Difficult Times A Fresh Look At Democracy In Modern America [Paperback]

Difficult Times: A Fresh Look at Democracy in Modern America is a book on why America is so distressed, angry and divided and why our politics are so badly broken. It delves more deeply than conventional works into the issues we face and our political troubles to offer a fresh look to understand why we are in such difficult straits. America has always been a nation of doers, ready and mostly able to fix what needs fixing. But, why cant we now get at solving our major problems? Why are our politics so starkly split and dysfunctional? Why are we, across the political spectrum, so angry, insecure, decreasingly tolerant and increasingly dogmatic? We need to know: you cant fix what you dont understand. We have not understood what ails democracy in modern America. We need a fresh look at how and why we have gotten here, to seek the underlying causes of the angry national malaise. That is what Difficult Times seeks to do. In a very few words, what ails modern America are the interlocking effects of the ideas, economy and culture, and politics of the modern world. There are three sets of causes which, like chemicals in a test tube, are especially combustible when mixed. First, the dominant ideas of the modern world-view, secular materialism and contemporary individualism, have wounded the psyches and, if one can be so bold as to use the word, the souls of many Americans. Secular materialism is at odds with faith, spirituality and religion. Contemporary individualism makes it easy to avoid personal responsibility and self-reliance. These ideas have alienated and angered many traditional and religious Americans and have left holes in the hearts of many who are not. They have led to divisive changes in the old national moral code. Moreover, our economic and political thinking has been taken over by an extreme free market ideology which Adam Smith would have disdained. The second set of causes come from the forces of modern mass society and culture. For a majoritl6