Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Uh...What?

Ralph Nader has Written a Novel?
ONLY THE SUPER-RICH CAN SAVE US! is:

...the vivid account by political activist and best-selling author Ralph Nader that answers the question, "What if?" What if for once the driving force in America was harnessed in the interests of the citizens of this great nation? What if some of America’s most powerful individuals decided it was time to fix our government and return the power to the people? What if Walmart were persuaded to unionize? What if a national political party were formed with the sole purpose of clean elections? What if we really embraced the alternative forms of energy that will effectively clean up the environment? What if, one by one, we set out to solve each of the problems that plague us now in the real world?

This extraordinary book, backed by a major promotional budget and written by the author who knows the most about citizen action, returns us to the literature of American social movements—to Upton Sinclair, to John Steinbeck, to Stephen Crane—reminding us in the process that repairing the body politic of America is still possible.

It sounds like some sort of heavy-handed satire of ATLAS SHRUGGED, but I can't see anyone as glum and earnest as Ralph Nader pulling it off.

4 comments:

Charlieopera said...

The Blurb sure comes off as idealistic, but it isn't impossible.

Hopefully Obama adds Bob Herbert's column in the Times today to his reading list. If it isn't health care reform that sinks him, it'll be Afghanistan. "Fundamental to our defense?" If that isn't George Bush, I don't know what is.

Give Ralph a read ... even if you don't agree with the man, I'm sure it'll be political awesome.

Chris said...

Well, if you were gonna write a satire of Atlas Shrugged, it'd HAVE to be heavy-handed -- the original ain't exactly subtle.

That wasn't my first reaction to this post, though. My first reaction was RALPH F*&%ING NADER HAS A BOOK DEAL AND I DON'T?!? But I digress.

Years ago, before he was an election-day political foil, I rearranged my campus-job schedule to see him speak at my college. Halfway through, he muttered, "Not like you kids care to change anything -- you're the ones with all the money!" At which point I stopped caring about anything he had to say, being one of several lower-middle-class kids in the audience. You can't expect to change anything if you're carrying around that level of bitterness.

Charlieopera said...

Holy shit. I stumbled into a website called "Stand Up For America" ... these people make the whackjobs bringing guns to the town halls look sane.

Barney Frank, who didn't know there was prostitution in his own basement (and should never be anywhere near "oversight") offered the perfect answer to these nuts:

"On what planet do you spend most of your time" (or something like that).

Jesus, it was truly scary reading through some of that stuff, but it was very limited ... the same nuts over and over.

Charlieopera said...

Chris, and Obama has changed exactly what so far?

He's one upping Bush on Blackwater and Afghanistan, the deficit and bailouts ... and it appears he's backing down on health care.

And he's always so cool and hopeful ...