Amanda Marcotte

The American right wing faces a serious public relations problem, which is that their ideas, honestly presented, would largely fail to capture enough people’s enthusiasm to win elections. It’s a built-in downside when your philosophy elevates the interests of an elite few over the many; the many will not like it. So the only hope for continued movement in the conservative movement is to argue dishonestly, through fear and distraction, to incite panicked decisions instead of slow, thoughtful ones. Unfortunately for the right wing, our system is a deliberative democracy, and thus tends to bend towards the left with time.

(Please welcome in the comments Dr. Susan Wicklund, author of This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor -- jh)

I consider this book a must-read for anyone who considers him or herself pro-choice. Well, and for anyone who considers himself “pro-life”---maybe it would help you wake up if you realized that the people you’re oppressing are actual human beings. In all the hubbub about abortion rights, what all too often gets lost are the stories of women and of doctors who serve them, which makes it that much easier for the anti-choice movement to dehumanize women and doctors and chip away at abortion rights. Dr. Wicklund corrects this problem, telling her own inspiring story about a single mother who put herself through medical school and then spent her career in what might be the most thankless branch of medicine. It’s a powerful argument for a life well spent doing good; through even her worst times, you get the impression that Dr. Wicklund has a strong center that comes to her from a life spent doing right.