Having been stuck in a loop of contemporary literature, both adult and young adult, primarily due to my librarian responsibilities, I wanted to take a break from that to read a couple of short books as a way of recharging. This book was one gifted to me recently. I met Alan in a writer's group I co-host at the library and find him to be a gifted writer and was excited to read this.
The Wedge by Alan M. Weber
(CreateSpace, 2015)
Even the casual observer of American politics would be able to tell you that the political system has been broken for decades, but the more keen observer would be able to present a laundry list of why that is. One of the biggest destroyers in the past 20 years has been the exploitation of wedge issues. Those wedge issues have been hammered so far into the system that they have done their job in splitting everything into two.
This allegorical novel introduces readers to a political science professor who has has enough and devises a plan to fix this broken system. With the help of his best friend, also a political activist, Steven Wellstone creates a campaign driven only on wedge issues, only to speaking populist soundbites made to appeal to whoever he is speaking to at the moment. In the process, he unites fringe groups to create an agenda that very much predicts what would evolve into Trumpism a year after this book was published. Unlike Trump, Steven's plan is to reveal his entire campaign as a farce as well to teach people of how manipulative the system truly is.
It's an interesting concept to consider, one that any political junky would enjoying puzzling over.
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