Includes bibliographical references (pages 221-224).
Contents:
Prologue -- Strange defeat -- Four Americas -- Equal America -- Equalizers -- Make America again -- Epilogue
Summary:
In recent years, Americans have suffered one rude blow after another to their health, livelihoods, and collective self-esteem. A ruthless pandemic, extreme social divisions, and political discourse tainted by conspiracy theories have left many citizens in despair about their country and its democratic experiment. The nation's underlying conditions--discredited elites, weakened institutions, blatant inequalities--have been exposed with pitiless precision.... Packer traces the shocks back to their sources. He explores the four narratives that now dominate American life: Free America, which imagines a nation of separate individuals and serves the interests of corporations and the wealthy; Smart America, the world view of Silicon Valley and the professional elite; Real America, the white Christian nationalism of the heartland; and Just America, which sees citizens as members of identity groups that inflict or suffer oppression. Packer shows that none of these narratives can sustain a democracy. We must look for a common American identity and find it in the passion for equality that Americans of diverse persuasions have held for centuries. -- adapted from back cover.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.