Dedicated

“We call people who have won their causes heroes, but we call those in the middle of their causes crazy.”

This book is well-written and talks about several perspectives on what it means to dedicate your time over a long time to certain causes rather than jumping between them or keeping your selves compartmentalized.

He addresses the very real challenge that we have in that we grow up hearing and seeing stories where all the accolades go to the dragon slayer, the general leading the charge, the one speech ...bu the work is done by the many not the one...and many tiny acts leading up to the dragon slaying.

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So, you know, that feeling when you are interested in a thing, but you know that you don't like something about it - like maybe you are Catholic, but don't like the whole history of abuse? Well, this book argues that that is one of the things that keeps us from joining with groups or communities or causes. Because no group is perfect, we hesitate to take on the identify of the thing that is bigger than ourselves because it will necessarily come with parts that we don't like.

We have to take action, probably boring action with meetings, over and over again, to build the community we want. Probably with people who disagree with us a little bit.

The book has an agenda - he clearly wants people to consider becoming more dedicated over time. It is argued as a moral imperative, but it did not come across as preachy to me.

Full disclosure, though, I had several moments in this book where I said, “Oh, yes, I thought this already but did not have the language...” so I clearly came to the book already in line with the author's thinking. I'm not sure how it might come across to someone with a different headspace.

This book makes me want to think about how I am or am not contributing to making the world where I want to live.

Blatantly Hypocritical, Yet Strong Discussion Regardless. Davis repeatedly claims that he is not “selling a particular religion, creed, or cause”... and yet the very subtitle of the book is “The CASE for Commitment...” (emphasis mine). Though to be fair, the examples Davis cites tend to be individual trees, while making the case that they are representative of the forest they are in. Davis, in this text, isn't selling a tree - he is trying to sell the forest. Yet he is trying to sell a particular forest - the forest of long standing and wide reaching oaks, rather than the taller, shallower, and less connected pines. Still, the case he makes (and I'm forgiving the lack of bibliography, for the moment, as this was an ARC - though I do expect an extensive one to be provided in the published edition), is at minimum worthy of consideration and discussion. Yes, the language choices are a bit leftist at times, and yes, there are a few holes in the logic and reasonings, but overall, the case made is an interesting contrast to the currently dominant thinking, and this is why I'm willing to overlook the lack of bibliography in this ARC and rate the book at 4, rather than 3, stars. In the end, an interesting take on things that perhaps goes a bit too far at times, but is a refreshing change of pace at others. Recommended.