[What follows is my recent Goodreads review of Corey Taylor's book, AMERICA 51. If you don't know who he is, he is the lead singer of Stone Sour, Slipknot and his new solo project, CMFT. I'm a fan of his music, and I really wish he'd write more books, too. He's written about how the Seven Deadly Sins are character flaws, and there is nothing deadly or sinful about them. He's written about things that piss him off (which is my favorite of his books so far, as I'm 99.9% sure I'll never get that wiffle ball bat to the face). He's written about reconciling his atheism with his belief in the paranormal. This one is his political book about America. In short, buy his book.]
Another excellent book by Corey Taylor. It's shocking how much I identify with him after reading all of his books. I love his bands, but this is where he really shines. When he gets too old to tour (sorry, Rolling Stones) he should write books. He'll probably be a lot more mellow by then, but you never know.
I puzzled over the title for a while. I thought it was a reference to the 50 states with a +1. I heard in an interview, though, that it's a reference to Area 51. Very interesting.
It seems yet again, he and I agree on almost everything. I have heard the phrase "socially liberal and fiscally conservative" often. I used to say that described me perfectly. I'm a middle of the road guy. But the right turned into bootlicking sycophants and turned on their own beliefs in order to support their guy while he committed horrible acts against people who aren't white, who weren't male, who were immigrants, I mean, name it and this scoundrel has done it. The right has pushed me a bit more to the left than I used to be. I'm pretty sure if Trump had gotten that second election, I would have been pushed so far that the left that Bernie Sanders would look left and be utterly shocked to see anyone there.
I've not traveled outside of the US much, but I did go to Ireland once. I was advised even back then, in the year 2000, to tell people I'm Canadian. I knew the brash American abroad stereotype, mostly because stereotypes have some basis in truth. Taylor, too, makes this suggestion to world travelers of the American persuasion. I understand the little white lie. I chose not to take this advice because I wanted to show not all of us are self-entitled scumbags. In my tour group in Ireland, we were mostly made up of a few Americans and a lot of Australians. I hung out with the Australians, and at first, because I was considerably younger than them, they were guarded. They got to like me pretty quickly, and during a historical reenactment of Strongbow's life, I wound up marrying one. I thought I'd surprise her one day by sending a happy anniversary card to her, but I lost her address. The few Irish people we hung out with liked me, too. It turned out that our tour guide was actually Chief O'Brien's sister-in-law. O'Brien is one of my favorite Star Trek characters.
Then there's the Sauce Man story. I gotta say, I have done some stupid things in my life and accidentally hurt someone else. Not physically. Emotionally. That story broke my heart. It brought back all the shame I've felt over the years for my own behavior.
What surprised and pleased me is discovering that Corey Taylor, like myself, loves history. He even uses the same quote I do: "I'm not a historian. I'm a fan of history." It was so uncanny that I had to wonder if someone else said it, and I picked up the phrase subconsciously. And that maybe Taylor did, too. I looked around and there it is! I'll wager Taylor is a fan of Dan Carlin's Hardcore History, just like I am. Although in the chapter titled "Mother, Jugs, Speed, Sacco, and Vanzetti," he does not actually discuss Sacco and Vanzetti. I was kinda disappointed by that. I get that it's a joke, but still. However, he did say he'd be surprised if anyone not from Ohio knew who Salmon P. Chase was without looking him up, and guess what! I *do* know about Chase! I primarily know about him through Gore Vidal's Lincoln. I researched him quite a bit after I finished the book, pleased to find that Vidal was true to history as we know it. I was also sad to see how Chase's daughter Kate turned out in real life.
If I ever meet Taylor--and it's possible, as I tend to meet artists I enjoy--I would love to have a discussion with him about my theory that Alexander Hamilton had it coming, and that Aaron Burr is really the best of all the Founding Fathers. I'm also working on another theory: that Benedict Arnold's treason is actually very understandable. Wrong, definitely, but understandable. I'd like Taylor's thoughts on that.
I've been thinking about that because I like to put myself in other people's shoes when I discover I'm angry or annoyed with them. I try to see their side of things, and I can almost always succeed at that. The only one I can't fit into is Trump. His reasoning is so alien to me that I can't imagine what it's like to be so greedy that you'll let other people die just to line your pockets. But more or less, it helps me understand other people.
That's what the message of this book is really about. Understanding others so that you can learn to get along and make America the place it says it is. Like Taylor, I love this country, and to see greed and hatred and racism and all the other -isms tear us apart like this? Especially on Insurrection Day? I wonder if this is what the Romans felt as Nero did his little dance and fiddle.
