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A review by bookshelfbyla
Beyond the Messy Truth: How We Came Apart, How We Come Together by Van Jones
5.0
I brought this book in 2017 when it was first released. I am glad that I have finally prioritized reading it now. The timing for guidance could not be more paramount. Every aspect of America seems to be in turmoil. Van is someone who I have followed and been a fan of for years. I genuinely admire his ability to empathize and continually seek to help create an America that is truly a nation that offers liberty and justice for all.
If you have found yourself either discouraged, lost, confused, overwhelmed, frustrated in the current discourse, and disconnect in America, I truly cannot recommend this book enough.
The initial framework of the book details how Hillary Clinton lost in 2016 to Donald Trump. He wrote this book 6 months into Trump's presidency and his concerns and outlook 3 years later, have all come true. He provides honest and valid critics of both liberals and conservatives. Even though, I am a liberal I genuinely believe that he was not biased to the Democratic Party. The critics he made for the liberal party has completely changed my perspective on how Hillary lost. I never truly succumb to the pity party of Hillary's lost but any frustration in how we as a nation (with failures from Republicans and Democrats) got to its 2016 and now 2020 state is NO accident.
I truly have highlighted practically every other page so it is virtually impossible for me to choose quotes that stand out to me the most. If you are like me and are wondering how on earth can America move forward, Van outlines direct and concrete actions we can take as individuals and for both parties. He also provides resources for movies, books, podcasts, and people to follow and listen to, to continue your learning and understanding.
I will add this quote which summarizes how we need Democrats to be better Democrats and Republicans to be better Republicans in order to achieve a more perfect union.
"For more than two centuries, we have been working to close the gap between the ugliness of our founding reality and the beauty of our founding dream. Each generation tries to narrow that gap a little bit more than the last one did. No, we will never have a perfect union. But we can always have a more perfect union, decade after decade, generation after generation, century after century" (187).
As Van stated in the conclusion, we need to acknowledge that we are asking a lot out of our neighbors and ourselves. We need to acknowledge that we are trying to do something hard here in America. But "no bird can fly with only a left-wing. No bird can fly with only a right-wing. Both sides still need each other".
He provides the messy truth on how we came apart but more importantly, how we can come together.
I am ready to get to work.
If you have found yourself either discouraged, lost, confused, overwhelmed, frustrated in the current discourse, and disconnect in America, I truly cannot recommend this book enough.
The initial framework of the book details how Hillary Clinton lost in 2016 to Donald Trump. He wrote this book 6 months into Trump's presidency and his concerns and outlook 3 years later, have all come true. He provides honest and valid critics of both liberals and conservatives. Even though, I am a liberal I genuinely believe that he was not biased to the Democratic Party. The critics he made for the liberal party has completely changed my perspective on how Hillary lost. I never truly succumb to the pity party of Hillary's lost but any frustration in how we as a nation (with failures from Republicans and Democrats) got to its 2016 and now 2020 state is NO accident.
I truly have highlighted practically every other page so it is virtually impossible for me to choose quotes that stand out to me the most. If you are like me and are wondering how on earth can America move forward, Van outlines direct and concrete actions we can take as individuals and for both parties. He also provides resources for movies, books, podcasts, and people to follow and listen to, to continue your learning and understanding.
I will add this quote which summarizes how we need Democrats to be better Democrats and Republicans to be better Republicans in order to achieve a more perfect union.
"For more than two centuries, we have been working to close the gap between the ugliness of our founding reality and the beauty of our founding dream. Each generation tries to narrow that gap a little bit more than the last one did. No, we will never have a perfect union. But we can always have a more perfect union, decade after decade, generation after generation, century after century" (187).
As Van stated in the conclusion, we need to acknowledge that we are asking a lot out of our neighbors and ourselves. We need to acknowledge that we are trying to do something hard here in America. But "no bird can fly with only a left-wing. No bird can fly with only a right-wing. Both sides still need each other".
He provides the messy truth on how we came apart but more importantly, how we can come together.
I am ready to get to work.