Finbarr Curtis

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This book looks at the effect of 'profane' speech on American democracy. This is the sort of speech epitomized by Donald Trump during his presidency, and copied by Trump-wannabes nationwide. While Trump is a central figure of this book, it is not solely about him - it also covers topics as diverse as the NFL's BLM kneeling protest and 'Cancel Culture' on college campuses.

This book has a lot of content, and does a good job of explaining it. It does not, however, pull everything together into a satisfying conclusion - it is more of an examination of separate things than an organized whole. That doesn't make it a bad book, though, and it gives the reader a great deal to think about.… (mere)

Going Low: How Profane Politics Challenges American Democracy, by Finbarr Curtis, is an accessible yet challenging take on the, as the cover illustrates, dumpster fire that is our contemporary political climate.

When I say challenging, I don't want to imply that the book is a difficult read. Curtis makes his points very well. The challenge is to both grasp the way he uses terms we may usually use differently. He anticipates this and does an excellent job at the beginning of explaining what he means by profane as well as other words. For me, the challenge was to keep in the front of my mind his usage so I could better understand his analyses. The only time his arguments were less clear to me was when I slipped back into a different understanding of words that are key to his explanations.

I can't say that I fully grasped every nuance of what was put forth but the big picture, first read impression is very positive. Well, positive on understanding Curtis, less positive about my view of the future.

I know I often talk about rereading books, usually because it helps to make the information stick in my brain better. In this case I want to reread to also begin to make his religious studies approach a bit easier for me to understand and apply myself. I have a lot of issues with religion (not theology, just religion) but find his use of methodology from religious studies to be helpful in grasping the surreal world we are inhabiting. I don't want a return to religion being the foundation of society, and I don't think it needs to be, but what religion had provided needs to be replaced with something that serves the same function. And that something needs to make room for those who still hold religious views and beliefs at the center of their lives while those of us who have similar ethics and morals without the deity also have room.

I would highly recommend this to any readers who have been less than satisfied with the various attempts at explaining how and why we are in the mess we're in. It isn't simply Trump, it isn't simply neoliberalism, it is the confluence of many things. The new perspective offered here, no matter how much of it you agree with, will open new avenues for your thinking on where we are and how we can move forward.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (mere)