Ours Was the Shining Future, David Leonhardt

 

Ours Was the Shining Future: The story of the American Dream by David Leonhardt

Started: March 10, 2024
Completed: March 17, 2024
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

A large portion of this book was well covered ground and it isn't pretty.  The conclusion was surprising to me.  I guess I live in a bubble of progressivism.  I'm really tired of being told what to do by the far right (the right bothers me less).  I've always seen progressivism as supporting freedom (yes, to a certain extent stopping military grade weapons in the hands of citizens has always seemed like a good idea because, somehow, someone who shouldn't have such a weapon seems to have no trouble getting one), but not stopping gun ownership.  So, I've always thought of myself as trying to find the line where your freedom intersects someone else's freedom and tried to come up with an approach that leaves each with as much freedom as possible.  In this sense (and probably others), I am a universalist.  I've never had much faith in what my wife calls, "tribalism," and this author addresses as "community."  So, I need to be louder about how much I value patriotism (though, nationalism seems a stretch too far).  Though I am personally a pacifist, I understand that a nation in a group of anarchic nations needs a military.  I understand the need to have a border so that the United States does not become overwhelmed and unable to help those who would flood into the country without some sort of restriction.  On the other hand, I don't like the USA being the police of the world (particularly when armies are simply not designed to be police).  I don't think that people who are genuinely at risk should be turned away when they show up at the border claiming asylum.  I feel like if we helped make the world a better place for everyone (there is that universalism again), then fewer people would feel the need to come to the United States--so, we should strive to make the world a better place where we can.  To me, these seem like basic and fundamental truths.  I am learning, however that others view those positions as disloyal to the USA.  I dunno, that is going to be a hard discussion.  I don't like lying.  I especially don't like misleading people for your own benefit.  That is just wrong.  That, to me, is evil.  The enormous greed is evil.  I just don't see how I can have a useful discussion with people who live in a world where misleading people is a good idea and where endless greed is just fine.  I guess that is where I draw my line.