Easter in Ordinary

Last June, I reviewed E.J. Dionne Jr.'s Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent . You can find the review here . I like Dionne, as a writer in The Washington Post and Commonweal , and I enjoy his contributions to MSNBC. Since 2004, Dionne writes a new book in a presidential election year-- 2004, 2008, 2012, and, now, 2016. Given my delight in his 2012 offering mentioned above, I sought out his 2016 title: Why the Right Went Wrong: Conservatism From Goldwater to the Tea Party and Beyond . As I delighted in his Our Divided Political Heart , I had high expectations for Why the Right Went Wrong . Frankly, it was a much more difficult read, likely not a reflection at all on Dionne's work. In fact, I think that it has much to do with me and how I find myself (and our country). I resided in Chile during the 2012 election. While I devoured the news that I could find via El Mercurio and my reading of Politico's Playbook and onli...

Over the last few days, I have made my way through E.J. Dionne, Jr.'s Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent . To begin with, the book posits that the United States is not an either/or, individualism or community, but a both/and. I have long enjoyed Dionne as a writer for Commonweal and the Washington Post and as commentator on MSNBC as well as someone I follow on twitter ( @EJDionne ). A Catholic, Dionne speaks gracefully about Catholic social teaching, a quality that particularly appeals to me. The book's premise, that we in the United States, have a divided political heart is attractive and rings true. Written in 2012, just ahead of the election, I panicked as I entered Chapter II which began by recounting revisionist history from Michele Bachman and Sarah Palin (53). I was not eager to revisit the ugly politics preceding the general election of 2012. I yearned for something deeper. Dionne delivers. E.J. Dionne, Jr., P...