Sample #2

Preface

I will piss you off, I guarantee it.  But I do not want to lose you, on that account, before we even begin our journey together.  No matter if you are conservative or liberal, Republican or Democratic, Libertarian or Green, Independent or moderate or undecided – something I say will strike you the wrong way.  Nonetheless, I beg your indulgence, as the message of this book is too important to be left to those who agree with me 100% (not even my own family).  Whether you admire President Reagan or not, I will ask you to consider his words and for the rest of this book to give me the benefit of the doubt that I am not a “traitor,” that I am a patriot – one who truly loves his country – every bit as much as you are.

Trust me when I say that the core messages of this book are neither liberal nor conservative, neither right nor left, neither Republican nor Democratic.  I do, however, want you to come away from this book with two basic lessons: first, the big issues really are non-partisan (non-partisan, not bi-partisan), they transcend party and ideology, and they need brains and muscle from both sides of the political spectrum; and second, the other side (liberal, conservative, whatever) is not made up of total morons or yahoos; both sides have their geniuses and their fools.

So, please, when I begin to irritate you, take a deep breath and plow on; give me the benefit of the doubt that there may be issues that transcend party differences and that they are at least as important as the issues that divide us.

The fight that I will ask you to engage in is too important to be left to one political ideology to the exclusion of the other, or to the party faithful of both major parties for that matter.

My book is not addressed to party leadership; frankly, they are in the way of real progress.  It is you that I want to reach; it is you who are essential to fixing what’s broke.

Thanks in advance for taking this on.