J.'s Reviews > The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power

Why all the worry ? ... fraudulent crypto-religious anonymity-craving 'obedience' cells pledging loyalty to nothing but the authoritarian power structure of the right wing ... secretive, coded rationales wrapped in paper-thin guises to resemble christianity ... fundamentalisms elite & populist, country-club and speaking-in-tongues, both at the service of a reactionary vision for the U.S. ... clandestine rearrangements of foreign policy, quasi-faith groups false-fronting crude laissez-faire morality that supports bloodshed & totalitarian regimes overseas ... religion utilized for private gain, quietly, privately intermingled with government to maximize profit, discipline the ranks, and polarize the country ... ? ... generally working covertly but very often at taxpayer cost .. ?
What's the big worry, there, skeptic, sinner, unbeliever ? Say the secret word and win a hundred dollars. A million. A lifetime appointment. The word is faith-based.

Sharlet's book is nothing if not ungainly and too-loosely organized, too many follow-on subplots that don't quite lead back to their original sub-theses, but it doesn't matter. The point of his effort is not missed or misconstrued by any sensible reader.

The smiling sanctimony of the right-winged, toupee-wearing morality merchants described here is atrocious, and more reporting, better organized, more focussed, should be done to look inside the beast. A walk on the really atrocious side at least for moderate Americans who will see through the smokescreen of money & influence to the absolutely sleazy side of the national character, disguised and redeemed by religious camouflage.

Is that your Prayerbook in your pocket, Senator, or are you just carrying a large stack of cash ?

Oh, I see. Same thing.