Weaponized - by Seth Barron (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A look at how the Left has captured the institutions of American life and turned them against the people they were built to serve

It has become a common observation that a pernicious agenda--sometimes called Progressive, "woke," or "equity based"--has spread throughout American society. Every aspect of life and culture--from schooling, to television, to the workplace, and to sports--is now suffused with this program.

The agenda has multiple overt aims, including the rectification of historical racial injustice by deconstructing legacy notions of merit and the value of work, now redefined as the values of white privilege. It seeks to undo segregated residential patterns by altering the political geography of the country, concentrating the population in dense urban areas, reversing "white flight" by eliminating the suburbs that have caused so much harm. It plans to undermine the traditional family structure by cultivating confusion about gender norms and sexuality among American children. It aims to end the system of punishment for violating the law by redefining crime and "reimagining" the function of the police in order to turn them into enforcement agents for socio-political standards rather than protectors of people and property. And it seeks to end the meaning of "America" as a nation by dissolving the difference between citizen and foreigner.

These are all familiar tendencies in modern life--we hear people complain generally about them on social media or cable news all the time--even if we don't necessarily connect them or see them as part of a unified, revolutionary effort to change America. Seth Barron's WEAPONIZED proves exactly how the Left is waging war on the American people by attacking specific institutions of the American way of life, essentially sucking all power up the chain, away from the people and into the hands of a managerial, administrative class that has its own vision for the future of the country.

This elite class wants control over everything. It is intolerable for them that any corner of American life is being run contrary in any way to the totalizing, even totalitarian, vision they have of our society.

The elites loathe the idea that the U.S. Constitution rests power in the hands of the people, and that states and localities are reserved certain key rights. Our historical system enshrines self-rule--the principle that communities comprised of self-regulating subjects can govern themselves best--while the Left believes that the people who don't live somewhere are the best equipped to set the rules there.

This is a war against the sovereignty of the American people, and the hour is late.

Review Quotes

"In WEAPONIZED, Seth Barron argues provocatively and effectively that the Left has burrowed far deeper into the infrastructure of American life than is commonly understood. I've heard few arguments as eye-opening as Barron's connection between suburban upzoning and open borders. WEAPONIZED should be read by anyone concerned about the direction of the country and understanding how we arrived here.

--Tom Fitton, president, Judicial Watch

"In WEAPONIZED, Seth Barron deftly examines the infiltration of major institutions of American life by radical ideologues who seek to transform the national order. Barron offers fresh insights about citizenship, race relations, and education and housing policies to reach surprising conclusions. His lively style and amusing references make for an engaging, enjoyable read. This is essential reading for enlightened citizens alarmed at the current crisis of American constitutionalism."

--Ryan Williams, president, The Claremont Institute, and Publisher of The Claremont Review of Books

"WEAPONIZED presents, in emphatic but well-reasoned detail, how the new progressivism is undermining society -- in race relations, housing, the economy, and education. It provides a superb wake-up call that is sorely needed to combat the outbreak of insanity that threatens us all. It is essential reading not just for conservatives, but perhaps even more so for independents and remaining rational Democrats."

--Joel Kotkin, presidential fellow in Urban Futures, Chapman University, and author of The Coming of Neo-Feudalism

"Seth Barron's new book WEAPONIZED is a trenchant, lively examination of the liberal 'long march through the institutions' of American life. I don't often read a book that combines policy analysis with deft wit but Seth pulls it off. He traces the anticarceral Third Worldism of Zohran Mamdani to its philosophical origins and unveils Angela Davis as the secret sharer of the contemporary left. WEAPONIZED is a must-read for anyone who hungers to comprehend the extent to which contemporary progressivism has upended the world.

--JOHN TIERNEY, author of The Power of Bad

"Does America have a 'housing crisis, ' outweighing existing residents' right to have some say over what their neighborhoods look like? Is America a "nation of immigrants," meaning that any questioning of an open border is xenophobic? Are highways "racist"? Are police departments the legacy of our "original sin" of slavery? In Weaponized, Seth Barron carefully and incisively reasons his way through the seemingly unimpeachable shibboleths by which the left would govern us."

--NICOLE GELINAS, senior fellow, Manhattan Institute and author of Movement: New York's Long War to Take Back Its Streets from the Car

"Many of us feel that we've been living through an era of rapid and disorienting change. Institutions we once relied on to maintain the social order have become instruments of instability. Seth Barron explains the disturbing strategies behind this "weaponization" of American institutions. He does so with wit and an unerring touch for the illustrative detail. An essential chronicle of social conditions and public administration in 2020s America."

--STEPHEN EIDE, senior fellow, Manhattan Institute, and author of Homelessness in America: The History and Tragedy of an Intractable Social Problem

"In the recently released book by Humanix Books, WEAPONIZED: THE LEFT'S CAPTURE AND DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA'S SACRED INSTITUTIONS, New York City-based journalist and author Seth Barron details who, how, and why the Left is using the good nature of the American people to wreck our way of life. Barron documents how multiple ideas, viewed positively or as soliciting the nation's sympathy, are deployed against us in the spheres of citizenship, public safety, urban planning, and education. WEAPONIZED is a deeply troubling book, but it's the best kind of wonky. Barron makes it a compelling read with vivid examples, fascinating insights, and a great deal of humor. It's a must for those of us grasping for an explanation for why, all of a sudden, in the months leading to our country's 250th anniversary, and when we spent decades trying our best to be empathic, it became nearly impossible to be a proud American. Our virtues have been weaponized against us."

