War destroys family and community and builds up liberal institutions

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	• Ain't My America: The Long, Noble History of Antiwar Conservatism and Middle-American Anti-Imperialism Bill Kauffman Metropolitan Books, 2008 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 8 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Awesome apologetic and manifesto

When I look over my old reviews on Amazon.com, I notice that I've given a lot of books four or five stars. On the one hand, it makes sense -- if a book's no good, I'm seldom inclined even to finish it, let alone write a review of it. But this creates the problem of what do I do when a book comes along that really merits the highest possible rating? So let me say here that the only reason I am giving "Ain't My America" five stars is because I can't give it six or even seven.

I wish I'd written this book.

"Ain't My America" is not simply one of the number of books coming out these days calling on the GOP to resuscitate its ancient dedication to peace, economy, and small government. Admirable as those books are, "Ain't My America" has a much larger scope, and Bill Kauffman a much more ambitious brief: the dismantling of empire, the rediscovery of community, and the rebirth of the patriotism of home, family, and locality.

It's, frankly, an unfamiliar and at times uncomfortable message. As the son of a navy family, I found myself strangely moved by Kauffman's description of the toll the unrooted military-family lifestyle has on marriages and children -- and while I admit to never having quite thought of it this way before, I find myself in absolute agreement with his contention that "family-values conservatives" should be the strongest opponents of war and militarism, precisely because of the impact those forces have on families and children. Once you accept that, it's hard to deny the author's contention that George W. Bush "is, by policy, the most antifamily president in American history" (p. 216).

And that's just one of the powerful arguments Kauffman presents. It definitely makes we want to track down his other books at the earliest opportunity. So too does his impressive skill as a writer. I particularly enjoyed his facility with the unusual vocabulary word -- though I noted with some disappointment that the flair for this he showed in the introduction and early chapters dissipated somewhat as the book progressed. Souvenirs I carry with me from the first few pages alone include "nescience," "temerarious," "gleet," "omnifariousness," "atrabilious," and "mingy," plus "fossicking about in tramontane sinkholes" and the frankly delightful "the dashing if dotty Samuel F.B. Morse."

As "conservative" pundits and politicians bang the war drums and sing songs in praise of empire, I've been wondering more and more if they would still love America if we weren't a -- even the -- global powerhouse. I suspect they would not, and that Bill Kauffman's vision of a "little America" is one they not only couldn't accept, they might not even be able to imagine it. It ain't their America. But more and more, "unrooted" as I admit to being, I'm coming to think it's mine.

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Celebrating the forgotten road

Bill Kauffman in "Ain't My America" has delivered an informative, entertaining and passionate tour through almost two hundred years worth of American conservative and middle class anti-militarism and anti-imperialism. This is a tradition that much of modern left and right would rather forget but Kauffman celebrates it.

The historian James Martin was once interviewed. Although usually labelled a 'revisionist' Martin preferred to see himself as an 'additionist', remembering what the other books leave out. Kauffman too has delivered a worthy additionist effort.

This is a passionately partisan and in many ways joyous book. Kauffman introduces a grand selection of characters, not all, but most of them heroic, making a stand for peace and the defense of the old constitutional republic against the many faces of Mars.

Kauffman's shows the great western tradition of American neutralism that crosses party and generational boundaries. George McGovern (Dem.) of South Dakota and North Dakota's Senator Nye (Rep.), the pre-WW2 champion of the Neutrality Acts, both share common roots deep in the American heartland. He explores the careers of Robert Taft and Howard Buffett, of Students for a Democratic Society's Carl Oglesby (who dreamed of a New Left / Old Right alliance against the Vietnam War, before the Marxists threw him out), the Anti-Imperialist League of the late 19th century and Bob Dylan, amongst a phalanx of antiwar artists and writers, more often than not agrarians. He reminds us of the antiwar writings of Robert Nisbet, perhaps postwar America's leading sociologist, certainly leading conservative sociologist, who penned a radical critique of the impact of war as the progenitor of many of the ills of modern society. And he gives exposure to the great postwar critic, Felix Morley, as well as William Appleman Williams.

Kauffman's writing style owes much to the gonzo style and "Rolling Stone" than academe, however his book is lovingly researched and sufficiently referenced to allow interested readers to dig into more conventional scholarly works and original authors on their own.

