Democracy: The Painted Whore by Hal O'Boyle

“Terrorism by itself cannot destroy our freedom. Terrorism succeeds only if it terrorizes. It succeeds only with our help. We help by giving in to irrational fear and accepting the government’s absurd premise that our only hope for safety lies in submitting to total disarmament and constant surveillance.” Hal O’Boyle

If I were a history or social studies teacher looking for a source of topical information that relates to living in the twenty-first century America I would start with Democracy: The Painted Whore.

O’Boyle puts what’s happening today into perspective. Every day we’re confronted with a dizzying new political world that O’Boyle can see clearly through the focus of history. I don’t like the book’s title but applaud him and hope this is the first of many books he’ll write that stimulate U.S. citizens to think.