Andy Borowitz

I'm not sure whether Profiles in Ignorance by Andy Borowitz is a funny or a horrifying read, though I guess they aren't mutually exclusive.

Perhaps what makes this scarier than his humor on the New Yorker is that, as he says, this is all factual. This isn't him taking something and running with it, these are actual events, comments, and just general stupidity (ignorance is too nice, as far as I'm concerned willful ignorance is stupidity).

While he acknowledges that what he is calling ignorance is not the exclusive domain of the right, at least in the past half century the difference is one of creepiness (what is sex?) versus one of attempting to undermine and then overthrow democracy and our government.

If one reads the entire book (c'mon, it isn't very long) one will see that it isn't just putting GOP ignorance front and center, it is a call for the rest of us to cut back on our time in our own echo chambers, don't be a political tourist, and get active locally. There is a prescriptive element to the book at the end. Is it a detailed plan? Of course not, the call is to start making change locally, and every locality is different. So whining because you either didn't actually read the book or because you're incapable of doing any of the hard work yourself makes no sense and is misleading for those who haven't yet read the book.

Certainly those who are primarily political fans will enjoy the book, but it really is effective for those who take the call to action seriously. Knowing what we're fighting against helps us to better prepare and avoid some of the same mistakes, such as refusing to engage our brains.

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