The tradition Kauffman embraces is actually too large to fit into a single volume. He doesn't explore the great polemic against the arms trade H.C. Engelbrecht and F.C. Hanighen's "The Merchants of Death" that was influential post-WW1 or how Hanighen went on to edit the conservative digest "Human Events". He doesn't explore early and perceptive critiques of the Vietnam War by right wing conspiracy theorist Dan Smoot, Oswald Garrison Villard (who helped found the NAACP) nor the work of the writer Louis Bromfield, an right wing isolationist who (unusually) regulary rubbed shoulders with the Hollywood set in the forties . Still Kauffman has done a remarkable job for one volume.

My main complaint is small. As someone who reads on my daily commute that the chapters do sometimes seem a tad long, I would have preferred more and shorter chapters. Highly recommended.

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War destroys family and community and builds up liberal institutions

Author Bill Kaufman's brand of "conservatism" is something completely foreign to modern political taxonomy. He admits as much when he says that the word "reeks of manslaughter and militarism" and is a "now-useless term." Kauffman's conservatism is overwhelmingly anti-war; for it is through war that he sees the destruction of family and community, and he provides ample evidence to support his claims.

Readers of AIN'T MY AMERICA are likely to be familiar with much of the libertarian/paleoconservative "revisionist" history and anti-war philosophy contained within this book. But this is not to say it's just more of the same. One thing readers of Mises Institute authors will find interesting about Kauffman's historical perspective is that he praises Washington (no mention of the Whiskey Rebellion or his judicial appointments) and offers measured (and deserved) criticism of Jefferson -- who was not exactly Jeffersonian as a president. Indeed, Kauffman portrays the Federalists and the Whigs in a much more positive light than many paleolibertarians have, and his perspective offers welcome balance.

Chapter 2 focuses on "right-wing" opposition to the World Wars. A lot has been written on this subject, but Kauffman really underscores the evil of the Wilson administration. After reading this book, Wilson moves ahead of FDR on my worst president's list, though he still ranks behind Dishonest Abe (about whom Kauffman is curiously silent, or nearly so). I also appreciated how Kauffman confronts the racism, antisemitism, and other bigotries of some venerable Old Right figures -- he doesn't apologize for them or excuse them and he doesn't ignore them, which is what many Old Right historians do. I can recognize for myself someone who may have been misguided on racial matters but still had good ideas, but I like to know that they were in fact flawed men so that I can measure my hero worship.

The chapter on the Vietnam War introduced me to many anti-war Republicans about whom I previously did not know. It also highlighted the comparatively conservative nature of the McGovern campaign. Kauffman, who really seems to admire McGovern, makes no excuses or apologies for McGovern's rank socialism. W.J. Bryan also had some horrible ideas. But these two men, I'm convinced after reading this, gave Americans a real choice on the most important matter -- would America be a republic or an empire? America chose wrongly.

The final chapters focus on modern figures. What was very strange was the lack of attention paid to Ron Paul. Jimmy Duncan, of whom I had not even heard until reading this book, is given Ron Paul's place as the leading anti-war "rightist." Kauffman even suggests that he should have run for president in 2008. Why is there not more mention of Dr. Paul? Also, I really liked the examination of the metric system, daylight saving time, and other impositions the imperial state has tried (and in most cases, succeeded) in imposing on Middle America.

All in all, this was an enormously pleasurable and informative read. If you've read a slew of "right-wing" anti-war books and think this one will contain nothing new, you're wrong.

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What have they done with my America

I am new to the writings of Bill Kauffman. "Ain't My America" is my first book of his, but I suspect it will not be my last. I admit I am a product of a conservatism that has morphed over the years. Pursuing a system of thought that ties all of the dangling ends together is never ending. This book has provided me with yet another piece of the puzzle and some new alley-ways to explore.

I appreciate Kauffman's self-disclosure on p. 10, "...My politics are localist, decentralist, Jeffersonian. I am an American rebel, a Main Street bohemian, a rural Christian pacifist..." I find this intellectually refreshing and wish that all authors would follow this model. No longer do I have to wonder what worldview this author is trying to foist upon me. With a disclosure of the underlying premise or presupposition, I am free to turn the ideas over on their merit.

