The 2020 huge and historic election records the highest number of popular votes; oldest person to win the presidency; and first woman and first woman of color elected as Vice President -- a remarkable achievement in a nation beset by deep political divisions; mounting civil unrest over racial injustices; continuing global pandemic; major economic downfalls; and serious climate issues on all levels -- physical, social, and emotional. Temperatures are running high, with Democrats celebrating the Biden-Harris victory, and Republicans alleging voter fraud, ignited by Trump's refusal to concede the election, as the world tunes in.
The United States is moving forward into a new year and new era, however we cast our votes, and it's fitting to take stock through informed reading and deeper conversation about political process, the meaning of democracy, and other influences shaping our health as a nation. Our next Everett Cafe book display, Coming Together: Post Election, invites us to reflect on this unprecedented time, while encouraging greater unity as educators and citizens.
click "Learn" and "Read" to explore .
Dear America:
Letters of Hope, Habitat, Defiance, and Democracy
by Simmons Buntin, et al
x
In The Securitarian Personality, John R. Hibbing argues that an intense desire for authority is not central to those constituting Trump's base. Drawing from participant observation, focus groups, and especially an original, nationwide survey of the American public that included over 1,000 ardent Trump supporters, Hibbing shows that what Trump's base really craves is actually a specific form of security.
The End of White Politics:
How to Heal Our Liberal Divide
by Zerlina Maxwell
x
In changing times and demographics, Maxwell shows how and why progressives can lean into identity politics, empowering marginalized groups, and uniting under a common vision that will benefit us all.
Accessible Elections:
How the States Can Help Americans Vote
by Michael Ritter and Caroline J. Tolbert
x
Why are state governments are making it easier for us to participate in elections? Same day registration, automatic voter registration, early voting, mail voting, and no-excuse absentee voting help strenghten democratic government, as seen in the 2020 general election.
The American Crisis:
What Went Wrong. How We Recover
by Writers of The Atlantic and Cullen Murphy
x
Why are state governments are making it easier for us to participate in elections? Same day registration, automatic voter registration, early voting, mail voting, and no-excuse absentee voting help strenghten democratic government, as seen in the 2020 general election.
The Art of Gathering:
How We Meet and Why It Matters
by Priva Parker
x
Where are people and what happens to them at the center of every coming together -- whether it's a family celebration, religious service, or political demonstration. As social beings, we gather in different ways. In democracies, our freedom to assemble may help us think collectively, express our dreams, voice outrarguments, heal the past, trust eachother, and connect us to a larger purpose.
Bases Loaded:
How U.S. Presidential Campaigns Are Changing and Why It Matters
by Costas Panagopoulos
x
Over the past few decades, political campaign strategy in U.S. elections has experienced a fundamental shift towards political partisanship -- a phenomenon influencing increased turnout rates among strong partisans and rising partisan polarization. Why do campaigns matter- - not only for election outcomes, but also for political processes in the US and for American democracy?
Citizens Uniting to Restore Our Democracy
by Daniel Kemmis
x
Even as we become more polarized along partisan and ideological lines, author Daniel Kemmis reminds us that authentic conservatism and progressivism are both deeply rooted in genuine human concerns and in the shared history of our democratic republic. How are citizens uniting efectively to restore democracy?
Cosmopolitanism and Its Discontents
by Lee Ward
x
This work brings together the great thinkers in the history of political philosophy, as well as contemporary reflections on the problems and possibilities of international relations, human rights, multiculturalism, and dominant theories of democracy and the state.
Hoax:
Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth
by Brian Stelter
x
What do you think of major news television channels and their influence on our understanding of government? Hoax exposes the media personalities who are morally bankrupt and profit by promoting the President's agenda -- radicalizing the American right.
The Kids Are All Left:
How Young Voters Will Unite America
by David Fris
x
Demographic apocalypse? As young voters increasingly favor the left, policy transformations may result and end partisan gridlock that has gripped the nation over the past thirty years. America in the 21st century, voters, and majority rule are brought to bear.
A More Perfect Reunion:
Race, Integration, and the Future of America
by Calvin Baker
x
Can we move beyond diversity, representation, and desegregation towards full determination and participation of all African-Americans, and all other oppressed groups in all facets of American life? Integration is key to the future.
The New Town Hall:
Why We Engage Personally with Politicians
by Gina M. Masullo
x
Drawing on in-depth interviews with a wide variety of Americans, this book answers two questions: How and why do we personally engage with elected officials online and offline? The New Town Hall invites us to consider the nature of our gathering.
Our American Story:
The Search for a Shared National Narrative
by Joshua Claybourn
x
Unable to agree on first principles, we cannot agree on what it means to be American. As we dismantle or disregard symbols and themes that previously united us, can we replace them with stories and rites that unite our tribes and maintain meaning in our American identity?
Philadelphia Battlefields:
Disruptive Campaigns and Upset Elections In a Changing City
by John Kromer
x
Should the surprisingly successful outcomes achieved by outsider candidates in Philadelphia elections be interpreted as representing fundamental changes in the local political environment, or simply as one-off victories, based largely on serendipitous circumstances that advanced individual political careers?
The Priority of the Person:
Political, Philosophical, and Historical Discoveries
by David Walsh
x
In The Securitarian Personality, John R. Hibbing argues that an intense desire for authority is not central to those constituting Trump's base. Drawing from participant observation, focus groups, and especially an original, nationwide survey of the American public that included over 1,000 ardent Trump supporters, Hibbing shows that what Trump's base really craves is actually a specific form of security.
x
Rage is an unprecedented and intimate tour de force of new reporting on the Trump presidency as it faced a global pandemic, economic disaster and racial unrest.
The Securitarian Personality:
What Really Motivates Trump's Base and Why It Matters for the Post-Trump Era
by John R. Hibbing
x
In The Securitarian Personality, John R. Hibbing argues that an intense desire for authority is not central to those constituting Trump's base. Drawing from participant observation, focus groups, and especially an original, nationwide survey of the American public that included over 1,000 ardent Trump supporters, Hibbing shows that what Trump's base really craves is actually a specific form of security.
The Tao of Democracy:
Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works For All
by Tom Atlee
x
The Tao of Democracy illuminates new forms of collective citizenship that can help us achieve creative consensus without compromise, addressing the diversity and complexity of our society while preserving and utilizing our precious individuality.
Tightrope:
Americans Reaching for Hope
by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
x
Tightrope addresses the crisis in working-class America while focusing on solutions to mend a half century of governmental failure.
What Were We Thinking:
A Brief Intellectual History of the Trump Era
by Carlos Lozada
x
What Were We Thinking is an intellectual history of the Trump era in real time, helping us transcend the battles of the moment and see ourselves for who we really are.