Speaking of Insurrection Day, early in the book Taylor suggests that the lunacy isn't as bad as we think because it's usually extremes on both sides of the political spectrum, and they are always loud and belligerent. I used to think that was true, that the real America were scattered about in the middle, or they leaned one way or the other. They weren't extremes. They were normal.
I don't believe this anymore. Every day people are now at each others throats. Neighbors in my own town clash at each other, and they vandalize Trump and Biden signs depending on where they got their "news." But the clincher was on Insurrection Day. Those were regular Americans charging the Capitol. They were rabid and vicious and people died because of them. The very people who complained about BLM protests destroying property proceeded to destroy property in Washington, DC. You know who I didn't see at the Capitol that day? I didn't see Sean Hannity. I didn't see Tucker Carlson. I didn't even see Trump, and it was his own insurrection!
You know who I did see there? Jordan Klepper. I'm not a big fan of his comedy, but it took balls to do what he did there. He walked up to these psychos and asked them questions that they probably didn't want to hear much less answer.
So no, I think this poison has worked like Trickle Down Economics didn't work. The hate trickled down from the higher ups, and it infected the regular people of America. My own grandmother would go crazy whenever I said something negative about Emperor Palp . . . er, Trump.
Speaking of Trickle Down Economics, there is a great chapter about Reagan. I couldn't stand the guy, but I had to give him some credit for being at least presidential. I agree with Taylor that he understood people more than many other presidents. Now if only actors would stop being so political!
That's a joke, by the way. I don't understand why people constantly say, "You're an actor. What do you know about politics?" The very same thing could be turned back on them. "What? You work at 7-Eleven? What do you know about politics?" To be fair, actors have been pretty political for a very long time in this country. John Wilkes Booth, anyone?
There are a couple of points I disagree with. Taylor's take on the death penalty. He's for it and thinks it will make a difference in crime rate if we brought it back to all 50 states. I'm not entirely against the death penalty, but the horrifying fact is that we've sent too many prisoners to their deaths only to find out that some of them were actually innocent. There is a great and terrifying Naked Gun joke on this very subject. Taylor suggests extending the death penalty to sex offenders and violent criminals. The argument could certainly be made for sex offenders to die, especially child rapists. I'm more inclined to lock them up for life because that's not just their crime, it's their behavior. They will certainly do it again, even with chemical castration. It's not about sex with them. It's about power. If they can't use their own equipment, they'll find a broomstick. So I'm on the fence if they should get life sentences or the death penalty. Maybe it would depend on the severity of the crime. But violent criminals? How do we define that? I've done some violent things in my life, so should I be sent to the needle? And there are some murderers who probably wouldn't do it again. They had a bad day, and they flipped out and killed someone. A life sentence in such a case sounds fine to me. But in the case of, say, John Wayne Gacy, whom my state sent to the needle in the 'Nineties? 100%, that guy should have been killed. But we've killed too many innocents. The death penalty is broken. Until we can fix it, I think it should be off the table.
The other issue is guns. I don't like guns, personally. If someone broke into my house, a cop would be here in less than two minutes. The only reason I'd have a gun, ever, is to kill someone. Or maybe myself. I don't think I'd do the latter. I already tried to off myself once, and I don't think I'll ever do it again.
But then I think about the lonely parts of America. Farmland. Miles and miles of it stretching as far as the eye can see and more. If you live in a place like that, and Iowa (Taylor's home state) is mostly filled with places like that, that clouds the issue a bit. So is Illinois, my home state, once you get away from the Chicago suburbs. In a place like this, it might take a police officer a half an hour or more to get to you. It makes perfect sense to have a gun in such cases. A friend of mine who lives on the border between Illinois and Wisconsin, definitely a middle-of-nowhere place, had to defend himself against literal thieves in the night. He had a gun and was able to scare them away. So I see both sides to the argument. Taylor seems to also know that we do need stronger gun control laws. Are you going to hunt deer with an AR-15? And guns really need to be kept out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them. Certain mental issues should prevent people who suffer from them from owning a gun. That probably won't win me many points with a lot of my father's side of the family, but there you go. And just to point it out, I have fired guns. It does give you a thrill to do it, especially if you hit the target. Especially if that target is Tannerite. But I was firing guns in Nevada, where gun registration is more of a suggestion. You don't have to, but if you get into an altercation involving your gun, it would smooth out the investigative process. It boggles the mind.
And I've been writing this for waaaaaay too long. I really need to go out and get something to eat. Suffice it to say, Taylor's an excellent author, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
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