the first half of the book

The first half of The 15 Biggest Lies in Politics by Major Garrett and Tim Penny lays out seven misconceptions. It deals with the abortion debate. The book does not say which side is the correct one, pro-life or pro-choice, but instead says that the debate is pointless the Supreme Court has already ruled on the matter in Roe v. Wade, it is doubtful that a case will be able to overturn it or that abortion will be outlawed. The only victory that those who are pro-life can hope to make is to reduce the number of annual abortions. The second lie is that gun control reduces crime. When top research has shown that gun control dose nothing to effect crime rates. Years ago when there was less of this evidence people were against gun control but now that there is scientific proof of the ineffectiveness of gun control people are all for it. The next myth is that religion and politics do not mix. The thought at the time of the making of the first amendment was that men should be able to question the authority of God and government at once. The myth that immigration hurts America is also false; the diversity that immigration adds to the strength of America is not the only key to success, but the unifying values that forms our nation’s identity, is why immigrants come over and is why our country is able to thrive.

All politicians are not corrupt. Although corruption does exist in America we have some of the most ethical and intelligent politicians in the world. Now day’s government is more accountable and visible than ever before. Money does not buy elections. It is easy to jump to that conclusion and people often do try to use that as the answer of every political move. Money makes things move and go but it does not explain why some people are able win in elections or why some legislation passes and others do not. Fat cats are not the problem. There is a misconception that more money equals more problems, which is not true. Nixon and Watergate there was less money and less special interest groups involved than there are today. Special interest groups exist because common people choose to be a part of them.

After reading the first half of the book and the evidence that they presented I can see how they have come to their conclusions and for the most part agree with their big picture idea. I predict that most of the myths in the second half will pertain to money, because that is a big concern in modern culture.