Black Belt Patriotism: How to Reawaken America by Chuck Norris

Black Belt Patriotism is a mix between Chuck Norris' biography and political manifesto; Norris approaches all societal problems like he does Lebanese terrorists in Delta Force- he beats them into submission his the roundhouse kick. No, seriously: "As a martial arts fighter, I realized I had to possess the inner strength to stare down the impossible: to face giant opponents, often alone, in order to become the six time world middleweight karate champion…. The same is true for us in this culture war" (13). Norris rightly believes that mainstream culture is shifting radically to the left, and uses his significant influence to counteract the many liberal "celebrity activists" and to galvanize the silent majority to take responsibility for their children and political decisions.

The main character is Chuck Norris himself, six time world karate champion, star of Walker, Texas Ranger, conservative icon, husband, father, and killing machine. Although Chuck Norris does not read books (he simply stares them down until he gets the information he wants), he understands that many Americans do, and decided to impart his words of wisdom upon us.

Norris advocates a return to Constitutional values, and the proof is in the pudding- the last twenty five pages of Patriotism are filled with the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Ten Commandments (in that order). Norris' arguments are sound- critics cannot argue against the Constitution without looking like a flaming liberal. Norris' writing style is simple and direct, his arguments not groundbreaking in the least, but one should not write off Norris' intelligence. Norris recognizes the bias of the news media against "conservative celebrity activists", and mocks Kirk Douglas when Douglas complains that the media doesn't pay attention to liberal celebrity activists (182)... although it does not take a MENSA member to mock Kirk Douglas. In fact, Norris seems to write Patriotism to fulfill what he perceives a moral obligation to save the youth of America from celebrities such as Sean Penn, which I personally regard as a worthy cause.

However, Norris fails to make the distinction between the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence as two separate documents written for two different purposes at two different times. He refers to the ideals which our Founding Fathers laid down in the "Constitution and Declaration of Independence" without understanding that the Constitution fell short on a lot of issues, such as slavery, which the Declaration of Independence stood firm on. Norris also says he is in support of the Constitution, which contradicts his life story, which is heavy with uncompromising determination, grit, and roundhouse kicks, while the Constitution avoided several prominent issues and compromised on a few more (3/5 Compromise? really?). However, to be fair, most of Norris' audience associate the Constitution with the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, so nothing is lost in translation.

The title of Black Belt Patriotism: How to Reawaken America, by Chuck Norris- Martial Arts Master, Actor, and Political Activist is one of the best parts. The dust jacket, showing Chuck Norris posing in his karate uniform, led me to believe this was a far more radical book than it actually is. Like the volcanoes on the Hawaiian islands, Norris growls and grumbles ominously, but he never erupts. For example, he bemoans the moral decay of the youth, but fails to take a strong stand against government run education. However, the only overt failing of Patriotism is that Norris only addresses us 'youth', whom he calls 'Millennials', in Chapter Five: From Here to Eternity; the majority of Patriotism's content and tone are written to those who grew up with Walker, Texas Ranger.

Norris, Chuck. Black Belt Patriotism: How to Reawaken America. (Washington, DC.; Regnery Publishing). 260 pages

A Brief Note on Why Richard M. Nixon is my Hero

1) "Nixon rose by speaking to his fellow unpolished strivers of the white middle class as if they were society's oppressed- to the disgust of the sophisticated liberals."

2) Checkers. In Nixon's infamous televised address, Checkers symbolized Nixon's common ground with the underrepresented middle class. Walter Lippmann called the "Checkers speech" the "most demeaning experience my country has ever had to bear." But hey- it worked!

3) Nixon also had the most epic, memorable policitcal [s]slander[/s] quotes. Quotes on 'hope' and 'change' are good, but unexciting. Like spaghettios.

Quotes on Nixon's foreign policy:
~"Castro couldn't even go to the bathroom unless the Soviet Union put a quarter in the toliet."
~"I am glad that I am not Breshnev. Being the Russian leader in the Kremlin. You never know if someone's tape recording what you say." (See? It's irony!)

His insults:
~"Don't get the impression that you arouse my anger. You see, one can only be angry at one he respects."

His words to live by:
~"Politics would be a helluva good buisness if it weren't for the goddamned people."
~"Soultions are not the answer."

Nixon's military strategery:
~"Tell them to send everything that can fly."

And his domestic policy:
~"The press is the enemy."

4) Nixon took some hits, such as when he lost the Presidential race in 1960 and the campaign California governorship in 1962. But he still kept trying, and was clever enough to dissassociate himself from the angry backlash.

5) He caught commies- as in, He believed in superficiality and preyed on the fears of Americans to catapult himself to power.

6) He was memorable. As Nixon said it himself, "If an individual wants to be a leader and isn't controversial, it means he never stood for anything." Nixon stood for things. More than that, Nixon stood on things. Like the corpses of communist scum!