I saw this book being talked about on TV yesterday, and decided to look into it. After just having "helped" a college-attending friend (via e-mails) get through a horrifically left-leaning class with her sanity intact (yes, I provided conservative insights into her homework assignments), I want to order this book to find out how I can help her (and myself) more. Secretly, I just want to revel in the decision not to complete college, and now I have a better understanding of why I chose to leave--perhaps even the reason why I had such a hard time with school in general (universities aren't the only ones brainwashing the kids!). Teacher's unions and the ACLU are machines enabling our elementary schools to get an early start on the brainwashing of our youth.

There's nothing like becoming an expert on PSEUDO-SCIENCE and EMOTIONAL BLACKMAIL via our public shool systems! At this rate, children will actually say that they want to grow up to be just like Al Gore, Michael Moore, and the PETA gang.

...was to forgo a college "education." Why? Because I managed to avoid the type of brainwashing that BEN SHAPIRO so clearly illustrates in his book, BRAINWASHED.

I recently arrived home from work surprised to find BRAINWASHED in my mailbox. It had been sent to me by a good friend in Kansas (I'll call him "Kevin" [1]) whose nice Sister I dated for five years over a decade ago. "Kevin" sent it because it's "a good book", and he wrote, "I expect a full review of this." (This is the review, with footnotes!) Because Ben Shapiro was a columnist for UCLA's newspaper, THE DAILY BRUIN, and because I have a significant connection with UCLA, "Kevin" thought I'd find the book particularly interesting. He was right. I was born a "Bruin" at the UCLA Medical Center in 1959 [2] and worked for the campus Parking Department from 1985 through 1992. I remember all too well the dogmatic liberalism of the indoctrinated students and the pronounced Leftist lean of the school's Socialistic bullhorn, THE DAILY RUIN. [3] (I'd try reading it over dinner at The Cooperage food court but it would invariably "ruin" my appetite!)

Ben's book is very good, and though I've given it an overall grade of Four Stars, if you have a son or daughter currently (or soon to be) enrolled at ANY university in this country, then you should consider this a Five Star book and run - don't walk - to acquire a copy of it. [4]

In BRAINWASHED, Ben addresses many pillars of Liberalism and shows how they are promoted throughout the university system. One of the most cherished, of course, is affirmative action which provides us with "Diversity" which is that essential tool for creating the strength of "Unity." [5] On page 53 we meet that rare Latino student who approves of Ben Shapiro's anti-affirmative action protest because he doesn't "want everyone thinking whatever I do in life, I got the opportunity to do it because of my race. It's insulting." That reminded me of "Kevin's" Sister. I met her on the UCLA campus while she was a student. One trait that attracted me to her was her independent stance and determination to make it in life on merit and not a "gimme." She was half Mexican [6] and therefore eligible to check the "Hispanic" box when applying to UCLA, but she told me she marked "White" instead because she didn't want to always wonder if she was accepted merely because of ethnicity. [7]

Another section of Ben's book that elicited some very personal UCLA-related memories for me was titled, RODNEY KING AND THE LOS ANGELES "UPRISING." I was a UCLA employee at the time of the L.A. Riots and I still find it somewhat ironic that the first night that rioting broke out, I was meeting my best friend from the department -- I'll call him "Lonnie" [8] - after work for video game competitions, which we commonly referred to as "A##-Whuppins." [9] "Lonnie" was Black. [10] That the jury found the police officers innocent in the beating of Rodney King was reprehensible. The aftermath even more so.

Back then, I was supervising student employees and responsible for training them in various aspects of special events preparation and parking equipment maintenance. One student I remember fondly was a young, Black comic book artist who I'll call "Stephen." [11] Shortly after the Rodney King riots, he and I discussed the issue and I explained many factors that the media, the politicians, the police, and the citizens were either ignoring or not cognizant of. Afterwards, "Stephen", this young Black man, paid me one of the two finest compliments I've ever received up to the present day. I won't state what he said [12] as it might seem boastful and self-serving, but his ability to set aside emotion and preconceived judgments in order to gain real understanding of complex dynamics filled me with hope for our young, socialistically-indoctrinated university students.

Under PARTISAN POLITICS, Ben discusses minimum wage laws. He understands the folly. I got an object lesson in it many years ago: Being an ice cream junkie, I was a regular at Dairy Queen. One day I noticed that the price of their "Blizzards" had gone up and enquired about it. The manager answered honestly, "The minimum wage went up, so our prices did too." Got that? The companies aren't going to see the wage increase cut into their profit margins so they pass the increased cost on to the customer. Now, who generally earns a "minimum wage" in this country? Young people who are employed at fast food restaurants, video stores, convenience markets, music shops, etc. Where do young people spend most of their money? Fast food restaurants, video stores, convenience markets, music shops, etc. Their minimum wage increase gets absorbed into the market the moment they receive it because of the raised prices to cover the wage increase. Their financial situation therefore hasn't improved one whit, but don't the Leftist politicians look so "humanitarian" when they fight for the little guy?

