Scan barcode
A review by ncrabb
Addicted to Outrage: How Thinking Like a Recovering Addict Can Heal the Country by Glenn Beck
3.0
The longer I live, the more convinced I am that looking at issues from every side just makes sense. Few other commentators have managed the kind of polarizing effect that Glenn Beck has achieved in recent years. What was it about the man that created such sharp divisions. Does anyone listen to him and merely shrug, saying, “well, ok, that’s his perspective, time to live and let live?” Or are we more inclined to revile the man for his politics and the sometimes-shrill nature of his delivery?
Beck addresses his polarizing behaviors in his most recent book, and I came away with a deeper understanding of the journeys and evolutions all of us go through as we age. None of us are who we were perhaps even as recently as five years ago. If we’re honest, we can point to ways in which a cherished belief of even a few years ago suddenly takes on a different shape or color; sometimes, we discard those cherished beliefs altogether.
This is Beck’s journey. He straightforwardly apologizes for fanning the flames of outrage. And while he stands opposed to abortion and gun control, he seems far more intent these days on building bridges to those who disagree with him, not so much to convert them to his certainty but to better understand them and see whether some kind of middle ground can be reached.
Beck contends here that the nation’s only hope is to find those things in common that once held us together—particularly the Bill of Rights.
There is much here that touched me. He writes here with real candor of his mother’s suicide and his own very near success at repeating her performance. He writes about friends he has won and lost in his efforts to build bridges wherever possible. He includes information here about his conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and what an initially strange experience that was. I laughed out loud through that portion of the book; I could see the kind of people he described. But he also talks of the home he found with that group, and his ongoing search for greater truth.
Beck postulates that the nation is addicted to anger and hate, and writing from the point of view of a recovering alcoholic, he insists the nation needs an intervention. He points out ways in which all of us are eager to point a judgmental finger at the opposite side, and he admits to have played a part in that process. Beck emphasizes that this isn’t about political parties. He says the problem is everyone’s problem, not a Democratic or Republican problem, and he says thinking like addicts in need of change will help.
He devotes each chapter to the steps in a 12-step program and explains how using those steps can bring us all closer together.
He provides examples here of Americans who have gone deep and learned to forgive. He warns against the kind of certitude that forces out every other perspective but the one in which you’ve convinced you’re right. He focuses on the value of believing in something larger than self, and he extols humility and gratitude.
This is not some kind of deathbed conversion to a more enlightened way of thinking. If you found Beck strident and boisterous in years past, you may still find this book falls into that. I was touched by the journey, and I came away a little surprised that he would be so candid and public about his personal flaws and shortcomings.
I find his sometimes hyperbolic thoughts on how technology will change us all to be a bit amusing. Maybe he’s right, but I’m a little less inclined to slurp that soup until it cools a bit.
I guess if I were in a frame of mind that said, “I’m going to read this and keep track of all the inconsistencies and gotcha statements,” I’d find this book a chore and unworthy of my time. If I adopt the author’s perspective that I need an intervention, I might read this. Beck aptly points out that our addictions to Facebook likes and Twitter retweets contribute to a division that has the potential to destroy the nation. I’m not entirely convinced he’s wrong.
I went into this with a lot of trepidation. Is it going to be just another rehash of Beck’s politics? I could get that pretty much every day. I wanted this to be something different, and while he doesn’t switch sides, he accepts responsibility for his part in the divisions among us, and that seems hard to do. He also offers thoughtful suggestions on steps we can take as individuals to lower the volume and increase our ability to simply listen and respect the difference of those around us rather than forcibly shout them down. Instead of reading this to gain amunition with which to punch back, I read it to learn more about the evolutoin of one individual and to ponder his thoughts on how we reconnect.
Part of the narration is a bit hyper-dramatic. He gets pretty out there in a paragraph or two. You can almost visualize wild gestures as he reads. It gets a bit whispery and funky in a spot or two, but on balance, it’s a highly listenable narration.
NLS:
Addicted to outrage: how thinking like a recovering addict can heal the country DB92907
Beck, Glenn. Reading time: 15 hours, 32 minutes.
