Begin by reading Deer Hunting with Jesus. In 2007 Joe Bageant anticipated and explained the rise of Donald Trump without ever mentioning his name or even dreaming that a Trump-style presidency could succeed.
He also makes us understand why 40% of eligible Americans didn't even bother to vote in the last election.
I grew up in a small eastern Pennsylvania coal town, son of a coal miner turned bricklayer and his homemaker wife. I worked as a bricklayer's helper every summer of high school and college. I understand the world of the blue-collar, working-class white in my guts and my bones.
If you don't share my background or something akin to to, and you are a liberal Democrat with aspirations of winning the White House and the Congress over the next four years, you really --- yes, REALLY --- must read this book.
The book also is a great argument for a liberal education. While we in higher ed labor mightily to graduate students capable of achieving gainful employment. that's never enough to guarantee either concerned citizens who will defend our democracy or even lifelong economically successful workers. Now, I know that the usual argument for a liberal education is "employers want employees who can think critically, flex to changing job demands, solve problems"... okay, yeh, sure.
But what our democracy --- and we ourselves --- need are well-educated citizens who will rise up when the times require rebellion and ensure that everyone gets a fair shake both politically and economically. Bageant cites Malcolm X for the proposition that revolution depends upon mass education. Now there's the best argument I know for universal liberal education. It's the only thing potentially capable of creating a society in which its citizens will insist upon economic and political justice.
No comments:
Post a Comment