Red, white, and oh so blue

the long version

Red, White, and Oh So Blue is a personal essay addressed to compassionate readers who feel traumatized by the news. Blakely identifies our national dependency on the "quick fix" habit - that of electing politicians who promise pain-free solutions and then wait for miracles - as another symptom of the disorder. Genuine relief from the political blues depends on thoughtful citizens reviewing every existing assumption about how we do business, raise children, respond to threats, educate ourselves, and treat our poor. Although the silent majority may feel powerless to effect change, Blakely points out we are in fact the largest and most influential constituency. Instead of separating from each other and establishing more distance from depressing realities, as conventional therapy directs us to do, Blakely urges the politically depressed to recognize our connectedness, despite "national press that routinely frames the news in a 'conflict construct' and divides America into opposing sides of Us and Them.". While Blakely reveals disturbing truths about how our political, military, business, family, and religious practices have compromised national life today, she also draws inspiration from the social justice movements of our past. With her usual candor, humor, and irreverence, she takes us on a thoroughly American journey and applies the talking cure to the silent majority. In the end, she restores readers' faith that "we Americans" could eventually become "the country we promised to be, a republic we all could stand."