Dana Loesch

"If we offer grace only to the extent it is offered to us, we won't get anywhere."

This is an odd book from Dana Loesch and not what I was expecting but it's definitely needed right now. This is an era where outrage and anger are weapons - and have become them on both sides of the aisle. We kid ourselves about every fight being THE fight and that all our anger is righteous when it isn't. To follow God, we have to let go of that.

We need to pick our battles [something my parents always used to remind us]. We have to trust God more and ask Him for restraint. Some battles absolutely are worth fighting and there is enough lies and misinformation out there to make your blood boil. Outrage should be the last resort, though, not our modus operandi. We should seek to dialogue and understand those with whom we disagree with. She admits to failing on these points before, as have most people I suspect, self included.

The lack of grace in our society should be concerning. Motives are presumed because of political stance or something else rather than actually talking to the person. And when someone apologizes, it's now license to destroy, not rehabilitate. Is that really the society we want to live in? Where there is no redemption? Christians should be particularly aware of grace as God has given us that when we so clearly don't deserve it.… (más)

This wasn't bad but I'm sick of people who have success, especially in media and/or politics, writing books about subjects they don't really know much about and telling people who aren't exactly like them how stupid they are. And I especially don't appreciate being automatically lumped into a group (and the wrong group at that) because the author wants to accuse a group of some sort of crime or wrong doing, all supplied in a smug tone of superiority. Painting with a broad brush has never helped to accurately prove a point.

I admit this book had actual endnotes but only after I flipped to the end of the book. I eventually started skimming because it was so much retread that I felt that there wasn't much new in this book compared other similar books I've read. And still no workable solutions. Even something small and grassroots is better than nothing. Otherwise, it's just whining.… (más)

Loesch is a well-known blogger, radio host, and television
commentator on Conservative issues, but most particularly on Second
Amendment rights to self-defense. This book is a lengthy discussion of
Second Amendment issues and Loesch's battles with gun control
advocates like Michael Bloomberg, Piers Morgan, and others. The book
is at its best when Loesch discusses the issues with personal
examples. Her more recent book, Flyover Nation, is better written and
really demonstrates how Loesch has honed her literary voice.
In this book, Loesch discusses Second amendment rights both from
personal experiences and from historical examples. The arguments she
espouses are best made when she discusses how women, in particular,
have a strong need to carry firearms to protect them from rapists and
home invaders and how even calling 911 is not immediately effective
against a determined attacker. The argument that historically gun
control laws have been used as part of the racist Jim Crow laws was
quite surprising and eye-opening. I also found very interesting the
studies showing no correlation between gun control and murder rates.
At times, however, the book suffered from a focus on the nitty gritty
details in legislative battles and the minor details of talk show
disputes. A greater focus on the Second Amendment issues
themselves and the numerous examples of how mothers and the
elderly used firearms to protect themselves and their families from
harm would be helpful.
As someone who hasn't given a lot of thought to these issues, I found
this book quite useful and educational as well as entertaining.… (más)