Mark Stricherz’s review of HBO’s ’Recount’ for America is now online. Mark once worked as a literary assistant here at the magazine and is the author of Why the Democrats are Blue: Secular Liberalism and the Decline of the People’s Party. In his review, Mark raises the provocative question of whether the much-lauded value of pluralism contributes to the common good:

The reality, of course, is that politics is a dirty business. This natural law applies to local zoning board meetings as it does to presidential recounts. But I suspect that this notion is exacerbated in a highly pluralistic, low-consensus society. We tend to focus on the misdeeds of our enemies while forgetting those of our own. What "Recount" and other cultural products like it should make us reconsider is the value of a highly pluralistic society. We are told constantly that pluralism begets tolerance and respect. But does it really?

Read Mark’s review here. Tim Reidy