Will Bunch's Book: Tear down This Myth
Senior Will Bunch works for the renowned Philadelphia Daily News. He is a senior member of the Media Matters for America organization. He dug into American political trends because he was interested in American politics and wanted to present the facts. The book Tear down This Myth is one of the books he created as a result of his research into American politics. Bunch's goal in writing this book is to dissect the legacy that Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, is said to have left behind. Whether the Reagan administration left anything noteworthy behind has been a topic of discussion. Bunch refutes the fact that Ronald Reagan left any legacy worth emulating in the American politics. This paper is analytical essay over Will Bunch's book Tear down This Myth. The article looks at the background information that motivates Bunch to write this and the various arguments that he uses to develop his critique.
Reagan's Popularity and Achievements
There has been an overriding claim that the 40th U.S. President Ronald Wilson Reagan has remained popular stretching into decades after his reign because of the great achievements he made while in office. Bunch refutes this very strongly Reagan was never popular as purported (Bunch 34). While Reagan was in office, many Americans opposed his leadership policies. Bunch argues that during the reign of President Reagan, the nation was headed in the wrong direction. According to Bunch, people should not fuss about the Reagan achievements because he never achieved much. Many people have lauded Reagan for his tax reduction measures, but this seems to attract a lot of arguments over the years. For example, Bunch points out that the tax cuts were positively skewed towards the wealthy. This is one of the strongest motivators in the compilations and development of the content in Tear down This Myth.
Reagan's Impact on American Politics
In his assessment of American politics, Bunch feels like the current political system has nothing to emulate from the Reagan presidency. The credit for winning the cold is given to the Reagan administration. However, Bunch feels that was not true considering Reagan's willingness to talk to his adversaries and his genuine desire to eliminate nuclear weapons. Bunch goes further to argue that the application of Reaganomics during the 1990s in the Bush and Clinton presidency caused a lot of economic problems in the country (Bunch 52). The over effect is reported as having led to bankrupt energy policies and increased debts for the coming generations. In this book, Bunch exposes the myths surrounding the Reagan presidency in a dangerous twist of events and seeks to reshape America's future through rewriting its past. About the Obama administration, Bunch argues that it should conduct its businesses unencumbered by the weight of unearned and misplaced reverence.
Reagan's Economic Policies
Bunch argues that people should realise the need for change from the Reagan-inspired world. The Reagan presidency left behind an impact that runs in the minds of the citizenry years after his reign. To support his argument, Bunch uses the economic policies introduced by Ronald Reagan during his tenure in the oval office. The tax adjustment policies increased taxes on a section of the population (Bunch 37). These adjustments favoured the rich, and the overall effect was an increased gap between the wealthy and the middle class.
Bunch's Deconstruction of Reagan's Legacy
In his book, Bunch does not fail to recognise some achievements made by the Reagan administration. One such achievement that Bunch recognises is the energy policies formulated by the Reagan presidency. Gas prices had been very high previously, but upon adoption of solar energy, there was a significant reduction in the energy expenditures. Solar energy served an alternative source of energy.
Bunch's Approach and Message
Being an experienced journalist, Will Bunch uses the information at his disposal in a convincing manner. In all his arguments, Bunch uses real-life examples and evidence in a way that seeks to deconstruct any myths surrounding the Reagan presidency thereof. When he talks about energy policies and global warming problems, Bunch indicates that it was Reagan's predecessor, Jimmy Carter, who deserves the credit for solar energy policies (Bunch 94). From a journalistic point of view, Will Bunch is able to access a host of information especially the information regarding the Reagan policies and his general approach to leadership. When he compiles this book, he does so drawing from a rich source of information already at his disposal. He is able to dissuade the readership of this book to buy his views.
The Role of Government
The argument that the government is not a solution to people's problem is unfounded. Bunch seems to leverage on Reagan's inaugural speech where said that a government is the real issue for the people and not the solution per se. It is entirely wrong to argue that there is no government solution to any problem. A government is supposed to stand with the people and work with the people. Bunch capitalises on this philosophy to stage an argument that people should not talk about the Reagan legacy because he never left any.
Bunch's Communication Style
On reading this book, one gets to appreciate the approach that Bunch uses in the development of his arguments. Bunch does not merely throw words just for the sake of deconstructing the myths surrounding the Reagan presidency. Owing to his journalistic background, the author is able to be objective in his assessment of America's political developments. He employs a balanced coverage of the achievements and failures of the Reagan regime.
Another important aspect of this book is the manner in which the author conveys his message to the intended audience. Bunch uses a simple language that aims to communicate the message in a clear manner. The book has short paragraphs with simple sentence structures that can be understood relatively easily. This style of writing makes this book a good read as can read it from any place and still understand how the author develops his argument.
The Key Claim
In terms of communication skills and capabilities, the author utilises his journalistic background to put across his message in a manner that the readers will easily understand. As the author compiles this book, his central claim is that the Reagan legacy has distorted America's politics and this haunts the people's future prospects. I think this is the key claim because, throughout the book, Bunch focuses on Ronald Reagan's administration and tries to give a critique of the various claims and achievements attributed to him. The author's content is flawless in terms of content clarity, and it can be understood by any reader with an English background.
Work Cited
Bunch, William. Tear down this myth: the right-wing distortion of the Reagan legacy. New York: Free Press, 2010. Print.
