Quick review: Our Culture...What's Left of it

A friend bought me this one and despite the alarming cover, it makes for an interesting read.

It's a collection of articles from the late 90s up to 2004 by a man who has travelled widely (he doesn't let much time pass without reminding us of this) but spent most of his years as a doctor in difficult situations (inner city, prisons etc) which has given him, in many ways, a view of life not dissimilar to that of traditional Christian morality, but developed from the hard knocks of real life rather than the Bible (an interesting point in itself!)

And that's what makes the book interesting:  he places himself in distinction from the liberal intelligentsia (they come in for a hammering) who pontificate from the security of their upper/middle class environs without bearing the true consequences of their philosophy; whereas he has been engaged in an almost futile struggle to help those at the bottom of the heap who end up playing out the true meaning of relativism in their damaged and disastrous lives.

The essays cover a lot of ground from why criminals get fatter in prison to the Lady Chatterly trial (lots of quotations of profanity here, just to warn you - but the essay puts the case in a completely different light from the popular conception).

So, powerful social comment from someone who has seen the dark-side; nicely and eloquently debunks much of what has passed for tolerant enlightened thinking.  But lacking in hope, because he honestly can't see how things will change (and one can understand why), underlined by his career decision which is revealed in the very first article.

NB. being a doctor in some very brutal situations, and having travelled to some very nasty places, there are descriptions and words here which don't make for pleasant reading (especially late at night - eg. his essay on Rosemary and Fred West).