liberty and equality, which thinks of itself as occupying and exporting the "realm of revelation," can be blind to the way it imposes these views on peoples who have no wish to be enfolded in its embrace. Another difficulty Purdy notes is that American foreign policy has become so captive to the free market ideology that it has substituted for its banner of civil freedom the banner of consumer freedom. He believes we have done, and can do better. At the end of "Being America" Purdy places himself on the political map as a "democratic nationalist" in acknowledging his debt to Michael Lind as an initial critic of his manuscript. Lind, the former associate of Wm. F. Buckley, abandoned what he felt was a morally compromised movement interested only in power, to expound a position of "democratic nationalism," a worldview exemplified by such antecedents as Alexander Hamilton, Teddy Roosevelt, and Truman. Like Lind Purdy believes American power must be used, and Purdy's counsel of moderation, of America acknowledging past mistakes in foreign policy while setting a future course which more truly reflects America's older civil religion of liberty and equality, is a welcome one. Conservative, yes, but in the tradition of Burke, not those radical interventionists who would falsely sail under those colors today.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Impressed
Review: I read this book for a college class and I will not think twice about saying that this book is a waste of time. Purdy has amazing ideas, but tends to babble constantly. My professor regretted assigning this book and I regret paying money for it. The chapters are poorly organized and usually do not draw any conclusions or make any connections to previous pages.
Please do not think that I am being overly hard on this book. I honestly feel that it is disorganized and simply Purdy writing whatever came into his head.
Rating: 
Summary: Clarity without Conclusions
Review: Jedediah Purdy has developed something of a reputation of a Generation X wunderkind. Thoughtful, observant, and intellectual, Purdy made his name with a call to earnestness as a counterweight to the rising tide of cultural cynicism in America. All well and good, but in his new book, Being America, Purdy's earnestness takes him close to the edge of an intellectual vacuum in which perceptions are expressed but conclusions are scrupulously avoided. That is not to say that Purdy has not, with this book, rendered a service to his readers. Being America provides a wealth of analysis that is most useful in explaining to America how it got to where it is in the world. Ranging from the "branding of capitalism" to the curses and blessings of a free market, to the ambivalent anti-Americanism that exists in much of the post-September 11th world, Purdy grasps nuances and provides insights that would elude the reader of the daily newspaper. Summed up, Purdy seems to say, "Here is why you are hated, America, when all you think you are trying to do is spread the blessings of freedom and democracy." Similarly, Purdy has an eye for distinctions that many Americans, including many American political leaders have lost sight of. For example, America as the land of liberty is not the same thing as America as the land of consumerism. Yet so intertwined have the two become in American culture, that it has almost become impossible for Americans to separate the two in their own minds. Ask an American what he most loves about his country and he will likely say "freedom." Ask him freedom to do what, and it will almost degenerate into a laundry list of purchases. This is not new, and is an outgrowth of certain assumptions that have their roots in the progressive era, the New Deal and even in the libertarian conservatism of recent years. As the writer David Frum has noted, in order to make progressivism work, a paradigm shift was required. Man had to go from being defined as a social animal - as the Founding Fathers had seen him - to an individual consumer - first of government, later of the "economy," which was a thing that had never been previously quantified. Purdy, unfortunately, fails to make the leap from observer to philosopher, leaving the reader to follow individual threads of his thinking without ever truly grasping the point. Purdy points to the anti-Americanism of several young Egyptians at an American-style shopping mall near Cairo as a paradox, but he never examines the merits of the paradox. Is it philosophically or morally defensible for people to express admiration for a mass murderer? Is that not the more relevant question than whether Egyptian kids act in ways that flatly contradict their thinking? Can Egypt, as a society, prosper so long as its culture fails to address this contradiction? These are the meaty questions that Purdy never gets around to addressing. At most, he argues that America should not expect gratitude for its contributions to the world, should be more true to its ideals and acknowledge its past failings, and should not attempt to impose its worldview on others. This is all very pat, and very tidy, but it takes no account of the dynamics of global culture or of the simple blunt fact