Read by Glenn Beck.
Social Sciences
Government and Politics
Bestsellers
The author of Miracles and Massacres (DB 77942) discusses America's growing social and political division and penchant for cultural anger. Frames this trend as an addiction and proposes a solution similar to traditional twelve-step programs. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2018.
Beck addresses his polarizing behaviors in his most recent book, and I came away with a deeper understanding of the journeys and evolutions all of us go through as we age. None of us are who we were perhaps even as recently as five years ago. If we’re honest, we can point to ways in which a cherished belief of even a few years ago suddenly takes on a different shape or color; sometimes, we discard those cherished beliefs altogether.
This is Beck’s journey. He straightforwardly apologizes for fanning the flames of outrage. And while he stands opposed to abortion and gun control, he seems far more intent these days on building bridges to those who disagree with him, not so much to convert them to his certainty but to better understand them and see whether some kind of middle ground can be reached.
Beck contends here that the nation’s only hope is to find those things in common that once held us together—particularly the Bill of Rights.
There is much here that touched me. He writes here with real candor of his mother’s suicide and his own very near success at repeating her performance. He writes about friends he has won and lost in his efforts to build bridges wherever possible. He includes information here about his conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and what an initially strange experience that was. I laughed out loud through that portion of the book; I could see the kind of people he described. But he also talks of the home he found with that group, and his ongoing search for greater truth.
Beck postulates that the nation is addicted to anger and hate, and writing from the point of view of a recovering alcoholic, he insists the nation needs an intervention. He points out ways in which all of us are eager to point a judgmental finger at the opposite side, and he admits to have played a part in that process. Beck emphasizes that this isn’t about political parties. He says the problem is everyone’s problem, not a Democratic or Republican problem, and he says thinking like addicts in need of change will help.
He devotes each chapter to the steps in a 12-step program and explains how using those steps can bring us all closer together.
He provides examples here of Americans who have gone deep and learned to forgive. He warns against the kind of certitude that forces out every other perspective but the one in which you’ve convinced you’re right. He focuses on the value of believing in something larger than self, and he extols humility and gratitude.
This is not some kind of deathbed conversion to a more enlightened way of thinking. If you found Beck strident and boisterous in years past, you may still find this book falls into that. I was touched by the journey, and I came away a little surprised that he would be so candid and public about his personal flaws and shortcomings.
I find his sometimes hyperbolic thoughts on how technology will change us all to be a bit amusing. Maybe he’s right, but I’m a little less inclined to slurp that soup until it cools a bit.
I guess if I were in a frame of mind that said, “I’m going to read this and keep track of all the inconsistencies and gotcha statements,” I’d find this book a chore and unworthy of my time. If I adopt the author’s perspective that I need an intervention, I might read this. Beck aptly points out that our addictions to Facebook likes and Twitter retweets contribute to a division that has the potential to destroy the nation. I’m not entirely convinced he’s wrong.
I went into this with a lot of trepidation. Is it going to be just another rehash of Beck’s politics? I could get that pretty much every day. I wanted this to be something different, and while he doesn’t switch sides, he accepts responsibility for his part in the divisions among us, and that seems hard to do. He also offers thoughtful suggestions on steps we can take as individuals to lower the volume and increase our ability to simply listen and respect the difference of those around us rather than forcibly shout them down. Instead of reading this to gain amunition with which to punch back, I read it to learn more about the evolutoin of one individual and to ponder his thoughts on how we reconnect.
Part of the narration is a bit hyper-dramatic. He gets pretty out there in a paragraph or two. You can almost visualize wild gestures as he reads. It gets a bit whispery and funky in a spot or two, but on balance, it’s a highly listenable narration.
NLS:
Addicted to outrage: how thinking like a recovering addict can heal the country DB92907
Beck, Glenn. Reading time: 15 hours, 32 minutes.
Read by Glenn Beck.
Social Sciences
Government and Politics
Bestsellers
The author of Miracles and Massacres (DB 77942) discusses America's growing social and political division and penchant for cultural anger. Frames this trend as an addiction and proposes a solution similar to traditional twelve-step programs. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2018.