As many of you know, I am hosting a book club on The Well-Read Wife this summer. The summer Mandy’s Blogger Book Club selection is America, You Sexy Bitch by Michael Ian Black and Meghan McCain. Click here to read more about the book and the book club. Every couple of weeks until August 15th I am going to post discussions questions focusing on different areas of the book.
How To Participate
Everyone is welcome to participate in the discussion in the following ways:
- You do not have to respond to all of the questions. You can respond to all of them or choose one. You do not have to participate in the discussion to be a member of Mandy’s Blogger Book Club. This is just a fun side activity.
- If you have read the content in America, You Sexy Bitch that the questions cover (pages 1-31) you may leave a comment on this post and participate in the discussion within the comments section.
- You can participate using the #MBBCWRW hashtag on Twitter. I have already seen lots of discussion about the book and Twitter, and I can’t wait to join in myself!
- You can write a post responding to one or all of the questions on your own blog. If you link back to this post within your discussion post, I will be happy to list your post in a roundup of America, You Sexy Bitch discussion posts under the discussion questions. (BTW, I have already seen some great posts about the book club! I plan to post a round up of those sometime next week. If you have written a post about the club in general, please email it to me at wellreadwife [at] gmail [dot] com. Even if I’ve left a comment on it, please email it to me. I am very absentminded lately, and I don’t want to leave anyone out.)
Discussion Questions For America, You Sexy Bitch by Michael Ian Black and Meghan McCain
The following questions cover pages 1-31 of the book:
- On page 1 Michael says he feels like America as a nation has lost sight of our “mission statement.” What do you think America’s mission statement should be? Try your hand at writing one!
- Michael’s Crocs? Hot or not?
- Were you surprised that the McCain’s Sedona cabins were what many would consider modest?
- On guns: Meghan says on pg. 18 “One of the things I was most surprised about when I first moved to New York City was the strange and almost visceral anger a lot of East Coast people have towards both guns and the protection of Second Amendment Rights.” Meghan also says on (page 19) she feels like more restrictions should be placed on just who is able to obtains certain types of firearms. Michael says on page 20, “It seems that we’re more selective about who gets a LinkedIn invitation than we are about the people we let buy firearms.” How do you feel the topic of gun control was handled in the book? How do you feel about guns and gun control in general? Have you ever fired a “zombie killer”?
- How do you feel about the disagreement Meghan and Michael have in the bar on the fourth of July? “Freedom Doesn’t Come Free” – Trite or Right?
I tried to list at least five questions so I could give everyone a lot of options for discussion. If you leave a comment below, please note which question your responding to. While it’s perfectly okay to disagree with someone’s response, please be respectful in doing so. I’m going to put up my own response on the blog sometime this week, and I’ll be hanging out in the comments section. I will have a Mandy’s Bloggers Book Club Discussion Posts button at the top of my right sidebar so it will be easy to find this post. The official book review linky will go up on July 20th. Click here to go to the official America, You Sexy Bitch (published by DaCapo Press) website.
Happy Reading!
Discussion Post Round Up:
If you have written a discussion post, leave a comment on this post with the link, I’ll make sure it’s added!
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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ll get us started. Michael’s Crocs are hot. I even love the linen pant/Croc combo.
Linen pants aren’t very travel friendly though… He could’ve picked a better material
I think Michael’s Crocs are…. humorous. And practical. I can’t commit to hot because I keep picturing his feet (as described). Gah!
Are Crocs really that comfortable? I mean REALLY? I see kids and people who work in restaurants wearing them non-stop. Including Mario Batali on that food/talk show he has on ABC. Hmm, perhaps I should investigate this further.
Jenn, I’ve worn them for both of the jobs that have required me to be on my feet non-stop, and am not the worse for wear after the fact. Could you do just as well with a good sneaker? Probably.
I’m not sure “comfortable” is the best word… I have a pair of the Mary Jane style. I don’t wear them that often but when you have one of those days where the soles of your feet just kill? They’re perfect for that! Kinda like mini-massages for your feet
Yeah, not so sure about the Crocs, if worn with socks maybe. I don’t know about all of you but my feet usually get awfully sweaty in plastic shoes.
I vote against the Crocs and the linen pants. LOL!
I’m not sure what the mission statement should be. The first thing that comes to mind is that “land of the free and home of the brave” should be revised to include an operational definition of the words brave and free. This would be a good start, because I’m not sure how surveillance, body scanners, and indefinite detention relate to the use of either word.
