Book Review: Only for the Brave at Heart

IndieBookView

Dec 5

Only for the Brave at Heart

by Leon E. Pettiway

Genre: Nonfiction / Race / Crime & Criminal Justice

Print Length: 392 pages

Reviewed by Erica Ball

Leon E. Pettiway—professor, Tibetan monk, and the author of this incisive essay collection—argues that the criminal justice system is flawed at its core; the system reflects the error-prone ways in which criminals are viewed by society at large. He argues that the ultimate problem for many of American society's ills—in its most obvious form in racism, crime, and the punitive justice system—lies deep in its Eurocentric foundations. His solutions focus on doing away with these foundations and replacing them with ones built on the Buddhist philosophies of insubstantiality and interdependence.

The author contends that American culture is overly invested in the individual and a sense of self that is distinct and separate from everyone around it. The self is therefore defined against others and emphasizes differences. It is self-protective and needs to look after its own interests, so it is motivated to control what it can and accumulate material necessities. A society built of individuals with these priorities becomes dominated by power, greed, and control.

In contrast, Afrocentric and Buddhist philosophies treat people as interdependent entities that can't be separated from one another and so are motivated to care for the common good. When this occurs, the focus of all is on what is best for the whole rather than for the one. These societies can therefore be more prone to altruism and compassion.