Bill Moyers on America today:
тАЬHere in the first decade of the twenty-first century the story that becomes AmericaтАЩs dominant narrative will shape our collective imagination and our politics for a long time to come. In the searching of our souls demanded by this challenge . . . kindred spirits across the nation must confront the most fundamental liberal failure of the current era: the failure to embrace a moral vision of America based on the transcendent faith that human beings are more than the sum of their material appetites, our country is more than an economic machine, and freedom is not license but responsibilityтАФthe gift we have received and the legacy we must bequeath.
тАЬAlthough our sojourn in life is brief, we are on a great journey. For those who came before us and for those who follow, our moral, political, and religious duty to make sure that this nation, which was conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all are equal under the law, is in good hands on our watch.тАЭ
тАФfrom тАЬFor AmericaтАЩs SakeтАЭ
People know Bill Moyers mostly from his many years of┬аpath-breaking journalism on television. But he is also one of AmericaтАЩs most sought-after public speakers. His appearances draw┬аsell-out crowds across the country and are among the most reproduced on the Web. тАЬAnd one reason,тАЭ writes noted journalist Bill McKibben, тАЬis that Moyers pulls no punches. His understanding of AmericaтАЩs history is at least as deep as his understanding of Christian tradition, which is an integral part of his background . . . With his feet firmly planted in the deepest American traditions, Bill Moyers is helping to keep alive an oratorical tradition that is fading after two centuries. Trained by his career in broadcasting, he writes for the ear, his cadences and his repetitions timed to bring an audience to full realization of its role and its power.тАЭ
And that is the message of this book. Moyers on Democracy collects many of Bill MoyersтАЩs┬аmost moving statements to connect the dots on what is happening to our countryтАФthe twinned growth of private wealth and public squalor, the assault on our Constitution, the undermining of the electoral process, the accelerating class war against ordinary (and vulnerable) Americans inherent in the growth of economic inequality, the dangers of an imperial executive, the attack┬аon the independence of the press, the despoiling of the earth we share as our common giftтАФand to rekindle the readerтАЩs conviction that тАЬthe gravediggers of democracy will not have the last word.тАЭ Richly insightful and alive with a fierce, abiding love for our country, Moyers on Democracy is essential reading in this fateful presidential year.