Gag Rule

Gag Rule Lewis Lapham 178 pp.

Lewis Lapham’s Gag Rule is a fiery essay about the collapse of American critical thought in the wake of September 11^th. Unceasing in its hard-edged commentary, Lapham’s tract is rich with characterization of the thoughtless acceptance of political rhetoric which dominated those years. Lapham’s prose is fiesty and smooth, whipped to a rhetorical froth and peppered with examples from the press and history. Every aspect of the book is carefully calculated to weigh the reader down in the heavy weight of the media’s blitz about the necessity of war.

Gag Rule makes a concerted effort in the middle of the essay to explore the history of the stifling of dissent in American politics. Beginning with the Sedition Act of 1798, which criminalized any speech or writing critical of the United States government, Lapham traces this history through the course of America’s military involvement around the world and at home. Midway through this section, in discussion about America’s war on communism, Lapham quotes Dean Acheson- later President Truman’s Secretary of Defense- neatly summing up the trend against which Lapham warns. He says that all political argument, all division among the population must stop, “at the water’s edge.”

As the rhetoric for military action against Syria steps up, Gag Rule is actively shaping my awareness of the news coverage. It is comforting to see a wide divergence from the groupthink which Lapham decried. In following the news coverage, I have seen a healthy showing of dissent against the call to war. One cannot help but feel the specter of Iraq hanging over another military campaign promising to rid a Middle-Eastern country of its weapons of mass destruction, and the news has not shied away from making this connection.

Would I recommend Gag Rule? Yes.

Score: 4.1/5

Would I keep this on my bookshelf? Initially, I would have said “No,” but the repeated banging on the drums of war by a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate elected to end wars has reminded me of the value of a good book cautioning against jingoism. With that in mind, yes, I will keep Gag Rule.

-Mr. Cheddar