Blessed are the organized : grassroots democracy in America / Jeffrey Stout.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stout, Jeffrey.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political participation--United States.

Political participation.

Democracy--United States.

Democracy.

Religion and politics--United States.

Religion and politics.

Social movements--United States.

Social movements.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (369 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In an America where the rich and fortunate have free rein to do as they please, can the ideal of liberty and justice for all be anything but an empty slogan? Many Americans are doubtful, and have withdrawn into apathy and cynicism. But thousands of others are not ready to give up on democracy just yet. Working outside the notice of the national media, ordinary citizens across the nation are meeting in living rooms, church basements, synagogues, and schools to identify shared concerns, select and cultivate leaders, and take action. Their goal is to hold big government and big business accountable. In this important new book, Jeffrey Stout bears witness to the successes and failures of progressive grassroots organizing, and the daunting forces now arrayed against it. Stout tells vivid stories of people fighting entrenched economic and political interests around the country. From parents and teachers striving to overcome gang violence in South Central Los Angeles, to a Latino priest north of the Rio Grande who brings his parish into a citizens' organization, to the New Orleans residents who get out the vote by taking a jazz band through streets devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Stout describes how these ordinary people conceive of citizenship, how they acquire and exercise power, and how religious ideas and institutions contribute to their successes. The most important book on organizing and grassroots democracy in a generation, Blessed Are the Organized is a passionate and hopeful account of how our endangered democratic principles can be put into action.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Maps

Preface

Chapter One. The Responsibilities of a Citizen

Chapter Two. A Power Analysis

Chapter Three. Organizing for the Common Good

Chapter Four. Rites of Solidarity, Commitment, and Mourning

Chapter Five. Domination, Anger, and Grief

Chapter Six. Public Address

Chapter Seven. Ain't It Awful?

Chapter Eight. The Authority to Lead

Chapter Nine. On the Treatment of Opponents

Chapter Ten. Organize, Reflect, and Reorganize

Chapter Eleven. The Compelling Force of the Ideal

Chapter Twelve. Face-to-Face Meetings

Chapter Thirteen. The Passion of St. Rose

Chapter Fourteen. Blood and Harmony

Chapter Fifteen. Fathers and Sisters for Life

Chapter Sixteen. Pastors and Flocks

Chapter Seventeen. The Contested Sacred

Chapter Eighteen. Across Great Scars of Wrong

Chapter Nineteen. The Organizer President

Chapter Twenty Walking in Our Sleep

Acknowledgments

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612821035

9781282821033

1282821032

9781400836079

1400836077

OCLC:

677141403