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Department of Research:
Given my internet search history while researching for my novel, surely I'm on some sort of FBI watch list somewhere! I cringed every time I searched the internet for things like "how many square miles does a nuclear bomb destroy".
 
Things to keep in mind regarding research for the book:
  1. Puerto Paz is fiction -  Although I tried to base it in reality as much as possible, including the reality of various political philosophies and human psychology and sociology, I am at liberty to interpret the world and my research however I please. Also, one could spend a lifetime researching politics, psychology, and sociology, and still not come to definitive conclusions, but hopefully this book and website will get you thinking and asking good questions, in addition to entertaining you.​
Good sources of information and research that helped form the ideas in the book, or that help support ideas in the book:
  1. A FEB 6, 2012 article in The Atlantic by THOMAS BYRNE EDSALL ("Studies: Conservatives Are From Mars, Liberals Are From Venus") -  Although I didn't discover this article until June of 2017 while my 3rd draft of the book was already in the hands of my Beta readers, I did find it one of the most comprehensive, yet succinct and well organized, sources of information about the differences between how Conservatives and Liberals view the world.
  2. Books by psychologists/sociologists:
    1. "​Just Babies" by Paul Bloom
      1. ​A superb book that I found little to nothing to object to.
    2. "The Righteous Mind" by Jonathan Haidt
      1. ​I take many exceptions to Haidt's methods and conclusions, but it was a useful resource nonetheless. He truly lost my confidence in him though as I read about his experiences in India dealing with the caste system there. He seemed to come to the conclusion that the caste system in India was a great thing, as he lived and spent his time with those in the upper classes of that caste system, surrounding himself with the "winners" of that system who have undoubtedly convinced themselves that the "losers" of that system are fine with it, and deserve to be at the bottom... I wonder if he would have come to the same conclusions had he lived with the untouchables. He also lost my confidence when describing the conclusions he came to about how people have innate "nature" reactions to  psychological stimuli in his tests... as if those peoples' reactions weren't influenced by their 18+ years of "nurture" culture that they experience prior to stepping into his psychological laboratory. I think he is way too confident that his tests are capable of weeding out a person's cultural history.
      2. ​I might expand on my thoughts on this later, getting into more specific notes I took as I read the book.
  3. The book "Beyond Left and Right" by Lawrence Chickering:
    1. ​I take many exceptions to Chickering's conclusions about how to overcome the chasm between liberals and conservatives, but I discovered this book in the 1990's, and it heavily influenced my thoughts on the 4 major extremes of the political spectrum: order conservative, order liberal, freedom conservative, and freedom liberal.
      1. ​I might expand on my thoughts on this later, getting into more specific notes I took as I read the book.
  4. A plethora of online articles and resources, many that are referenced in my Flipboard online magazine called "PUERTO PAZ DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH".​
  5. Podcasts of radio shows that can be heard on NPR radio stations that sometimes got me thinking and researching particular issues:
    1. The TED Radio Hour
    2. Freakonomics
    3. Innovation Hub
    4. Marketplace
    5. ​Science Friday
  6. The Thom Hartmann Radio Show: I only listened to it during the few years of the Bush administration when Air America Radio existed, but he was superb at explaining how important the concept of The Commons and public good are. He was also great at inviting callers and guests of extreme opposition views onto his program for a rational, polite, yet aggressive debate... something I never witness on conservative shows like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, or Bill O'Reilly. Conservative opinion shows seem to only want to hear from people who agree with themselves, and are frequently nasty and uncivilized.
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