Letters To A Young Conservative

Since the release of Dinesh D'Souza's "What's So Great About Christianity?" a book I have read multiple times, I have become an avid fan of D'Souza's. His skill in writing and his ability to debate in a way that makes his opponents look stupid and their arguments even dumber is profound. D'Souza has become, in essence, the evangelist to the atheist, so to speak. But before the release of his latest book, D'Souza wrote another excellent book, "Letters to a Young Conservative."

The book is precisely what the title implies, it is a collection of letters D'Souza wrote to a young apprentice, Christ, who was inquiring on various aspects of conservatism. Chris' letters are not included in this book, only D'Souza's response and defense of political and social conservatism.

In a sentence, I would say that this is a perfect book for Advance Introduction to Conservatism. One must not be deep into conservatism to understand it, however, it is deeper than most introductory work. Each chapter is only about several pages and hits all of the major issues surrounding that topic. D'Souza manages to pack a lot into just a few pages. I couldn't put the book down.

Every major issue surrounding conservatism is mentioned in this book: small government, Ronald Reagan, multiculturalism, affirmative action and race, economics, Reaganomics, combating liberalism, being a conservative on university campus, politics, cultural engagement, the constitution and judges, guns, Abraham Lincoln, political correctness, education, gay marriage, immigration, Republicans, abortion, morality, self-esteem, and so on. Overall, there are 31 chapters covering virtually every major topic.

One of the things I appreciated about this book was the advice and the examples he gave of how to survive as a conservative on a secular university campus. We must realize that the university is hostile to conservatism and Christianity. Though they claim to be beacons of freedom, they are anything but. D'Souza shares with Christ how he dealt with it at Dartmouth and how he wasn't satisfied with dealing with it, rather, he engaged it.

D'Souza repeatedly tells of his days serving on the Dartmouth Review student newspaper, which was a clone of National Review. It's purpose was to combat the luny liberalism rampaging the campus. The papers strategy was simple: expose liberals by quoting them and then...mock them with their own words, actions, and beliefs. And they did just that.

I found myself laughing my head off by some of the things they did. Perhaps my favorite was their response to the university supporting a homosexual group. The Dartmouth Review responded by forming a bestiality group by setting up a president, vice president, secretary, treasure, and of course, a zoo keeper. They then proceeded to present their case before the university and were immediately denied their request. When challenged, they simply gave the same responses that the homosexual group did. The purpose? To show the inconsistencies of liberalism. The same argument that was made for homosexuality can be made for any other abomination. And in a very graphic way, they made their point clear.

This is only one example of this. One would have to read the book for more. But I will warn you, be prepared to laugh your head off!

But this is a helpful point to make. D'Souza repeatedly points out that the best way to engage liberals, is to quote them. Use their arguments against them. Liberalism is so ridiculous that one can use their one arguments against them. No need to do anything else.

In the realm of politics, D'Souza is a typical conservative. He loves Reagan (in fact, he served int he Reagan Whitehouse for a while). He believes in small government. He believes in the 2nd amendment, and argues that more guns in the answer, not less. Warns of illegal immigration. And he isn't libertarian. With each, and other, of these issues, he goes into why conservatism is right. He not only defends such positions, but goes on the offense. Conservatism has a record of working. Not to mention that our country was founded on conservative principles.

In the realm of cultural engagement, D'Souza is equally effective and fits the mold of the typical conservative. He is against abortion. He is against homosexuality. He argues that feminism is dangerous. Warns of the dangers of multiculturalism. Affirms the dangers of affirmative action and how it does the opposite of what it was to accomplish. Points out the hoax of the self-esteem movement and how it has failed. He stands for traditional morality. He fights off the environmental wackos, etc. With each subject, he brings forth powerful arguments that liberals must deal with. He is thoughtful, careful, and accurate. He always seems to nail it and puts conservatism on the pedestal it belongs.

I cannot emphasize this book enough. Again, for those wanting an advance introduction to conservatism, this is the book to read. For a clearer understanding of what conservatives believe and why the believe it, this is the place to start. And for a helpful guide, with humor thrown in to illustrate, on how to engage a liberal, secular culture, this is certainly one book you will want to read for yourself.