Review of "Of Thee I Zing

Of Thee I Zing: America's Cultural Decline from Muffin Tops to Body Shots by Laura Ingraham
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book was a mixed bag. On the one hand, conservatives are frequently seen as humorless and mean spirited. I have many conservative friends, so I know this is not the case, but many of the people who are the public face of conservatism seem to validate the stereotype. Not Laura Ingraham. She seems to have a fairly developed sense of humor, though she is not as funny as her counterparts on the left like Paul Begala or Bill Maher. Yeah, I continually found myself comparing this book to Bill Maher's New Rules books, where similarly, he delights in commenting on the quirks and peculiarites, and even the flat out ass-backwardness of our culture, politics and religion. But Maher is a seasoned comedian, and so his material is much more polished and edgier than Ingraham's. She's a little funny, but not that funny. Not funny enough to carry you through her whole book without eventually finding her shtick tiresome and lame. And as far as mean spirited? Yes, she does rub that way at times, but who among us doesn't.

I listened to this book on audio. My kids listened to it with me at times, and they liked it. They usually roll their eyes when I subject them to some boring nerdy tome, but they would ask to hear this one by name. So good job Laura, you have two young fans in waiting. For myself, I found many of her points to be valid, but hey, what can you do? This is a free country, and people are feel to live like slobs and act like jerks. It's the dual nature of freedom. It doesn't turn everyone into well-educated, well-behaved, thoughtful considerate people. It just doesn't. Laura zings liberals, which I can handle, and occasionally displays racial insensitivity, and age and gender insensitivity as well. But in this type of book you are bound to offend SOMEONE, so you may as well offend EVERYONE.

The book suffers from being too long, and losing steam with too far to go before the end. There was no conclusion or recap, which I found odd, and so after a long period of wondering "When will this book be done!!???", I was quickly jolted to a "That's how you are gonna end it??!!"

It's funny that the previous book I finished, Ross Douthat's Bad Religion, touched on some of the same themes as this book did. They both dinged (or zinged) Elizabeth Gilbert Eat Pray Love for its self centered "spiritual but not religious bent". They both expressed disapproval for the Money Preachers, both citing Creflo Dollar, my old pastor, about the shamelessness in contemporary evangelical Christianity. Both Douthat and Ingraham are Catholic, and they bring a welcome outsider's take on what seems to now be considered "mainline Christianity". One section that I found very disturbing was her opposition to women in ministerial capacities. She tries to make a fundamentalist case by going back to the 12 disciples. She reasons that because they were all male, that Jesus did not feel like women belonged in leadership roles in the church, and was thus setting a precedent. By following this logic, one could argue that the disciples were all Jews, therefore there is precedent for no goyim to be pope or priest. This is ludicrous, of course. Her own church doesn't even follow the Bible's teachings this literally. After all, they forbid their priests to marry and claim the first pope was Saint Peter, but the Bible clearly states that Peter was married! "And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever." -Matthew 8:14. I am disappointed that a major conservative figure relies on such tenuous arguments to support her points.

In conclusion, I guess I could recommend this book to my conservative friends, but truth be told, it's not a great book. It's alright. I like the author, generally speaking, but the book was mediocre.

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My Brief Review of Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics

This was a very well-written, well researched, far seeing survey of Christianity in the United States. I learned a great deal from it. Part One is foundation and background. There are sections in Part One that were dry, but if press on, you will be richly rewarded. In Part Two, the heresies are dissected and exposed, and you may find this to be a hard teaching, because the heresies are embedded deeply into wide swaths of the church. You probably have given little that to at least one, and followed it because you trust your church leaders. But when taken in perspective to the historical church, and two millennium of orthodoxy, his arguments are very strong and solid. I have had my doubts about the prosperity doctrine for years, finding it patently oversimplified and a complete failure, except for those who peddle it. I have family members who have tried to live out its principles for decades, and they have little to show for it. The masses don't prosper material, no matter how devout they are, no matter how hard they try. And the fault is always with them. This book also made me examine some decisions I have made in my life, influenced by religious conviction or religious rebellion or religious doubt. I think I have fallen prey to the heresy of the god within mode of thought, where people convince themselves that God wants them to be happy, and so, go ahead, do what you want, regardless of the collateral damage to others. This is not freedom, this is anarchy. All in all, I am glad to have stumbled upon this book. It will resonant with me for some time. I highly recommend to believers and unbelievers alike.

What and Who Do I Want to Be?

Take your medications, religiously. Watch what you consume, religiously. Watch what you say, religiously. Focus on getting out of debt. Focus on your children. Be diligent in your writing. Be professional in your work. Work when you should be working. If there is no work, study and assimilate new work related skills. Exercise religiously. Practice your guitar 2 times a week for 30 minutes per session. Practice you keyboard 3 times a week for 30 minutes per session. Be organized in your finances, and in your record keeping. Be honest, be a person of convictions. Do not trust yourself. De-clutter. Forgive others. Forgive yourself. Work your way up to 8 hours of sleep a night. For the first third of the year, strive for 6 hours of rest.