of power. Arguably, America should not expect gratitude and deference for what it has brought to the world in terms of human rights, the expansion of freedom, and rising global prosperity. No more than Britain was given deference for having stood alone against the Axis Powers for a year during World War II. The wide-eyed bewilderment of many Americans after September 11 - "Why do they hate us?" - suggests an appalling societal failure to understand history. However, Purdy's solution, which amounts to more earnestness and a truthful accounting of America's sins before the world, will just as likely discredit America in the eyes of the world as enhance it. Just as there is no gratitude for the indisputably good things America has done, a global gnashing of teeth and rending of garments by the United States before the world will likely result in greater contempt for it. In any case, it is not clear what Purdy is advocating in practical terms. The quickest way America could be true to its ideals in the Middle East would be to withdraw from it, yet to do so would leave a void which extremists and tyrants would be tempted to fill, not only to the detriment of America, but of the people of the Middle East. Unfortunately, global affairs are less a philosophy seminar than an arena where battalions clash. Further, much of the American culture that has spread throughout the world and caused such a backlash, particularly in the Middle East, has done so without so much as a nudge from America's leaders. If simply "Being America" means antagonizing less successful cultures into acts of homicide and terrorism, it is not clear that there is much America can do about it short of defending itself and aggressively pursuing its own goals. Beyond all of this, Purdy can be taken to task for mildly distorting those that he quotes. This is particularly true of Edmund Burke. Purdy approves of Burke's stance on the American Revolution and British India, but it is relevant that Burke was not the enemy of empire that Purdy implies. Indeed, Burke argued not for disbanding the empire, but merely that it be more wisely governed. Without a doubt, Purdy deserves a lot of credit for making clear that which too many Americans, including sadly, too many American policymakers, have allowed to become muddled. However, clarity, while a virtue, should not and cannot be the end purpose of philosophy or American foreign policy. Direction, principles and a goal are also required, and mere observation from Olympian heights is no substitute for a sense of right and wrong.
Rating:
Summary: Clarity without Conclusions
Review: Jedediah Purdy has developed something of a reputation of a Generation X wunderkind. Thoughtful, observant, and intellectual, Purdy made his name with a call to earnestness as a counterweight to the rising tide of cultural cynicism in America. All well and good, but in his new book, Being America, Purdy's earnestness takes him close to the edge of an intellectual vacuum in which perceptions are expressed but conclusions are scrupulously avoided. That is not to say that Purdy has not, with this book, rendered a service to his readers. Being America provides a wealth of analysis that is most useful in explaining to America how it got to where it is in the world. Ranging from the "branding of capitalism" to the curses and blessings of a free market, to the ambivalent anti-Americanism that exists in much of the post-September 11th world, Purdy grasps nuances and provides insights that would elude the reader of the daily newspaper. Summed up, Purdy seems to say, "Here is why you are hated, America, when all you think you are trying to do is spread the blessings of freedom and democracy." Similarly, Purdy has an eye for distinctions that many Americans, including many American political leaders have lost sight of. For example, America as the land of liberty is not the same thing as America as the land of consumerism. Yet so intertwined have the two become in American culture, that it has almost become impossible for Americans to separate the two in their own minds. Ask an American what he most loves about his country and he will likely say "freedom." Ask him freedom to do what, and it will almost degenerate into a laundry list of purchases. This is not new, and is an outgrowth of certain assumptions that have their roots in the progressive era, the New Deal and even in the libertarian conservatism of recent years. As the writer David Frum has noted, in order to make progressivism work, a paradigm shift was required. Man had to go from being defined as a social animal - as the Founding Fathers had seen him - to an individual consumer - first of government, later of the "economy," which was a thing that had never been previously quantified. Purdy, unfortunately, fails to make the leap from observer to philosopher, leaving the reader to follow individual threads of his thinking without ever truly grasping the point. Purdy points to the anti-Americanism of several young Egyptians at an American-style shopping mall near Cairo as a paradox, but he never examines the merits of the paradox. Is it philosophically or morally defensible for people to express