By Gina M. Bennett
Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing
Gina Bennett has worked as a Senior Terrorism Analyst for the US Intelligence Community for twenty years. She is also the mother of five children. If anyone should be able to discuss the subject of terrorism intelligently, it is certainly Bennett. Before I read National Security Mom, I was hoping she would be able to shed some light on the subject of US national security and the growing threat of terrorism in a way that I could understand. And, as excited as I was to read her work, I couldn’t help but wonder—as a mother, a grandmother, and a widow—how “going soft” could or would make America strong.
Bennett’s honesty and knowledge as a career member of the Intelligence Community and gentle understanding as a mother meld together in a way that makes terrorism understandable and less fearful. She cleverly combines her years of parenting with her years of government service to create a heartfelt and extremely insightful way of making America strong. I was amazed at the manner in which she wove together her daily life and related basic parenting philosophies as a means to explain how we as a nation should and could deal with terrorism.
Bennett’s work is easy to read because her ideas and logic flow smoothly. They lead you in understanding her basic premise, which is that we can deal with terrorism using the same basic parenting skills that our grandmothers used, that our mothers used, and mothers today use every day. Tough talk isn’t the answer—basic logic, principles, and understanding are. In fact, it is so simplistic that one wonders why the country isn’t taking this approach right now.
The titles of the chapters alone should peak your interest: "An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure," "Timeouts Do Not Solve Everything," "Scrapbooking is a Requirement," "Tell the Truth," "Don’t Give in to a Bully," "Choose Your Friends Wisely," "The Strength of a Nation Derives from the Integrity of the Home," and "A Man’s Work is from Sun to Sun, but a Mother’s Work is Never Done." These titles demonstrate Bennett’s manner in approaching the subject of national security from a different point of view. She discusses the fact that the world expects “tough talk” when it comes to our national security and foreign policy. Without “tough talk” many feel that we will be considered weak or “soft.” Bennett is happy to be “soft” if it will help our nation with the ever present threat of terrorism.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading National Security Mom. It is comforting to know that there are people like Gina Bennett involved in government service. I feel certain that we will be hearing more from this amazing woman.
Bennett’s honesty and knowledge as a career member of the Intelligence Community and gentle understanding as a mother meld together in a way that makes terrorism understandable and less fearful. She cleverly combines her years of parenting with her years of government service to create a heartfelt and extremely insightful way of making America strong. I was amazed at the manner in which she wove together her daily life and related basic parenting philosophies as a means to explain how we as a nation should and could deal with terrorism.
Bennett’s work is easy to read because her ideas and logic flow smoothly. They lead you in understanding her basic premise, which is that we can deal with terrorism using the same basic parenting skills that our grandmothers used, that our mothers used, and mothers today use every day. Tough talk isn’t the answer—basic logic, principles, and understanding are. In fact, it is so simplistic that one wonders why the country isn’t taking this approach right now.
The titles of the chapters alone should peak your interest: "An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure," "Timeouts Do Not Solve Everything," "Scrapbooking is a Requirement," "Tell the Truth," "Don’t Give in to a Bully," "Choose Your Friends Wisely," "The Strength of a Nation Derives from the Integrity of the Home," and "A Man’s Work is from Sun to Sun, but a Mother’s Work is Never Done." These titles demonstrate Bennett’s manner in approaching the subject of national security from a different point of view. She discusses the fact that the world expects “tough talk” when it comes to our national security and foreign policy. Without “tough talk” many feel that we will be considered weak or “soft.” Bennett is happy to be “soft” if it will help our nation with the ever present threat of terrorism.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading National Security Mom. It is comforting to know that there are people like Gina Bennett involved in government service. I feel certain that we will be hearing more from this amazing woman.
Review by Paula M. Ezop
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