Mate is kind of out of touch.

As I read Mate's A Reasonable Life, I couldn't help but be annoyed by his writing style. Throughout the portion which was made available on eRes, I found myself agreeing with his ideas, whilst abhorring his prose. He could not have written from a more smarmy, curmudgeonly, and annoying perspective. When he dramaticized drying clothes on clothespins in his backyard as if it were the most noble act that today's young'ns could never fathom, I literally had to prevent myself from projectile vomiting. It was like a textual embodiment of listening to stereotypical dull grandparents obnoxiously reminisce about "the good old days." I wanted to personally tell him to shut up several times. Despite his good intentions, his writing could not have been more alienating to today's youth, which is arguably the most important demographic for this type of writing to reach.

Granted, his point was well made. He presented the fact that driers account for
up to 10% of energy usage in the USA according to some estimates, which is a big deal no matter how you look at it, but he could not have been more old-man-ish, holier-than-thou about it. Throughout the entire text that I read, which was a good several chapters, I was increasingly put off by his perspective. "In the good old days we played ball in the alley and had way more fun than anyone in this day and age will ever have blah blah blah my generation was better than yours blah blah." I wanted to say "shut up" out loud several times as I read it.

His way of writing is at best a surefire way to turn off those who aren't already on board with these issues. There are ways to write about these issues that are not annoying, but Mate avoided doing so with fervor. This was the only required/suggested reading so far assigned in this class that I actually disliked, but oh boy, did I struggle to even finish reading it. Present your ideas in a more palatable format if you want to influence anyone, Mate.