Living in Arizona, I have made peace with guns and gun-ownership. They are good tools for hunting. (Although, I’ve met some women here who bow-hunt, and this seems like a very sporting activity, requiring a lot of skill. If I were to hunt, in the future, I would probably use a compound bow of some kind, rather than a gun.) I do wish people would be more cognizant of gun safety (i.e. handling weapons with care and keeping them beyond the reach of young children), but I doubt this is something you can regulate into existence without infringing on the freedoms of well-behaved people. The loony-birds among us will likely do whatever they were going to do in the first place–regardless of laws on the books.
I’m not surprised that the McCain home isn’t a private lair befitting Dr. Evil. Senator McCain is a senator, but he is also a real human being. Not everyone who is well-known or powerful lives in a mansion at all times, I’m sure. A friend of mine once told me, “The people who really have wealth and power don’t tend to flaunt it. They don’t need to.”
Re: Freedom doesn’t come free. I have to say it is trite. This is also probably a bad discussion to have once the blood/alcohol content of those participating in the conversation is more alcohol than blood. Freedom is not free, it requires effort and responsible behavior. Suggesting a war should continue indefinitely simply because it has been started seems like an excellent way to disregard the responsibility and effort freedom requires of citizens. How can one be free while also suggesting that any amount of critical evaluation is, essentially, off-limits? Ms. McCain seems to be very confused. I don’t think you could fault her for honesty. She has honesty to spare, but her thought process seems somewhat muddled. I fail to see how respect for the troops translates into unquestioning support of war for the sake of war.
“I fail to see how respect for the troops translates into unquestioning support of war for the sake of war.”
Exactly!! As a wife of a vet who, after serving a tour in Iraq, questions why/what they were hoping to accomplish over there, I tend to swing toward the pacificist end of the spectrum in regards to this particular conflict.
Megan stated multiple times that it didn’t matter that the public was fed incorrect information to influence their support for going to Iraq- YES. IT DOES. We were outraged and shocked, and needed somewhere to vent that frustration and sadness. But Iraq was never the place we needed to be. Over ten years later, we are STILL fighting in the region with little hope of “victory.”
To boil the complicated situation down to “Freedom isn’t Free” is definitely trite. It definitely shows support of the military, but doesn’t adquately defend our reasons for still being a presence in Iraq/Afghanistan.
No, it doesn’t do justice to the topic at all. I agree. My grandfather was “career military” in the USAF spanning WWII to Vietnam. My understanding of respect for the military includes using military force wisely. This is done to honor the fact men, women, and, inevitably, non-combatants, will pay with their lives during any (even the best planned) military operation. To say the reasons for war do not matter is somewhat repulsive. Pure pacifism strikes me as naive, but preemptive, endless war for unclear reasons is an offense against humanity. I see this as an abuse of our armed forces and the trust they place in their fellow citizens.
I can see where Ms. McCain might feel deeply conflicted and angry–considering her brother’s involvement. Given her father’s position, I can understand the difficulties and internal strife that might arise as a result of questioning the war. It can’t be pleasant and I don’t envy her.
I didn’t realize the gun control issue was bigger in the northeast. I knew certain regions tend to be more “gun friendly”, if you will. Being from NYC, I completely agree with Meghan’s statement from page 19 where she feels like more restrictions should be placed on just who is able to obtains certain types of firearms. I wish the book went a little more in depth on their opinions of gun control – why they want (or don’t want) more restrictions. I felt like the book very briefly touched on the issue of guns then off they went to the shooting range. Aside from a riflery class at summer camp when I was young, I have zero experience with guns. A close friend has a concealed permit for one – why, I truly do not know… I have no interest in owning a gun or really ever even shooting one.
PS – Think Michael wears the original style Crocs or something all fancy?!
I couldn’t agree more with regard to the shallow coverage of their opinions. Michael Ian Black seemed to have more depth, in general, but still left me with the impression that the standard “liberal” (or “conservative”) view is somewhat flat. Really, the entire book seemed to be more like one long, cross-country bar-hop. If I came away with any concept, it is that getting wasted is a national past-time that brings more people together than baseball ever could.
I actually agreed with Megan’s views regarding gun control. I don’t think that magazines capable of firing multiple rounds at speeds should be available to the general public just for the fun of it, and thought that was an excellent point. I don’t believe that Joe Schmoe should be able to decide one day that he wants to shoot at stuff and be able to obtain a gun and license without stricter statutes in place.
Let’s face it. The majority of us do not need guns to defend our homesteads and kill our dinner. It is absolutely a right per the Constitution, and nobody is trying to revoke that. Do I believe that a high school classmate with a documented history of anger issues should be allowed a concealed weapons permit and be able to bring his handgun to the local bar with him? No.
