Bernard J. Mullin’s new book is Reimagining America’s Dream: Making It Attainable for All. Like any solid nonfiction book on an issue arguably beyond just the gray matter, encapsulation and expert summarization qualities are key. Like the ideal thesis statement for a paper, Reimagining America’s Dream summarizes its entirety in one sentence. From that, everything expands into specifics – but that core nugget, so expertly articulated, remains front and center.
URL: https://berniejmullin.com/
The perspective never wavers, the clarity shines, and ideologically it is probably one of the best-communicated nonfiction books I’ve had the opportunity to read starting this year. This is particularly admirable given the gravity of the subject matter at hand. “America is more divided today than it has been at any time in the last fifty years. The divisions in public life run so deep that they can often seem insurmountable.
Language that was once considered beyond the bounds of reasonable discourse is now common. Those on the other side are ‘traitors,’ ‘fascists,’ or ‘deplorables.’ They are ‘sick,’ ‘dangerous,’ and ‘deranged.’ They can be labeled as purveyors of a ‘mind virus,’ aiming at ‘the destruction of our republic,’ or perhaps simply as ‘enemies of the state.’ What makes this lack of national unity so dangerous is not that it is rooted in radically divergent ideologies and policy positions. After all, the deeply held political differences we see today are nothing new in America,” Mullin writes.
He also states, “…The groundwork for this crisis was laid more than a generation ago, with a series of small legislative and cultural steps that have led us to this breaking point. But the process has accelerated dramatically in the last decade and a half. Every year now, the divisions widen. Every year, more trust in our shared union slips away. Every year, the wounds in our national fabric become harder to heal… So how can we overcome the divisions and dissatisfactions that have led to talk of secession, violence, and civil war? The answer seems obvious to me: As moderates, we must take back our national politics from those who would push Americans further apart. We are the majority. We have the loudest voice and the greatest say—if we choose to use it. Yet breaking cover and reclaiming the town square can be a terrifying prospect for individuals. To make such a shift viable, we need to move together toward a common goal.”
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Reimagining-Americas-Dream-Bernie-Mullin/dp/0960124101
It’s a kind of pragmatic collectivist mindset Mullin advocates for. There’s a clear confidence, and a fluidity with which he speaks. These kinds of qualities showcase the genuine expertise behind what Mullin advocates for, in an era with cheap political sloganing and calls for a change not well thought out. Mullin is progressive in his thinking in the best sense. Someone genuinely invested in providing arguments for moving the society forward, and doing so in a manner that’s not radical, that makes sense, and boasts a refreshing sharp narrative and ideological focus. That is something to be seriously commended.
Garth Thomas