The only area in which Ben Shapiro needs to do a little more "homework" is The War On Terrorism. He is misguided by the Neo-Con party line in this regard and needs to ask hard but reasonable questions and insist upon reasonable answers. I found chapters 8 and 9 to be the obvious weak links in an otherwise very good and important book. (But genetically modified crops make me nervous, Ben! Can we REALLY improve on God's "nature"?)

On page 78 you'll find the whole heart of the matter; as accurate a statement as can be found in any political book by anyone. Ben is undoubtedly more percipient than even he realizes. We're led to believe that the "solutions" to all of our problems (which were deliberately created by socialists in BOTH major political parties) "is global socialism." What a surprise! [13]

I highly recommend BRAINWASHED by Ben Shapiro. And though the writer is a Conservative, I have it on good authority that this one doesn't burn books, drown cats, mug old women, steal candy from children, or even blow deadly secondhand smoke into the faces of liberals. Read this book and then you'll understand why colleges are referred to as "institutions of higher education." [14]

FOOTNOTES:
[1] Because that is his name.
[2] After putting my Mom through 9 months and 3 weeks of pregnancy, and 40 hours of labor. Obviously, I was very eager to come into your world.
[3] Uh...I meant, "The Daily Bruin."
[4] Before your child is transformed into a morally impaired Marxist marionette.
[5] Hee-Hee! To quote Jo Van Fleet from the movie, East Of Eden, "If you don't think that's funny, you'd better not go to college."
[6] It was her left half.
[7] I always did like intelligent women.
[8] Because that was his name.
[9] I usually gave more than I got.
[10] Unfortunately, I've lost touch with him, but I'm guessing he still is.
[11] Because that was his name.
[12] He said, "It's just as well you never went to college; they have nothing to teach you."
[13] See my Listmania List titled, "(BE FIRST ON YOUR BLOCK TO) WAKE UP TO THE POLITICAL MATRIX."
[14] Because nowhere will you find teachers "higher" and more in need of being "institutionalized."

Ben Shapiro is basically a self-proclaimed know it all. He is a youngster who believes he is right over the thousands upon thousands of Ph.D doctors in the fields ranging from economics to the environment. He does not nearly go into detail on anything, just the superficial facts that appeal to the shallow minded. Of course it is hard to argue that his position on sex and affirmative action is wrong because that is not so defined. But his position on geo-politics, economics, environmental science etc is pure rubbish. Additionally, he is a die-hard supporter of Israel and surprise surprise is jewish.

I just finished reading Ben Shapiro's book and I have to say, as a college senior myself, that he is spot on the money with this work. The rise of social and moral relativism in the culture and on the campus has been, and continues to be, one of the greatest threats America now faces as a sovereign nation.
It's time that level headed people began to combat this societal cancer and do something about the leftist, socialistic, communistic, feministic, and racially bigoted agenda of today's modern universities.
The naysayer's to this, and other books like it, have most likely been raised in the prevailing college culture mentioned, and therefore do not have the capability, or at least the willingness, to hold a rational and objective opinion about it. I would implore them to actually open their minds and realize that the real world is much different, and better, than the fantasy land known as higher education.
Oh, and before anyone labels me as an ignorant right wing conservative Republican, and therefore hypothetically ineffectual in the argument, I personally lived through this sort of leftist propaganda and institutionalized thinking regimen. I was one of them.
I eventually saw the error in my ways (it's a little thing called maturity, and a willingness to admit that one can be wrong before they can ever be right). So it's my prayer that others will see through the hyper vitriolic, America hating, sex soaked bombardment that many professors and colleges throw their way. See through the darkness, there is a better way. That way is Jesus Christ not the state. Oh, and by the way, I have in my travels met some decent level headed professors. They're not all bad and it would be wrong to caricature them as such.
Every person who wants an honest liberal education should read this book and ones like it alongside the already prescribed reading list to truly get both sides of the story.

I must admit I have not read this book, but feel that the overall topic discussed in this book needs be discussed. I went to a university affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and still had very liberal professors. My degree was in English and in every class we ended up discussing the literature with liberal outcomes and biases. We in the liberal arts programs looked down up those students in the Business School with much support from the faculty. I do not remember receiving any discussion of conservative ideas and viewpoints -- even in the mandatory religious classes. It was only after graduating and having to support myself that I was exposed to both liberal and conservative ideas. If this type of bias can be taught in a "religious" affiliated university, I can only imagine the bias from government funded universities.