Last week, I
wrote about the opportunity I have to revise and update my book about the religious right,
Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Thecracy and Democracy. A lot has happened since it was first published. Revised and updated -- and with a fresh introduction from a prominent person (suggestions welcome!) -- it would be like a brand new book.
I explained that I needed research, editorial, and financial help to make it a go, because I need to drop everything and do it on a crash basis. I also needed more opportunities to speak to groups -- and probably other stuff that I had not thought of.
Well, I was delighted to receive many kind offers for assistance of various sorts, for which I am very grateful if a bit overwhelmed(!), and I hope to make the most of it all. (My apologies if I have not gotten back to you yet, I will!) (This shows the possibilities in the blogoshere for new ways of not only promoting books and ideas, but using it to organize to get books written and published. )But while rich in offers of talented assistance -- I am far short in the critical area of finding enough funds to free my time for a month or so to do the revising, updating and related work and the inevitable expenses of some of the research. If I can't find the funds asap, well, the book will be reprinted pretty much as is, without a major update. That would be a kind of a bummer.
But it is still possible to pull this off.
I am all over the place looking for the funds as authors and anybody else with a project is undoubtedly doing. I still think we can do this, but my publisher needs to know pretty soon so they can plan accordingly.
As I mentioned, some of the update will come from material I have blogged about. But also some thing require some further work. One I am particularly excited about developing further is my chapter on rethinking the strategy in response to the religious right.In it, I explain what I consider to be the four core elements of the strategy of the religious right; and five key elements of what a successful counter strategy should look like.
There are still three main things you can do to help (Click, here, scroll down.) Buy an advance copy of the updated book; buy a copy of the current edition (signed, of course!); make a donation. (Updated ways of making online donations coming soon!)
One thing that has come up -- very tentatively -- is a speaking tour and doing some organizing in Ohio, perhaps during August. As you probably know, Ohio is a hotbed of the new generation of religious right organizing, led by Rev. Rod Parsley and the Ohio Restoration Project, and thier candidate for governor, Ken Blackwell. If you are interested in this possibility, please contact me at writertypes at gmail dot com
In addition to Ohio, I have pretty definite events planned for Oklhoma in September and St. Louis in November. If you know of anyone that might like to host and event or events while I am in the neighborhood, or can be involved in some other way, please let me know.
Some Kossacks know I have a long track record of media appearances over many years. I like doing media, but I don't usually go out of my way to be in it. But with a book campaign focus, I will. Coincidentally, my next media appearance will be on Air America's Mike Malloy show (Laura Flanders, guest hosting) on Tuesday, June 27th. (I like radio. It is like having an animated, intimate political conversation, often on the telephone, but with a lot of people listening in.)
In practical terms what this means is that I will be on the road, and in the media for much of the fall in the run up to the elections and beyond, with a revised and updated book (or not revised and updated), to sell, and a message that you may agree should be more widely heard and discussed. I can give people useful information and analytical frameworks, and inspiration and encouragement for poltical and electoral involvement in response to the religious right. I emphasize for example, such things as the danger of Christian nationalism, why it is necessary to counter it -- and how to do it. These are things that you are unlikely to hear from the many fine folks who emphasize spiritual progressivity as an alternative to the religious right -- but are not very far along in developing more organized political and electoral responses.