A FirstLook Book Review By James Holland

U.S. Senator DeMint's book is surprisingly good. It makes the reader believe that maybe some politicians in Washington D.C. actually see the dangers ahead as the current administration rushes the nation toward full-fledged socialism. The American public is being given the proverbial "bums rush" out the door of freedom into the slavery of a socialist, fascist "Big Brother" state. Most American voters don't even realize it because they don't understand the terms or the concepts. The good senator is a master of explaining the problem. He makes wonderful use of metaphors in explaining how the "Siren Song of Socialism" works. His "Fox and the Gingerbread Man" is a wonderful way of explaining the dangers of gradually giving up one's freedom to the crafty fox or the wolf in sheep's clothing. He also tells stories about his own youth and uses favorite incidents from the Andy Griffith Show to explain some of his own beliefs. While this approach may seem corny to many readers, it actually works very well. It makes the difficult easy to explain.

It was interesting to read about a small businessman who didn't consider running for political office until age 47 after he'd built a business and life in the real world where he describes the public as looking at two kinds of people--"normal people" and a different breed known as "politicians." Most people had little respect for the latter. It was rare to find a "statesman" among the breed. Before he entered the political stage, he had spent years raising his four kids while his wife remained a "stay at home mom" who filled her free time volunteering for the school board, etc. DeMint also spent considerable time volunteering for his church and other charitable organizations such as the Rotary Club. He learned early that some of the very problems he and his wife were working to solve through their charities were either government caused or greatly aggravated by government policies. He recalls being surprised at this discovery.

While there happen to be several other current books on this subject including Catastrophe, Common Sense, and Liberty and Tyranny by Mark R. Levin, this one is different from the others. First of all it's written by a U.S. Senator with all the experience and the insider understanding of a one of our lawmakers. He admits there is plenty of blame for the current government problems. Both political parties are guilty. They all helped create the bureaucracy that has turned into an insatiable monster that must constantly expand in order to survive. That perspective adds great weight to his thoughts. It also gives the reader a little hope that somebody inside Congress understands the problems we are facing. That is comforting because DeMint does an unusually good job of describing the "Siren Song of Socialism." As in the ancient myth, anyone who follows the irresistible call of the sirens to their Utopian Island will be devoured. The promises of a paradise on earth, simply persuade the unsuspecting victims to drop their guard, check their common sense and freedoms at the door, and follow the blinding light of hope into the hidden abyss of "broken promises." Like a fifth or sixth marriage, experience is trumped by hope.

DeMint does a superb job of explaining why socialism, collectivism and utopia are so irresistible. The fact that socialism has never worked anywhere on the planet throughout all of history is cleverly disguised as a promised new suit of lifetime security, that in fact will eventually turn out to resemble the Emperor's Clothes that weren't. It seems a universal human desire to always "be taken care of." The great intellectuals of mid-19h century New England attempted to form and live in a socialist utopia that soon foundered and disbanded. Most of the world is currently running away from socialism as the USA runs full-speed ahead toward the failed philosophy. Many people say that the nation is not headed for socialism as can be noted in some of the critical reader reviews of this book. People who can't see that the nation is slipping into socialism either don't understand the philosophy or are suffering from a bad case of either naivety or denial. They have forgotten the age old sage wisdom that "if it sounds too good to be true, it isn't true."

I don't feel I've even begun to do justice to this excellent book. You'll have to read it yourself to learn the definition of socialism, the history of it, the results of it or the cure for it. This book will change your life.

5 Stars

Saving Freedom: We Can Stop America's Slide Into Socialism (B & H Pub Group/ Jul 2009) by U.S. Senator Jim DeMint

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