American Awakening

America has always been committed to the idea that citizens can work together to build a common world. Today, three afflictions keep us from pursuing that noble ideal. The first and most obvious affliction is identity politics, which seeks to transform America by turning politics into a religious venue of sacrificial offering. For now, the sacrificial scapegoat is the white, heterosexual, man. After he is humiliated and purged, who will be the object of cathartic rage? White women? Black men? Identity politics is the anti-egalitarian spiritual eugenics of our age. It demands that pure and innocent groups ascend, and the stained transgressor groups be purged. The second affliction is that citizens oscillate back and forth, in bipolar fashion, at one moment feeling invincible on their social media platforms and, the next, feeling impotent to face the everyday problems of life without the guidance of experts and global managers. Third, Americans are afflicted by a disease that cannot quite be named, characterized by an addictive hope that they can find cheap shortcuts that bypass the difficult labors of everyday life. Instead of real friendship, we seek social media “friends.” Instead of meals at home, we order “fast food.” Instead of real shopping, we “shop” online. Instead of counting on our families and neighbors to address our problems, we look to the state to take care of us. In its many forms, this disease promises release from our labors, yet impoverishes us all. American Awakening chronicles all of these problems, yet gives us hope for the future.

A healthy and united America--perhaps a country more united than it has ever been--is truly possible, and it starts with us. John Kingston draws on wisdom from history, science, faith, and culture, along with his own experiences, to offer eight principles for discovering purpose, meaning, and true community. We live in the greatest peace and prosperity that the world has ever known, but Americans are feeling more division, isolation, depression, and despair than ever before. These are issues of the soul. We seem unable to find purpose and meaning. We can't find "the life that is truly life"--a vibrant and purpose-filled way of living best experienced together. From his youth, Kingston has always carried a vision for a free and united America. With an approachable and conversational style, as well as a dash of humor, Kingston draws on a diverse and compelling collection of wisdom--the parables of the Bible and the philosophy of Aristotle, the legacy of Nelson Mandela and the speeches of Abraham Lincoln, the songs of Bruce Springsteen and current studies from the best neuro and social scientists today--to remind us that there is no "them," there is only us, and we're in this together. In American Awakening, Kingston offers eight timeless principles for breaking through this darkness and despair and cultivating a radical togetherness, both here in this country and around the globe. You'll discover the profound impact of: In-person connection Making more from less Discovering purpose Redeeming adversity Responding instead of reacting Finding your unique sense of belonging Wherever you find yourself politically or spiritually, a healthy and united America starts with you. Join the Awakening movement and let's rediscover who we are--together.

Following his New York Times best seller, Saving Freedom, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint's The Great American Awakening chronicles two tumultuous years from the presidential election of 2008 through the mid-term elections of 2010. Untold insider views of the controversial stimulus bill passage, corporate takeovers, and lesser-known executive actions that epitomize political paybacks and moral decay will further motivate DeMint's fellow citizens to reclaim their government and country in 2012. Just as fascinating, the South Carolina official talks openly about his seized upon high profile moments—from that "Waterloo" comment regarding health care reform to becoming known as "Senator Tea Party." He also addresses close-to-home disappointments such as the infidelity of Christian friends like Governor Mark Sanford and Senator John Ensign, and shares personal spiritual insights that came from being part of such public battles. But more than anything, The Great American Awakening champions the American people who now feel a powerful stirring in their souls to take on Washington and realign politics in this nation. DeMint tracks grass-roots developments, and new movements like the Freedom Congress, fully expecting a fundamental sea change for the better to happen soon. Acclaim for The Great American Awakening: "I have Senator DeMint on my show often because Americans know he'll tell the truth about what's wrong in Washington. His latest book is a riveting account about the fight for fiscal sanity in Congress. It's essential reading for anyone who wants to understand why so many Americans clued in and got involved with the Tea Party Movement in the last election. Senator DeMint was a huge part of this and I only hope he is as involved in the 2012 race for the White House as he was this past election." Sean Hannity, host of the nationally syndicated Sean Hannity Radio show and "Hannity" on Fox News

The election of America’s first black president has led many to believe that race is no longer a real obstacle to success and that remaining racial inequality stems largely from the failure of minority groups to take personal responsibility for seeking out opportunities. Often this argument is made in the name of the long tradition of self-reliance and American individualism. In Awakening to Race, Jack Turner upends this view, arguing that it expresses not a deep commitment to the values of individualism, but a narrow understanding of them. Drawing on the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Frederick Douglass, Ralph Ellison, and James Baldwin, Turner offers an original reconstruction of democratic individualism in American thought. All these thinkers, he shows, held that personal responsibility entails a refusal to be complicit in injustice and a duty to combat the conditions and structures that support it. At a time when individualism is invoked as a reason for inaction, Turner makes the individualist tradition the basis of a bold and impassioned case for race consciousness—consciousness of the ways that race continues to constrain opportunity in America. Turner’s “new individualism” becomes the grounds for concerted public action against racial injustice.

Based on in-depth interviews with tribal Sheiks involved in the Awakening and their American military counterparts, Confronting al Qaeda is a study of decision-making processes and the political psychology of the Sunni Awakening in al Anbar. It traces the change in American military strategy that made the Awakening collaboration between the Sunni tribes and the U.S. forces possible. It explains how the evolution of the tribal leaders’ perspective and of the American military strategy led to defeat al Qaeda in al Anbar. The process of these changing mutual images is detailed as well as how the cooperation between groups led to further evolution of perceptions. Political and military realities urgently forced these perceptual and social identity shifts initially, but the process of cooperation and engagement accelerated these shifts through increasingly mutually beneficial cooperation and interaction during the battle with al Qaeda in Iraq.

U.S Senator DeMint rallies Americans to look back at the political corruption in this country over the past two years and join together in taking back their government in 2012.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1. POVERTY AMONG JEWS -- The Culture of Poverty -- The Invisible Jewish Poor -- Jews Without Money, Revisited -- The Hasidic Poor in New York City -- 2. THE JEWISH RESPONSE TO THE JEWISH POOR -- Some Aspects of the Jewish Attitude Toward the Welfare State -- Concept of Tzedakah in Contemporary Jewish Life -- Our Jewish Poor: How Can They Be Served? -- Problems in Serving Chicago's Jewish Poor -- 3. THE JEWISH POOR AND THE WAR AGAINST POVERTY -- Why Jews Get Less: A Study of Jewish Participation in the Poverty Program -- Memorandum of Inspection Division Office of Economic Opportunity -- Re: Jewish Poverty -- 4. ON ENDING JEWISH POVERTY -- The Jewish Hospital and the Jewish Community -- A Systematic Approach to Poverty Policy -- Postscript: Elder's Lib New York Times -- Contributors -- Index