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A review by mrej
But What Can I Do?: Why Politics Has Gone So Wrong, and How You Can Help Fix It by Alastair Campbell
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5
This book was an useful introduction about how to get engaged in politics. I pretend I'm not, but I know I am a hugely political person. I have lots of opinions on many policies and politicians. But I tend to steer away from consuming news about politics because it often feels so disheartening. I hate that this has been my go-to response with politics as it comes from a place of such privilege. But with the upcoming general election, I decided to pick up a book about politics to get the ball rolling again.
The first part of this book focusing on delivering hard facts about the current political climate. Campbell recognises that there are real threats to democracy such as the rise of polarisation and fascism. This section is arguably too depressing. I, however, believe that it is necessary to motivate people who want to see change into action. The recap of politics from the past decade was educational for me who has been unaware of how the nuances of campaigns played about before I was able to vote.
While the first section was depressing, the later half was honestly inspiring and quite moving. The importance of not being cynical and instead engaging in politics to see the change you want to see was really powerful. I often get disheartened at the state of our political landscape but this book reminded me that, if you give up in frustration, change will never happen. I loved how Campbell gave real examples of people who have fought for change for the better, such as Greta Thunberg, Miep Gies and Bill W. The discussion of these remarkable people was moving and demonstrates the power one person can hold.
I also loved that this book provided more practical and reasonable methods to go about campaigning and creating change on a bigger and smaller scale. I liked the honestly of how hard pursuing a career in politics is. I know I am not going to be PM but I want to make a difference. So I appreciated this book giving methods to engage in politics in smaller but meaningful ways.
The first part of this book focusing on delivering hard facts about the current political climate. Campbell recognises that there are real threats to democracy such as the rise of polarisation and fascism. This section is arguably too depressing. I, however, believe that it is necessary to motivate people who want to see change into action. The recap of politics from the past decade was educational for me who has been unaware of how the nuances of campaigns played about before I was able to vote.
While the first section was depressing, the later half was honestly inspiring and quite moving. The importance of not being cynical and instead engaging in politics to see the change you want to see was really powerful. I often get disheartened at the state of our political landscape but this book reminded me that, if you give up in frustration, change will never happen. I loved how Campbell gave real examples of people who have fought for change for the better, such as Greta Thunberg, Miep Gies and Bill W. The discussion of these remarkable people was moving and demonstrates the power one person can hold.
I also loved that this book provided more practical and reasonable methods to go about campaigning and creating change on a bigger and smaller scale. I liked the honestly of how hard pursuing a career in politics is. I know I am not going to be PM but I want to make a difference. So I appreciated this book giving methods to engage in politics in smaller but meaningful ways.