This book is only five chapters long, but one should not be mislead by that anecdotal piece of information. The chapters are long and develop threads of thought that appear to need extended treatment in these broad buckets he designed. For me, one of the true revelations was Kauffman's extensive treatment of George McGovern. I think there is some similarity between McGovern and Goldwater in that, absent a personal study of these two figures of near history, one's view of these men is likely to be shaped entirely by the media of their day. It seems that both of them suffered the fate of having their stories managed and told by others. On p. 134, McGovern's depiction of life in a small town sounded like something lifted right out of a speech of today's vice-presidential candidate. "there is a wholesomeness about life in a rural state that is a meaningful factor. It doesn't guarantee you are going to be a good guy simply because you grow up in an agricultural area, but I think the chances of it are better, because of the sense of well-being, the confidence in the decency of life that comes with working not only with the land but also with the kinds of people who live on the land." Kauffman blames the "neoconservatives" for framing a story much different than this as it pertains to McGovern. It seems to me in the game of politics, if you don't tell your story others will. In other sections of the book Kauffman describes choices McGovern made that may have contributed to his story getting away from him. I will admit that I intend to read a sympathetic biography of McGovern's life as a result of Kauffman's treatment.

Here is my rub with "Ain't My America." Kauffman, a self described pacifist, gives me no insight about how I can join him in his pacifism. As a Christian myself, pacifism is certainly a natural bent of mine, but I admit I wrestle with evil, not necessarily in the world, but rather in my own neighborhood. What do we do about an 84 year old aunt who has her home broken into and all of her possessions stolen by slugs of society? I know what I want to do, but my religious convictions have to inform my behavior. I wonder if there is anything that Kauffman would consider worthy of fighting for today?

Another thing I found mildly irritating was Kauffman's tendency to associate a pejorative adjective in his every reference to Bush, Cheney, Fox News and anyone else that was identified with today's conservative embodiment. The one notable exception was Duncan of Tennessee. He consistently gives passes to liberals, I assume because they are anti-war and even though their most hideous form of elitism would scoff at the very thing that McGovern held out as a more noble way of life, life in a small town - all things local. The liberal tells us we live in a global community and we will never again see the days of Ward and June Cleaver. Those days are gone, get over it. I think Kauffman would say that does not have to be the case, and I would want to agree with him. I would like to explore that more fully.

I wish one time I could pick up a book, written in an engaging style, and not feel like I am under assault and that those I have supported are lampooned or dismissed as merely "petulantly vacant mug(s)" (p.238). An author should have as his primary goal to arouse in his reader a response, to imaginative ideas, not a reaction, to harsh or over the top words. I did find myself in agreement with much of Kuffman's summary, "...decentralism, liberty, economy in government, religious faith, family centeredness, parochialism, smallness..." (p.233), as a form of conservatism that he would advocate. This was a good read.

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Finally

I was raised by my grandparents, in Northern Wisconsis. The were America First "isolationists". After reading AIN'T MY AMERICA, I have a better understanding and appreciaton for this heritage which they gave to me. Not only would America be much better off today if we had remained true to the original ideals and principles which our country was founded on, and maintained neutrality, the countries and people we allegedly sought to "help" would have been much better off also.

reviews: page 1, 2

From ?the finest literary stylist of the American right,? a surprising and spirited account of how true conservatives have always been antiwar and anti-empire (Allan Carlson, author of The American Way) Conservatives love war, empire, and the military-industrial complex. They abhor peace, the sole and rightful property of liberals. Right? Wrong.

As Bill Kauffman makes clear, true conservatives have always resisted the imperial and military impulse: it drains the treasury, curtails domestic liberties, breaks down families, and vulgarizes culture. From the Federalists who opposed the War of 1812, to the striving of Robert Taft (known as ?Mr. Republican?) to keep the United States out of Korea, to the latter-day libertarian critics of the Iraq war, there has historically been nothing freakish, cowardly, or even unusual about antiwar activists on the political right. And while these critics of U.S. military crusades have been vilified by the party of George W. Bush, their conservative vision of a peaceful, decentralized, and noninterventionist America gives us a glimpse of the country we could have had?and might yet attain.

Passionate and witty, Ain?t My America is an eye-opening exploration of the forgotten history of right-wing peace movements?and a clarion manifesto for antiwar conservatives of today.

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