Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley

A story of the flagraisers, not so much of the war itself, Flags of our Fathers looks at the lives of these immortalized men leading up to the occasion, and then the post-war effects of this unfair fame, as most of them would argue it was. While the flagraisers would deny that their presence in The Photo makes them heroes, and they would be right in such a denial, they are likewise weary of accepting the role of Icon, which role, in the grand scheme of things, is perfectly appropriate, and certainly needed at the time.

The writing itself is only tolerable. The story, though, is gritty and you won't walk away feeling like you had watched an innocent '50s war movie. The War was not innocent and neither is this book. It will give you reason to honor in your heart our American Warriors. For that purpose, I can recommend it to the interested parties.

Our friend Setiago has posted a list of books he's been reading, and give short, but helpful summaries of each book. Check out his blog at http://reflectionsandexhortations.blogspot.com/

1. Polk by Walter R. Borneman –a very informative and enjoyable read on President James K. Polk of Tennessee. Whether or not one agrees with Polk politically, he was remarkably successful in accomplishing his agenda. Another good point about the book is that while learning about Polk, one learns much about the history of the era and other important characters.

2. James Madison and the Struggle for the Bill by Richard Labunski –a fascinating description of what took place to add the Bill of Rights to the Constitution. Those who are Anti-Federalists can appreciate that the Bill of Rights was added by their insistence although some like Patrick Henry, a giant of orators, wanted more provisions.

3. The Dirty Dozen: How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom by Robert A. Levy and William Mellor –even for those not particularly interested in constitutional law, this book isn’t a waste of time. You may not agree with all the author’s assertions, but they make many good points and show how the Supreme Courts has often erred in its rulings.

4. Centennial Crisis: The Disputed Election of 1876 by William Rehnquist –for those who gained political passion in Bush v. Gore in 2000, this book serves as somewhat of a prequel, over a century before. The late Supreme Court Chief Justice Rehnquist writes in vivid detail of the disputed election of Rutherford B. Hayes over Samuel J. Tilden and the behind the scenes work that went into the event.

5. Washington’s Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forge by Thomas Fleming –this book fills in a gap of a lesser known aspect about Washington—he was a good politician and knew how to fight off his opponents who were jealous and tried to undermine him.

6. Hamilton’s Curse: How Jefferson’s Arch Enemy Betrayed the American Revolution—and What it Means for Americans Today by Thomas J. Dilorenzo –beware of reading this if you are a dyed-in-the-wool Federalist, although Alexander Hamilton went further in his views than a lot of other Federalists. This book explains how Hamilton influenced our economy (for the worse) through government debt, a national bank, and many other things.

7. Lincoln Unmasked: What You’re Not Supposed to Know About Dishonest Abe by Thomas J. Dilorenzo –this book is not for the faint of heart, especially for those who have grown up revering Lincoln. Dilorenzo presents a stunning expose of Lincoln, but instead of a book replete with personal attacks, he examines Lincoln’s actions and views. He also writes of the danger encountered by those who dare question Lincoln or his policies.

8. Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt –a good, solid book on economics. Summed up, the book discusses the fallacy of only looking at short term effects instead of the long run and looking at the effects on a group of people instead of society as a whole.

9. Civil Rights: Rhetoric or Reality? by Thomas Sowell –a very interesting book that discusses many myths and inaccuracies about the policies and ideas regarding civil rights.

10. The Vision of the Anointed by Thomas Sowell –an excellent book that talks about the elite, big government advocates who think they have the ultimate knowledge on how society should be run. Sowell is an intense researcher and his book is well documented. He states that part of the reason why the “anointed” are against families in general is that the elites dislike the family as an autonomous decision making unit that is not subject to the elite’s decisions.

11. Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto by Mark R. Levin –a good book describing the Conservative verses the Statist (massive, intrusive government). Topics include healthcare, Social Security, global warming (and cooling), immigration, and federalism.

Whittaker Chambers and John Piper on Ayn Rand

I have never read Ayn Rand, but intend to over this summer. I know many libertarians who are attracted to her free-market capitalism and rugged individualism. In preparation for my Rand excursions, I read two critiques, one by John Piper, the reformed Baptist pastor, and another by Whittaker Chambers, the late critic of Communism and author of Witness.

I have attached both Piper's critique of Ayn Rand's objectivism, and Chamber's review of Atlas Shrugged (Rand's best-known novel) from National Review (1957). Piper is a fan of Rand's, but with grave reservations. Chambers was scathingly critical of Rand, partly because he knew many political conservatives would be drawn to the surface level arguments she makes, but might miss (or worse, be attracted to) her basic philosophical argument.

An excerpt from Chambers:

Nor has the author, apparently, brooded on the degree to which, in a wicked world, a materialism of the Right and a materialism of the Left first surprisingly resemble, then, in action, tend to blend each with each, because, while differing at the top in avowed purpose, and possibly in conflict there, at bottom they are much the same thing. The embarrassing similarities between Hitler's National Socialism and Stalin's brand of Communism are familiar. For the world, as seen in materialist view from the Right, scarcely differs from the same world seen in materialist view from the Left. The question becomes chiefly: who is to run that world in whose interests, or perhaps, at best, who can run it more efficiently?

Source: http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/flashback200501050715.asp

John Piper:

Ayn Rand’s devastating criticism of altruism missed the point of Christian mercy.She could only conceive of mercy in terms of our sacrificing our greater values to lesser ones. The Christian sacrifices no values in blessing those who curse him, nor is his behavior causeless or aimless. It is an achievement of his own dependence on and love for the merciful God. It is caused by God’s mercy, and it aims to transform the enemy into one who treasures God above all things. It is thus a self-benefiting act, compounding, as it does, the joy of the believer.

In short, Ayn Rand has no place for mercy, whereas Christianity has mercy at its heart. Why was there this conflict here? I think it was due to Rand’s thoroughgoing immanentalism: the complete rejection of a divine or supernatural dimension to reality. If she was right in her atheism and naturalism, then I think her system was consistent at the point of demanding only justice.

But if Ayn Rand was wrong about God, if he exists, and, as St. Paul said, “made the world and everything in it . . . and is not served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:24), if such a God exists (and Ayn Rand offered no argument to the contrary, only the assertion),then a radically new dimension of reality must be reckoned with and a corresponding new value should guide man’s behavior.

The new fact of reality is that God cannot be traded with as a man. There is nothing that man can offer to God that is not already his. You cannot exchange value for value with one from whom you have life, breath, and everything. You must, as a creature, own up to your total dependence on mercy and be content with it or, by an act of irrational rebellion, evict yourself from the realm of reality and try to live a contradiction.

Source: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Articles/ByDate/1979/1486_The_Ethics_of_Ayn_Rand/