Social Civics

Saving Free Speech…from Itself sets the tone for the fractious discussion of how the First Amendment should be interpreted in today’s society and how the free speech aspect of it should not be weaponized by individuals and groups whose agenda includes causing harm to innocent people. In an era of political correctness, race-baiting, terrorist incitement, the "Danish" cartoons, the shouting down of speakers, and, of course, "fake news", liberals and conservatives are up in arms both about speech and its excesses, and what the First Amendment means. Speech has been weaponized.

Many of us are facing unprecedented attacks on our democracy, our privacy, and our hard-won civil rights. If you're Black in the US, this is not new. As Colorlines editors Akiba Solomon and Kenrya Rankin show, Black Americans subvert and resist life-threatening forces as a matter of course. In this audiobook, leading organizers, artists, journalists, comedians, and filmmakers offer wisdom on how they fight white supremacy. It's a must-listen for anyone new to resistance work, and for the next generation of leaders building a better future.

Whether the issues are protest, labor, patriotism, or class division, it is clear that professional sports are no longer simply fun and games. Rather, the industry is a hotbed of fractures and inequities that reflect and even drive some of the most divisive issues in our country. The nine provocative and deeply personal essays in Full Dissidence confront the dangerous narratives that are shaping the current dialogue in sports and mainstream culture.

There's a critical debate taking place over one of our most treasured rights: free speech. We argue about whether it's at risk, whether college students fear it, whether neo-Nazis deserve it, and whether the government is adequately upholding it. But as P. E. Moskowitz provocatively shows in The Case Against Free Speech, the term has been defined and redefined to suit those in power, and in recent years, it has been captured by the Right to push their agenda. What's more, our investment in the First Amendment obscures an uncomfortable truth

With eye-opening research and inspiring interviews, The Revolution Generation is the first in-depth exploration of the world-changing activism and potential of people born between 1980 and 2000. Labeled Generation Y or Millennials, theirs is the first digitally fluent generation. From sex and dating, to parental relationships, to jobs and the economy, Millennials live within a dynamic interplay of technological advances and real world setbacks.

A groundbreaking, definitive work on how to build women's power. Keep Marching is a practical guide and highly researched examination of the barriers that hold women back and how to overcome them. Author Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner - the executive director of MomsRising, and a keynote speaker at the 2017 Women's March in Washington, D.C. - presents compelling data, timeless action plans, thought-provoking stories, a proactive agenda for change, and inspiration for how women can create change in their everyday lives and in the country as a whole.

New Hampshire - a small state with a small, distinct population - is nevertheless the beacon of American democracy. Since 1920, its residents have been the first in the nation to cast their votes in the presidential primaries. History has shown that if you want to be commander in chief, you have to win, or at least place a strong second, in New Hampshire. In Vote First or Die, Conroy reveals the inner workings of American politics through the unforgettable characters who populate the exceedingly influential state of New Hampshire.

Facts are and must be the coin of the realm in a democracy. Unfortunately, for citizens in the United States and throughout the world, distinguishing between fact and fiction - always a formidable challenge - is now more difficult than ever, as a constant stream of questionable information pours into media outlets. Lewis argues forcefully that while data points and factoids abound, it is much harder to get to the whole truth of complex issues in time for that truth to guide citizens, voters, and decision makers.

Soul of a Citizen awakens within us the desire and the ability to make our voices heard and our actions count. We can lead lives worthy of our convictions. Soul of a Citizen is an antidote to the twin scourges of modern life - powerlessness and cynicism. In his evocative style, Paul Loeb tells moving stories of ordinary Americans who have found unexpected fulfillment in social involvement. Through their example and Loeb's own wise and powerful lessons, we are compelled to move from passivity to participation.

If you care about social change but hate feel-good platitudes, Do It Anyway is the book for you. Courtney Martin's rich profiles of the new generation of activists dig deep, to ask the questions that really matter: How do you create a meaningful life? Can one person even begin to make a difference in our hugely complex, globalized world?

