Praise for "How Contempt Destroys Democracy"
And I was on a radio show talking about polarization
Thanks to Daniel F. Stone (author of Undue Hate) and Taylor Dotson (author of The Divide) for sending me some nice quotes to use to promote my new book How Contempt Destroys Democracy.
Daniel sent me this quote: “Zachary Elwood is one of the wisest voices on the topic of toxic polarization. His writing is clear, thoughtful, and well-researched, and his efforts to understand and speak to all perspectives are second-to-none. America needs its citizens to listen to Zach.”
Taylor sent me this quote: “How Contempt Destroys Democracy is an essential guide for American liberals worried about the future of our country... His book provides lessons for dealing with our many and serious points of conflict without falling prey to polarization."
Daniel’s and Taylor’s books I think are in the top five books about American polarization (up there alongside Robert Talisse’s Sustaining Democracy) so their nice words mean a whole lot to me. Honestly I question every day if I’m doing a good job with this stuff (because who am I to work on this complex and contentious subject?; and because this subject lends itself to self-doubt and anxiety more than most) — so a little praise goes a long way. (I’ll continue to have high self-doubt every day but I don’t see a way around that.)
You can read more about my book and order it here: www.amazon.com/How-Contempt-Destroys-Democracy-Polarization-ebook/dp/B0CY9BYYP5
I was on a progressive radio show
I was on a politically progressive talk show called Wide Awake America, which airs on a Tampa, Florida area radio station. I was interviewed by Rich Logis, who is a former pro-Trump activist who now is adamantly anti-Trump — but who also, apart from his political beliefs, shares my feelings about the need for reducing contempt and aiming for political healing and reconciliation. Rich was standing in as a guest host for Nadine Smith, the usual host (and thanks, Nadine, for the opportunity).
You can hear our talk here; www.wmnf.org/events/wide-awake-america. You’ll have to click on the 4-23-24 episode in the player.
Honestly I dislike speaking as I don’t do a good job at it. I too often get anxious and my mind goes a bit blank. And the complexity and contentiousness of this topic present obstacles for me when it comes to speaking off-the-cuff; so many possible directions to go in that it can be hard to know what’s best to talk about. But all in all, think it went okay and I liked the final outcome.