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Democrats are Dumb: A Children’s Guide Reviewed By Lois Henderson of Bookpleasures.com
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Lois C. Henderson

Reviewer Lois C. Henderson: Lois is a freelance academic editor and back-of-book indexer, who spends most of her free time compiling word search puzzles for tourism and educative purposes. Her puzzles are available HERE and HERE Her Twitter account (@LoisCHenderson) mainly focusses on the toponymy of British place names. Please feel welcome to contact her with any feedback at LoisCourtenayHenderson@gmail.com.





 
By Lois C. Henderson
Published on September 25, 2010
 

 

Author: Mark W. Stephens

Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc.

ISBN: 978-1-4327-2517-4


Stephens definitely is on a mission with this book, and, as I have noted, subtitling it A Children’s Guide, although at first seeming to be quite misleading, might be more appropriate than Stephens originally intended



 

Author: Mark W. Stephens

Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc.

ISBN: 978-1-4327-2517-4


Click Here To Purchase Democrats Are Dumb: A Children's Guide

 

Stephens, a highly decorated veteran of the Houston Police Department, takes a satirical look at the political rhetoric and blandishments of the Democratic Party in this scathing view of what he regards as the major threat to well-being in America. Forget the recession—it is the Democrats who are to blame for any and all the ills of present-day America. Perhaps it is just as well that he phrased what he had to say in the form of a guide directed at children, indicating that his one-sided view of party politics is only fit for relatively unsophisticated ears. At least no one can accuse him of being unbiased. However, he still needs to learn the difference between doggerel and parody, and, though he might aspire to the latter, this work indicates that he is still very much grounded in the former. His repetitive encapsulation of rhyming couplets within the same asinine first and last lines (“Democrats, Democrats—Democrats are dumb”) indicates only that he has as far to go with his verse-making as he does with his politicking. Stephens still needs to learn that name-calling does not amount to intelligent and insightful dialectic between those who, after all, believe that they have the best interests of America at heart.

 

That said, what are the positives of this work? Seeing that I strive to be as fair and unbiased in my reviewing as I can, I deliberately set out to find both the good and the bad in what some might term the ‘ugly’. Well, frankly, the drawing of the donkey, which appears on the front cover, as well as on most pages of the text, is cute. (Some might again argue that the drawing is the most realistic aspect of the book.) Please note that, in order for the donkey to be dumb, Stephens regarded it as necessary to blindfold it. (One recalls the axiom, “See no evil, speak no evil”, etc.) But then, perhaps, it is more of a metaphor of his own inability to appreciate the truth about the situation than it is a reflection on the so-called ‘dumbness’ of the donkey itself. Then, too, Stephens does know how to rhyme and his phraseology is catchy, though rather naïve: “Since Democrats don’t believe in war, / the terrorists will attack us more and more.”

 

Stephens definitely is on a mission with this book, and, as I have noted, subtitling it A Children’s Guide, although at first seeming to be quite misleading, might be more appropriate than Stephens originally intended. What makes this work interesting is that it is an example of an attempt to introduce wit and humor into a situation that is fraught with tension—for that alone, Stephens deserves to be commended.



Click Here To Purchase Democrats Are Dumb: A Children's Guide