I met Ann Coulter at the Nixon Library last year (by met I mean: gazed at longingly from afar and asked a question into a mic that was held disturbingly close to my nose) and it was pretty epic. I’ve always vaguely admired her, in a “hey, she’s a beautiful, conservative woman who speaks her mind so I bet I like her” way, but not in a particularly researched sense.
However, hearing her speak in person really impressed me with her intelligence and humor. Sure, she doesn’t pull punches and can be a bit harsh (or honest, depending on what ideology you subscribe to), but she also has a remarkable ability to make light of even the most hateful mockery or serious subject, a talent which I greatly admire, since I am known for getting my knickers in a twist from time to time.
As a bonus for attending her little meet-and-greet, I got an autographed copy of her latest book, Demonic, which is the first of her books that I’ve read. She has a penchant for punching through sensitive sacred cows with provocative titles, and I got more than one inquiring look from my more mild-mannered friends while her shocking title rested proudly on my coffee table.
I think one benefit to her take-no-prisoners style is that she is so damn believable. She does her research, she believes in her premise and she is unashamed of her viewpoints, a refreshing honesty in our oh-so-sensitive-and-tolerant day and age.
The idea behind Demonic is that liberal thought is, by nature, hyperbolic and illogical and therefore appeals to thoughtless mobs which soon turn to terrifying displays of man’s depravity (see the French Revolution). I actually did a lot of self-imposed research on the French Revolution in high school (gosh, I was SO cool) and ever since it has bothered me slightly when people try to equate the French Revolution and the American Revolution, since it seemed obvious that the two revolutions were worlds apart and had vastly different outcomes. Demonic lays out the argument for why and how the two revolutions differ and what we can learn from both. Coulter argues that the French Revolution appealed to man’s basest desires and pulled people into class warfare and a reign of terror. The American Revolution, by contrast, strove for a government of laws rather than men and sought justice and prosperity for all.
If you don’t agree with Coulter’s (or my) view of the world, you’re probably rolling your eyes, chalking this up to a blindly Conservative “America: Good, France: Bad” viewpoint. However, I can’t help myself, all the imagined eye-rolling aside. Her arguments are sound and stand up to what I’ve been feeling in my gut, and what I’ve researched, for years.
More than the French/American Revolution comparisons however, are her chilling accounts of of where mob rule has come since then and where such ideas have gone astray. (Occupy Wall Street, anyone?) Impressionable young minds and hedonistic hopefuls cling to the unrealistic ideals of a slogan (Such as “Yes we can!” or “We are the 99%”) and run with it, believing that what they want is somehow hidden in a saying.
Coulter makes an airtight case that reality is stickier, trickier and much more nuanced than the juvenile hopes of a mob. It takes faith, conviction, hard work and a lot more than a hazy ideal to enact real change. It also made me rethink my own causes, the ideas I love and the concepts that make me want to stand on a street corner of my own.
Do I carefully think through my beliefs, or do I buy into a mob mentality all my own? Demonic gave me a new lens to view the world through, and a new way to think about my convictions. Give it a read and see if you feel the same… I’d love to hear your feedback.
