| Description |
244 pages ; 25 cm. |
| Series |
The Joanna Jackson Goldman memorial lecture on American civilization and government |
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Joanna Jackson Goldman memorial lecture on American civilization and government.
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| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 227-238) and index. |
| Contents |
1. Restoring the Body Politic -- 2. Possessing Our Common Stories -- 3. One People, One Story -- 4. Forcing One Story on the Many -- 5. Plural Possessors, Single Intentions -- 6. The Exclusivists' Stories -- 7. Association over Community -- 8. Argument, Conversation, and Story -- 9. Storied Places, Where Healing Can Begin -- 10. The Constitutional Myth -- 11. Cohesive Sentiment. |
| Summary |
E pluribus unum no longer holds. Out of the many have come as many claims and grievances, all at war with the idea of one nation undivided. The damage thus done to our national life, as too few Americans seek a common good, is Martin Marty's concern. His book is an urgent call for repair and a personal testament toward resolution. |
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Although the grand story of oneness eludes us (and probably always will), Marty reminds us that we do have a rich, ever-growing, and ever more inclusive repertory of myths, symbols, histories, and, most of all, stories on which to draw. He pictures these stories, with their diverse interpretations, as part of a conversation that crosses the boundaries of groups. Where argument polarizes and deafens, conversation is open-ended, guided by questions, allowing for inventiveness, fair play, and dignity for all. It serves as a medium in Marty's broader vision, which replaces the restrictive, difficult, and perhaps unattainable ideal of "community" with the looser, more workable idea of "association." |
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An "association of associations" is what Marty contemplates, and for the spirit and will to promote it he looks to eighteenth-century motifs of sentiment and affection, convergences of intellect and emotion that develop from shared experience. And as this book so eloquently reminds us, America, however diverse, is an experience we all share. |
| Subject |
Political participation -- United States.
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Associations, institutions, etc. -- United States.
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Community life -- United States.
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Public interest -- United States.
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Common good.
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Associations, institutions, etc. (OCoLC)fst00819166
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Common good. (OCoLC)fst00869784
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Community life. (OCoLC)fst00871028
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Political participation. (OCoLC)fst01069386
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Public interest. (OCoLC)fst01082535
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United States. (OCoLC)fst01204155
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Associations, institutions, etc. -- États-Unis.
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Collection Le bien commun.
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Communauté -- États-Unis.
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Intérêt public -- États-Unis.
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Participation politique -- États-Unis.
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| Other Form: |
Online version: Marty, Martin E., 1928- One and the many. Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1997 (OCoLC)606081100 |
| ISBN |
0674638271 (alk. paper) |
|
9780674638273 (alk. paper) |
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