For those of you who do not already know (and I can’t imagine there are many of you), I am a Maddow Fangirl.  So it was a no-brainer that I would get her new book, Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power when it came out last month.  I’m not going to pretend to write an unbiased review here–I adore Maddow, her show, her staff, and her book– but I think a case can be made for even those from the opposite end of the political spectrum to read this book.

Maddow isn’t your average primetime political pundit with a wardrobe full of blazers and a slick haircut.  Dr. Rachel Maddow holds an undergraduate degree in public policy from Stanford University and attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar where she earned her PhD in political philosophy.  While I’m the last person in the world to promote academic elitism, I think it’s safe to say that Madds didn’t just churn out a ghost-written book based on her cult of personality to earn a few extra bucks.

“…Maddow makes valid arguments that our country has been drifting toward questionable wars, draining our resources, without sufficient input and time.  People who like Rachel will love the book.  People who don’t will get angry, but aggressive debate is good for America.  Drift is a book worth reading.”

Drift kicks off with a look at the founding fathers’ view of war and military power and then systematically reviews the changes in military policy that separate us from that initial vision, beginning with the Vietnam War up to the present day:

“There are instruments so dangerous to the rights of the nation and which place them so totally at the mercy of their governors, that those governors, whether legislative or executive, should be restrained from keeping such instruments on foot, but in well-defined cases.  Such an instrument is a standing army.” – Thomas Jefferson

Maddow uses constitutional law and the founders’ framework of checks and balances as the standard by which the military policy decisions of the past five decades are measured.   This is not a book about partisan politics–it’s about the very principles of American government and the ways those principles have been compromised (deliberately and not-so-deliberately) over the years.  Drift pays close attention to the personalities of the presidents who have made major decisions about using military power, emphasizing how the imperfections and quirks of men in power can have far-reaching implications.  Fascinating, really.  And slightly terrifying.

It’s an important book for everyone–but especially for American Muslims to read.

American Muslim voters are only just beginning to organize around parties, policies and individual candidates on a large scale, so a big-picture view of our military activity is essential for us to know where and how change should occur.  Rather than being swayed by emotional rhetoric, grandiose visions of politicians, or manipulative commentary, we should make our decisions about political activism based on well-documented (although perhaps not commonly known) history.

Conspiracy theories give me heartburn.  I’m not interested in internet rumors or hastily prepared pro- or anti-American propaganda.  The reality is that all societies on earth are all deeply interconnected. Individuals and groups who gain power will automatically seek to reinforce their power regardless of whether or not they still need it after they’ve accomplished their purpose.   Which is why our government has checks and balances built into it.  We keep executive power in the U.S. in check by ensuring that presidents have limited terms…but the corruptive nature of power seeks to work around structures of limitations.

The point being, Drift is not a grandiose conspiracy theory about American Imperialism.  It’s a call to curb naturally occurring and deliberately orchestrated power imbalances so that we, The People, can play nice with the rest of the planet.   It’s about how we spend our tax money.  It’s about who we elect, what bills we support, and recognizing when it’s time to put our collective foot down and raise some hell over the misappropriation of power, money, and the reputation of America.  And perhaps most importantly, it’s about how we choose to spend American lives.

A government like America’s which is by the people, for the people should consider this responsibility a sacred trust, should we not?