Something To Read To Ease The Pain Of Inauguration

If you do not believe that George W. Bush stole the 2000 election; that the Iraq war was a monumental mistake; that gay people are second-class citizens in this country; that the current administation is waging a war against the poor; that serious voter intimidation and outright fraud occurred yet again in 2004; stop reading. This book is not for you.

What We Do Now is clear about its audience: The half of the country who thinks that an election should be decided by voters, not by the judicial system or partisan secretaries of state; that we should not attack people unless we are attacked; that the rich should pay their fair share of taxes; and that the Democrats fucked up again in 2004. It’s a book for those who feel a despair of nearly unspeakable proportions, even when they hide behind brave faces.

There are essays, thoughts, recriminations, recommendations, and suggestions by Lewis Lapham, Percival Everett, Steve Almond, Maud Newton, Greg Palast, Howard Dean, George Saunders and many others. I’ve been dragging my copy to the gym, the coffee shop, the office, for the last few days, as an antidote to the televised coronation of Bush. You might like to do the same.