As a young woman, Democratic congresswoman Carolyn Maloney asked her grandmother for career advice. She was shocked by the reply: "Get married." Though much has changed for women since then, more has remained the same. On a January night in 2008, Maloney and her daughter attended a Hillary Clinton rally in New Hampshire. Men in the audience held "Iron My Shirt" posters aloft. This small incident provoked outrage, but it provided an important peephole onto larger problems that women face today.

From the Tea Party to Occupy Wall Street, however divergentt heir political views, these groups seem united by one thing: outrage over a system of power and influence that they feel has stolen their livelihoods and liberties. Increasingly, protesters on both ends of the political spectrum and the media are using the word corrupt to describe an elusory system of power that has shed any accountability to those it was meant to help and govern. But what does corruption and unaccountability mean in today's world?

Die Welt ist zum Verändern da, nicht zum Ertragen. Früher war die Zukunft besser. Heute scheint keiner zu glauben, dass es unseren Kindern mal besser gehen wird. Muss das so sein? Muss es nicht! Der Soziologe und erprobte Zukunftsarchitekt Harald Welzer entwirft uns eine gute, eine mögliche Zukunft: Darin gibt es Städte ohne Autos, Schulen ohne Gebäude, die Menschen erhalten ein Grundeinkommen, und Grenzen gibt es auch nicht mehr. Erfrischend und ermutigend zeigt Welzer: Die vielbeschworene Alternativlosigkeit ist in Wahrheit nur Phantasielosigkeit.

In the 2018 best seller The Case Against Impeaching Trump, Alan Dershowitz lamented how American political discourse has devolved into hypocrisy and the criminalization of political differences. Arguments to impeach Trump failed Dershowitz’s “shoe on the other foot test”, or his political golden rule: Democrats must do unto Republicans what they would have Republicans do unto them, and vice versa. Since then, we’ve only become more divided. The Case Against the Democratic House Impeaching Trump includes and expands upon Dershowitz’s 2018 book.

Before the Civil War, colonization schemes and black laws threatened to deport former slaves born in the United States. Birthright Citizens recovers the story of how African American activists remade national belonging through battles in legislatures, conventions, and courthouses.

Every major decision governing our diverse, majority-female, and increasingly liberal country bears the stamp of the US Senate, yet the Senate allows an almost exclusively White, predominantly male, and radically conservative minority of the American electorate to impose its will on the rest of us. How did we get to this point? In Kill Switch, Adam Jentleson argues that shifting demographics alone cannot explain how Mitch McConnell harnessed the Senate and turned it into a powerful weapon of minority rule.

Following the 2016 election, writer Heather Lende was one of thousands of women inspired to take a more active role in politics. Though her entire campaign for assembly member in Haines, Alaska, cost less than $1,000, she won! But tiny, breathtakingly beautiful Haines isn't the sleepy town that it appears to be: from a bitter debate about the expansion of the fishing boat harbor to the matter of how to stop bears from rifling through garbage on Main Street we witness the nitty-gritty of passing legislation and how the polarizing national politics of our era play out in one small town.

At a critical time in American life, Parker J. Palmer looks with realism and hope at how to deal with our political tensions for the sake of the common good - without the shouting, blaming, or defaming so common in our politics today.

It’s hard to be excited about the future right now. Climate change is accelerating; inequality is growing; politics is polarised; institutions designed to protect us are strained; technology is disrupting the world of work. We need to upgrade the operating systems of our society. Jess Scully asks, what can we do? The answer is: plenty! All over the world, people are refusing the business-as-usual mindset and putting humans back into the civic equation, reimagining work and care, finance and government, urban planning and communication, to make them better and fairer for all.

In Dare to Speak, Suzanne Nossel, a leading voice in support of free expression, delivers a vital, necessary guide to maintaining democratic debate that is open, freewheeling but at the same time respectful of the rich diversity of backgrounds and opinions in a changing country. Centered on practical principles, Nossel’s primer equips listeners with the tools needed to speak one’s mind in today’s diverse, digitized, and highly divided society without resorting to curbs on free expression.