Taibbi writes “This book is intended to help start a conversation about how much of our disdain for each other is real and how much of it is a product of the media machine.” Taibbi takes a very critical look at the current political media atmosphere in this book.
The book samples several ways that the media divides us. The book outlines the 10 rules of hate. For example rule number three is “Hate people not institutions.” The book also argues that political media has been set up to mimic a sporting event where you must always root for your team.
Taibbi notes “People need to start understanding the news not as the news but as just such an individualized consumer experience. Anger just for you. This is not reporting it is a marketing process designed to create rhetorical addictions and shut any non consumerist doors in your mind.”
The book contains information regarding sources, polling, Russia gate, Donald Trump and much more. He notes how the media typically distracts us from the important stories and notes “as people the more separate we are the more politically impotent we become.”
The book contains several entertaining stories. It also contains profanity throughout. Taibbi warns us “Today pockets of media consumers demonize each other calling for dueling crackdowns. We have become our worst enemies and the longer the cycles play out the more authoritarian our future will look.”
At times the book seemed long and some of the chapters could have been shorter but overall an interesting read. I rate this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Great literature should do more than entertain us. It should provide a roadmap to improving our lives.
In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens introduced readers to Sydney Carton, one of literature's most compelling and deeply flawed characters. Dickens also gives him an unusual title: the Jackal.
His struggles raise questions that remain relevant today.
Are we defined by our past mistakes? Can we overcome our weaknesses? What separates the people we are from the people we could become?
Lessons From the Jackal is a 25-day character study exploring these questions through Sydney Carton’s life, decisions, relationships, and personal development.
This is not a traditional course on A Tale of Two Cities. Our reading assignments will focus specifically on Carton, with sufficient background provided to understand his story. No previous knowledge of the novel is necessary.
Each day will feature selected readings, historical comparisons, reflection questions, discussions, and practical challenges ...
Lessons From the Jackal will return next week. Based on the first five days are there any thoughts you want to share? Are there any changes you would like to see? What do you like most about the course? What do you like least? Any feedback would be great as a finalize the next lessons in the series.
Five days ago, we began with a simple question: How do you measure potential?
Over the course of this week, Sydney Carton has challenged us to reconsider what potential really means.
We met a man whose careless appearance concealed remarkable intelligence. We watched him make observations that others overlooked, only to receive little recognition for his contributions.
We discovered a man who recognized in Charles Darnay a reflection of what he might have become, yet seemed unwilling or unable to pursue that possibility.
We examined his relationship with Mr. Stryver and considered what it means to become a jackal: someone who possesses the ability to contribute to another person’s success while neglecting the pursuit of his own.
Finally, we learned that Carton’s habits began long before his professional career. Even as a schoolboy, he devoted his abilities to completing the work of others while neglecting his own.
Carton attributes some of his disappointments to bad luck. Perhaps circumstances have indeed worked ...
