Let’s talk about Howard Fineman. Fineman’s a political correspondent frequently on MSNBC, writer for Newsweek and is probably best defined by an increasingly bad dye job:
Yeah, I know! But the truth is, he’s a smart guy. His book, Thirteen American Arguments: Enduring Debates that Define and Inspire Our Country is really neat.
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Instead of taking on specific incidents in America’s past, he looks at general topics that keep coming up over the course of this nation’s life. So instead of taking on slavery, abortion, and other issues separately, one argument he presents is “Who is a person?” If this book has any shortcomings, it is certainly its focus on current events, which some argue will date the book. The theory behind it, however, is that future generations could look back at it, and say, “Yes, those questions applying to old issues are relevant to current issues now.” So, regardless of how it will hold up through time, it is worth reading now.
