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Bill O'Reilly says so.
His detractors, like David Letterman, say it is a ridiculous notion residing only in O'Reilly's head and within the covers of O'Reilly's bestselling book Culture Warrior.
Bestseller? I guess that means the hundreds of thousands of people who agreed with him bought copies.
Look at O'Reilly's television ratings. They blow the competition away, week in and week out. Studies show that people do not tune in to view programs on a regular basis if they dislike the show or the host. I know it must kill the New York Times to be forced to use their ink and paper to print O'Reilly's name on their bestseller list, for they are polar opposites on just about every issue.
Frankly, I was unsure about this whole "culture war" thing until recently. But once it hits home . . . watch out. Now I am confident that O'Reilly is right, and so I have left the uncomfortable fence behind to take a solid stance on his side of the barrier. If your mind is not made up, you may want to read on...
My book Playing with the Enemy (Savas Beatie 2006; Penguin paperback, 2008) has met with rave reviews from readers around the country and every media person who has taken time to read it. Playing with the Enemy received a "Starred Review" from Publishers Weekly, the Gold Standard of the publishing industry. Starred reviews are hard to come by. Reader reviews on Amazon.com are even more glowing. Out of the 86 reviews posted, 79 of them are 5-star. Scroll through some of the books on Amazon. This is not a common occurrence.
By all accounts anyone hearing this assumes Playing with the Enemy is a wild bestseller. It sells well, but is a long way away from New York Times list. Why?
Because major media ignore the book because of what it DOES NOT include. When asked about this, a publishing executive recently replied, "Your book neither promotes nor attacks homosexuals. Your hero doesn't have an affair and has no real dark or sinister side. There is no murder or incest and no rape. Newspapers and television thrive on controversy."
Playing with the Enemy is based upon the true events in the life of Gene Moore, a good guy from small town America who has a shot at greatness, gives his all and does his best, but fails in his dream. Along the way, though, he learns to see life through different eyes. Gene's everyman story has prompted hundreds of people to call and write to say the book has changed their lives and made them better people. The average American loves this book; the main stream press ignores it.
"Newspapers and television thrive on controversy."
The attack on my book is not a frontal attack, but an attack of exclusion.
On the surface, all the praise sounds great. Sounds like a story that is good, clean, pure, positive, and all-American. And it is. A retired Christian minister told me in a letter recently, "I am encouraging the Christian Bookstores to get behind this book!" That makes sense, right?
And then I discover a culture attack on another front. "The Christian Book Trade," my publisher just informed me, "has refused to carry Playing with the Enemy because it contains a person dealing and overcoming an alcohol problem and also contains a small amount of locker room language." A few chapters of this book do in fact take place in a locker room, but there is not a single case of the F-bomb on any page, nor is the Lord's name taken in vain. And the alcohol and depression is overcome through love, discipline and determination to succeed. In other words, Playing with the Enemy is a real All-American "pull yourself up by your boot straps" story about self-sacrifice, redemption, and overcoming obstacles. It is about a man who lost everything and came back to build a wonderful family, business, and life.
Sounds quite Christian to me.
As imperfect as I am, I am a committed follower of Jesus Christ. So what is the problem the Christian book trade has with Playing with the Enemy? I truly don't get it. Some mild language and a hero who for a time struggles with alcohol makes it untouchable?
And so I sit in a virtual no-man's land, book firmly in hand. I am not controversial enough to get attention from the mainstream media but not puritanical enough for the Christian book trade.
O'Reilly is right. There is a culture war-and I am being attacked from both sides of the spectrum!
Is there really no room today for positive, heart-warming stories that motivate readers to become better people? Is there really no need for books that both entertain and encourage people without needed extreme sexual content or violence?
Apparently not. In the minds of those O'Reilly refers to as "the Folks," there is a deep yearning for better books and entertainment. But in the minds of the media-which influence all of us to what they want us to think, what they want us to buy, and what we are to believe is "normal"-there is apparently no room for Playing with the Enemy.
So I jumped off the fence. We are at war.
I felt alone this morning until I began reading through the hundreds of letters I received telling me how Playing with the Enemy has impacted readers' lives. I began thinking about the army of people who love this book and are quite vocal about their passion. Time to get busy and fight this war.
So here I am, the author of a critically acclaimed book deeply loved by almost everyone who reads it, male and female, young and old. The same book nearly universally ignored by mainstream and secular progressive media because it is not "controversial enough," and shunned by Christian booksellers as being too risqué.
This elitist exclusion stretches far beyond my book. Indeed, it paints a grim picture of our nation today.
Which leaves me with a single question: "How should the author and supporters of this book fight this war?"
Gary
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www.PlayingWithTheEnemy.com