--LEGAL INSURRECTION

"WEAPONIZED: The Left's Capture and Destruction of America's Sacred Institutions is an insightful, witty journey through the left's manipulation of our politics to secure control over America's institutions. Where WEAPONIZED really shines is calling out long-held progressive myths for what they are. Barron's bottom line is that the left's success in seizing control of our most important institutions is devastating those institutions, and unless stopped will finally extinguish the American Dream."

--REALCLEARPOLITICS

"Everybody should check out the book. It's a compelling and fast read."

--CITY JOURNAL

Praise for THE LAST DAYS OF NEW YORK: a reporter's true tale by Seth Barron

"The growing number of elected Socialists and other progressives, including Mayor de Blasio, have given Barron enough targets to fill a book, The Last Days of New York, that even the most dyed-in-the-wool lefties ought to read." -- Errol Lewis, New York Daily News

"Seth Barron has covered New York for a very long time. He has a new book The Last Days of New York. The title says it all." -- TUCKER CARLSON

"A propulsive chronicle of failed policy and bad leadership." -- HEATHER MAC DONALD, New York Times bestselling author of The War on Cops and The Diversity Delusion

"I have watched NYC fall apart before my eyes but until I read Seth Barron's book I didn't know how and why. Now I know and thanks to his unparalleled reporting it's clear who is to blame... and how to fix it. A must read." -- BRIAN KILMEADE, host of Fox & Friends and Fox radio program The Brian Kilmeade Show and New York Times bestselling author

"Demonizing cops. Dismantling the rule of law. Dissing the 'rich' and middle class who pay most of the city's taxes. This book is required reading for those who love New York and want to understand why so many die-hard New Yorkers are fleeing." -- JUDITH MILLER, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist

"New York has endured stock market crashes, crime waves, terrorist attacks and pandemics. But in this gripping new book, Seth Barron warns the city may not recover from the preening, disastrous incompetence of Mayor de Blasio.'' -- RAY KELLY, 37th and 41st Police Commissioner of New York City

"A valuable and gripping account of New York City's decline, hastened by a mayor who is not only an incompetent manager, but a naive socialist who believes in the propaganda of yesteryear, along with a gullible and compliant media. New York City made tremendous strides from its nadir in the 1970s. Through the 90s and 2000s, crime dramatically declined and quality of life soared, as the city adopted bold and conservative approaches to the basics of city management. Amid so much noise, hysteria, and yes, fake news, Seth Barron tells the proverbial "story behind the story" that the mainstream media have neither the ability nor inclination to tell. Barron's reporting and analysis proves that the truth is more interesting than anything you're being told about the undeniable decline of New York City. Barron's account shows the sad abandonment by liberal politicians of the policies that brought New York out of the dark ages. His brilliant analysis will inform and enrage, but also provide hope to restore New York's greatness. Cheap politicians, shallow reporters, and a general public at their wits end, Barron cuts through the noise and provides a devastating account of a city's decline under the delusional leadership of socialists and con men." -- GREG KELLY, journalist, pilot, marine and host of Newsmax Greg Kelly Reports

"Barron captures the current spirit of New York, a city in decline, as though he were Edward Gibbon contemporaneously covering the fall of Rome. There is no guess-work, this is an accurate depiction of what is happening, and why those who can, leave. We all believe New York will rise again, but how long we must deal with backwards government is the question most families are trying to handicap." -- JOSEPH C. BORELLI, New York City Council member for the 51st District of the New York City Council

"With his encyclopedic knowledge of Gotham's politics and society, and his immense storytelling gifts, Seth Barron offers readers a front-row seat to the tragic fall of America's greatest metropolis." -- SOHRAB AHMARI, op-ed editor for the New York Post

"The rapid decline of New York is one of the most important stories of our era, and Seth Barron superbly describes how and why it is happening. He chronicles in vivid detail Mayor de Blasio's disastrous mix of far-left ideology, incompetence and corruption that has brought America's greatest city to the precipice. Barron knows the territory and writes with compelling conviction." -- MICHAEL GOODWIN, columnist for the New York Post and contributor for Fox News

"Seth Barron has masterfully chronicled how Mayor Bill de Blasio has destroyed the safest large city in America. This is a must read for every political leader in our country, in how New York City went from being the capitol of the world, to a cesspool of crime, mismanagement, and economic and real estate implosion." -- BERNARD B. KERIK, 40th Police Commissioner of the New York Police Department and author of the novel The Grave Above the Grave

"New York must get off its current path; otherwise disaster awaits. Without changes, as Barron puts it in his conclusion, 'New York City will descend into disorder, dispossession, and bankruptcy. Bye-bye.'" -- Tevi Troy, National Review

About the Author

SETH BARRON (NEW YORK, NEW YORK) is a New York City-based reporter and editor who has covered local politics closely for more than ten years. Barron is the Managing Editor of The American Mind, a publication of The Claremont Institute, and was fromerly Associate Editor of urban policy at City Journal, a publication of the Manhattan Institute, Barron is a widely-read columnist and reporter on politics and issues in New York City. Barron became intimately familiar with the ins and outs of New York City politics through his City Council Watch blog, and then worked in City Hall as legislative director for a council member from Queens. His work has appeared in the New York Post, New York Daily News, and Wall Street Journal and also appears regularly on Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News to discuss New York City issues. He frequently appears on a range of local and national television and radio programs as a commentator.

The author lives & works in New York City.

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