americanpolitics

JenReadsAlot

Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on life, love, and liberty | Hillary Rodham Clinton

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I really enjoyed listening to this

39 likes

britt_brooke

The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How the President Uses Mind Control | Steven Hassan

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

51 likes

sdbruening

The U.S. Constitution and Other Writings | Editors of Canterbury Classics

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Great collection of classic American documents, speeches, poems, etc. George Washington‘s speeches had a lot of big words that didn‘t say a whole lot. I also didn‘t know that it used to be first choice was made President and second choice was made Vice President. Teddy Roosevelt liked long, run-on sentences. The pledge of allegiance didn‘t originally have “under god” in it! President Eisenhower insisted it be added by Congress in 1954.

7 likes

Christine

Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right | Arlie Russell Hochschild

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Thinking I may need to shift to books that are about escaping our current reality, as I keep reading the opposite and it‘s heavy. 🙃 But this is a good one, by a well-known sociologist (still doing vital work in her mid-eighties!) and based on ethnographic research where she deeply studies and truly listens to those whom we might perceive as voting against their own interests. A powerful takeaway is Hochschild‘s assertion that many (who ⬇️

Christine perhaps feel shamed and disempowered themselves) are drawn to you-know-who because he turns shame into blame through an oft-repeated four-step anti-shame ritual:

1. Says something outrageous/horrific
2. Gets publicly shamed
3. Becomes the “victim” of the shaming
4. Roars back at the shamers.

Seems obvious, but framing in that way does provide some food for thought re: how to move forward, I think. 1mo

Deblovestoread I‘m definitely leaning into reads of a lighter tone but still trying to stay engaged with what is happening. Hard to find a balance in these times. Great review! 1mo

AlaMich I‘ve so often wondered why people vote for someone who so clearly doesn‘t give a you-know-what about them or their problems. 1mo

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TiredLibrarian I read this one of hers and found it insightful.