Richard Baris

I grew up in working class neighborhoods in New York and New Jersey. I think it is fair to say that this background followed me throughout academia. I have a tendency to throw in a raw, real-world statement in the middle of an otherwise attempt to be scholastic and credible. However, I always found clear-cut academics to be brutally boring. While I respect the burden of proving an argument, the evidence must be conveyed in a language that makes sense to anyone. I am often criticized for either not being professional enough, or being to difficult for my own father. That probably means I am right where I want to be to convey the truth.

My latest book is about human relationships, and their impact on politics. American political history, at its core, tells a story about the natural power of close, intimate human relationships. We have been far too superficial in our attempts to weigh the impact of government on these human relationships. As a result, we have overshadowed the true danger posed to Americans from big government; its strong, innate ability to destroy the human connection, which is threatening to “fundamentally transform” American citizens into a people that the Constitution was never designed to govern. There is no better story to tell, and never a better time to tell it.