admiration for a mass murderer? Is that not the more relevant question than whether Egyptian kids act in ways that flatly contradict their thinking? Can Egypt, as a society, prosper so long as its culture fails to address this contradiction? These are the meaty questions that Purdy never gets around to addressing. At most, he argues that America should not expect gratitude for its contributions to the world, should be more true to its ideals and acknowledge its past failings, and should not attempt to impose its worldview on others. This is all very pat, and very tidy, but it takes no account of the dynamics of global culture or of the simple blunt fact of power. Arguably, America should not expect gratitude and deference for what it has brought to the world in terms of human rights, the expansion of freedom, and rising global prosperity. No more than Britain was given deference for having stood alone against the Axis Powers for a year during World War II. The wide-eyed bewilderment of many Americans after September 11 - "Why do they hate us?" - suggests an appalling societal failure to understand history. However, Purdy's solution, which amounts to more earnestness and a truthful accounting of America's sins before the world, will just as likely discredit America in the eyes of the world as enhance it. Just as there is no gratitude for the indisputably good things America has done, a global gnashing of teeth and rending of garments by the United States before the world will likely result in greater contempt for it. In any case, it is not clear what Purdy is advocating in practical terms. The quickest way America could be true to its ideals in the Middle East would be to withdraw from it, yet to do so would leave a void which extremists and tyrants would be tempted to fill, not only to the detriment of America, but of the people of the Middle East. Unfortunately, global affairs are less a philosophy seminar than an arena where battalions clash. Further, much of the American culture that has spread throughout the world and caused such a backlash, particularly in the Middle East, has done so without so much as a nudge from America's leaders. If simply "Being America" means antagonizing less successful cultures into acts of homicide and terrorism, it is not clear that there is much America can do about it short of defending itself and aggressively pursuing its own goals. Beyond all of this, Purdy can be taken to task for mildly distorting those that he quotes. This is particularly true of Edmund Burke. Purdy approves of Burke's stance on the American Revolution and British India, but it is relevant that Burke was not the enemy of empire that Purdy implies. Indeed, Burke argued not for disbanding the empire, but merely that it be more wisely governed. Without a doubt, Purdy deserves a lot of credit for making clear that which too many Americans, including sadly, too many American policymakers, have allowed to become muddled. However, clarity, while a virtue, should not and cannot be the end purpose of philosophy or American foreign policy. Direction, principles and a goal are also required, and mere observation from Olympian heights is no substitute for a sense of right and wrong.
Rating:
Summary: It's More Complicated Out There Than You Think
Review: Purdy is best at describing the complexities of ancient/old/nearly new nations and cultures that have come together in an age of media and marketing. Sometimes the threads are a little hard to follow, but it's clear that is because there are so many stories to tell. The two best things about this book are: (1) it is refreshing in the "fer us er agin' us" attitude in our leadership to see a young scholar be so adept at describing the nuances of the real world - I hope he sent a copy to the President; and (2) referring to Madison's Federalist No. 10 again points us to the messy, frustrating business of democracy with a backdrop of good old human nature, and the zealots of our day are not likely to succeed in their vision of the perfect world they think they can have if they just get us all to agree to their agenda. Purdy does mostly a good job of not identifying with the right nor the left nor any prevailing point of view - while giving if not credence at least plausible explanations as to why people adhere to various competing ideologies, philosophies, or theories. Given that he had the good fortune to land an opportunity where he could devote many months to such a study, it makes one wonder, if everyone could go on some sort of sabbatical and contemplate the world we live in, might we all be the wiser for it. So many people are wrapped up in the demands of their daily lives, they barely have time for TV news, let alone truly educating themselves in history and cultures. If they could read one book, Being America would be a great start to understanding current events and why it's not likely to be smooth sailing any time soon. The latter part of the book seems to bog down some, overall less satisfactory than the first half which is almost a page-turner. Overall a great read, though - worth sticking to through to the end.
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