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A Review of Glenn Beck's Overton Window

By Arlon Staywell
RICHMOND — Are consevative thinkers capable of writing?  That is, writing in the sense of a novel?  About thirty years ago a very conservative "writer" of the mostly disputatious sort and founder of a news magazine undertook the writng of spy novels, perhaps most notably one called "Stained Glass."  Whatever critical or economic success William F. Buckley, Jr. obtained thereby it certainly convinced many that a consevative could "write a novel" without diminshing his well established reputation for command of language.  And whatever the full merits of "Stained Glass" it at least deserves a "compare and contrast" with Beck's "The Overton Window" these many years later.
    Comparing the central dynamic tensions of SG and tOW we find them both quite difficult to pin down although in both there is the vaguest notion of a conflict between conservatism versus liberalism, or more to Beck's liking possibly conservatism versus progressivism.  But it is not so much rich versus poor, which got inverted between SG and tOW. While in both the conservatives consider the home as a "castle," in SG the conservative actually had one, a castle, and in tOW the conservatives' "castles" were for the most part like Archie Bunker's.
    Others might describe the key tension in both as being concerned with the size of government.  Or perhaps a better formulation would be concerned about the art of minding our own businesses.
    Another description of Arthur Gardener of tOW might be as a man devoted to a massive program to inure people for profit, but his opponents don't address that in any way and it's difficult to see who's inuring whom.
    In both SG and tOW the conservatives tended to appear the more religious.  Stained glass windows are after all part of a church and Axel Wintergin's profound concern about restoring them is an indication of some sort of religiosity.  A key figure in the conservative group in tOW quotes a Bible passage, Ephesians vi, 12, as being critical.
    Perhaps like conservatives in the real world it is disappointingly vague.  Wouldn't Romans i, 28 be more to the point?  Or Titus i, 16? You do know what "reprobate" means, don't you, Mr. Beck?  I believe William F. Buckley would have known.
    Republicans should enjoy The Overton Window because it is every bit as nebulous as they are.  The only pity there is how little it can do to provide them needed definitions.  If you can't lead them then babysit them, no?
    Democrats should enjoy the book as well, there not being a dime's worth of difference and all.

© MMX by Arlon Ryan Staywell

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