I’m a NorthEasterner too, and have a deep distaste and distrust of firearms. I have no idea why, it seems like it was ingrained. However, I don’t have a problem with my husband having guns stored safely in our home, because I know that he was properly trained.
I’ve lived in the Southwest and the Northeast, and I tend to agree with gun control (within reasonable limits–your angry high school classmate at the local bar being well within the limit). To be honest, there are very few things I trust the government to do well and without political motivation. Judging by what some people who own personal arsenals say, I’m guessing this is at least a portion of their attitude toward firearms in general. As a good, recent example of governmental misfiring, the Fast and Furious debacle armed all of the wrong people. When our government can successfully avoid arming the “bad guys”, I will feel more open to entrusting them with the task of disarming the citizens.
We do not own firearms, but have a significant number of family members that do (for hunting).
No to crocs! Though I am biased like Meghan because of how they look and not necessarily knowing whether they are comfortable or not. I do know for certain that linen pants are comfy and am glad MIB brought several.
In regards to the McCains cabin I am not as shocked as some. In all honesty politicians don’t make that much. Many of the ones who are rolling in it gain wealth from their families, like the McCains we learn later on. The Bushes and even Romney and Dick Cheney and such have wealth on their side and go into politics more for a power perspective I feel.
I’m posting about the book on Monday! Can’t wait. I’ll tackle a couple of these questions in my review also.
I’m an “East Coaster,” whatever that means?, living now in NC, and have been around guns my whole life. I hunted deer and waterfowl in my twenties, but would not hunt now unless that was the only way to feed my family.
I own guns, but feel too many people are cavalier about gun safety and the responsibility of safe handling and storage of guns. I do not believe that high-capacity magazine guns or kevlar-piercing bullets should be available outside law enforcement or the military. As we have moved away from hunting as a means of food, there are too many guns in circulation.
I admit that I am somewhat hypocritical in my thoughts on gun-control, since my argument sounds a lot like “I should be able to own guns, but too many irresponsible people own guns to the detriment of public safety.”
I want to skip ahead to the (later in the book) discussion of legalization of drugs in relation to getting guns off the streets, but I will bite my tongue for now!
Thing is guns are way too easily accessible, just like drugs. And the government needs to crack down on both. You can get a license for a gun but how many people are actually doing that and registering their guns? There’s a whole mandate that should be put in place where you can go get guns at a gunstore but not a SuperDuper Market like Walmart and such depending on the state.
I do agree that people have the right to bare arms, but it’s the ones who don’t want to acknowledge it and also feel a need to hide it that bother me most. I’d be more comfortable with someone knowing they have a gun, been trained to use said gun, and have it out in the open like the McCains did.
Thank you for voicing that, Melanie. I thought back to my comment, and was like “Wow, I look like a jerk saying that ‘only a certain type of people should have guns because they are properly trained.’” I’m glad it didn’t quite come across like that.
Hi Brooke– no, I didn’t think you were being a jerk at all, lol. I’m glad we can talk about it, and I want to say that I appreciate your husband’s service. Since 2003, I’ve been teaching English at a community college with students who are a majority military, former military, or dependents. It can often be heart-wrenching with what they have been through, and too many Americans don’t come close to understanding the tremendous toll of these wars.
1) Yes, he’s correct… but writing one… um, I haven’t a clue. LOL Now, the old “truth, justice and the American way” can work… but how would one define American way… and for that matter, who gets to define what justice is. People define that differently as well.
2) haven’t liked crocs before this book, and I still don’t! LOL
3) really didn’t think much of it when I got to that part… guess I just didn’t have any expectations in mind on what they were like.
4) Well, I’m one of those that feels that pro-gun people haven’t read the entire second amendment. That said, the Supreme Court said the aforementioned amendment says what everyone thinks it does, and while I might not like it, I respect that decision. Not sure about her line with East coast people and anger – unlike her, it’s not something that I’ve really gone around to ask people in my state their opinions (or people recognize me and approach me about political issues), so I really haven’t a clue if that is true or not. But the rest in the quotes, yep, both are right.
5) It’s both trite and right. It’s cliche, people know the saying, but can’t explain any meaning behind it. But it also is correct – in both the idea of what we have lost in blood and treasure since the beginning of the country for what we have and believe in, and that we all have personal responsibility behind those freedoms, something that sure feels like people have forgotten.
Mandy, I have to repectfully disagree with you about the Crocs
My post is here, http://stacybuckeye.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/politics-im-almost-afraid-to-write-this-post/
My post answering these discussion questions (which I loved, by the way — exactly the right amount of funny & serious):
http://awornpath.blogspot.com/2012/07/mandys-book-blogger-club-discussion.html
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