Our future is bound up in a decision: Will we view our community through the prism of politics? Or will we view our politics through the prism of our community? If you think we can still get good work done together; if you think our communities should come first and our politics should be seen in that light, this book is for you and lays out a pathway to that future. If you do not see yourself as a conservative, but you do see yourself as a neighbor willing to work together with those who are likewise willing to work together with you, this book might surprise you. But if you're too busy to engage with your neighbors and fixing what is broken is someone else's job, there might not be anything here of interest. This might look like a book about politics. It is – secondly. It is first a book about community and belonging. While we're pushed away from each other by those who view community through the prism of politics, there is something we can do about this. Here you will read what those things look like from a conservative point of view. If you pay attention to political news, you'll recognize some of these things; you'll be surprised by others. Here is what you will find.
• The number of those who remember Ronald Reagan – and why his ideas mattered – are getting smaller because – well – we are dying.
• The single most important question we must ask, and what our answer will mean for our communities, our life together across racial lines and for the unique significance of multiculturalism in America.
• How today's culture places belonging before believing. Ideas matter, but the right to be heard on the issues of the day simply must be earned.
• Why government works best when communities nurture a sense of ownership, responsibility and community – and how this produces an essential sense of dignity.
• The roots of social conservative thinking – and the surprising reasons why it calls us to a stronger commitment to our neighbors.
• The roots of fiscal conservative thinking – and how those who sympathize with 'Tea Party' groups actually have something in common with those who sympathize with 'Occupy Wall Street' groups.
• A conservative argument for 'collective bargaining' as a natural right – and how Organized Labor has all but destroyed their own members' future.
• The real roots of our immigration problem – which has nothing whatsoever to do with securing the border.
• A conservative view of the courts – through the eyes of ordinary neighbors who serve on a jury.
• Why it is so important to ask the 'right question' about civil liberties in the digital age – especially in light of the recent NSA data mining scandal.
• How the conscience of the soldier must remain at the center of our debates on foreign policy and the use of U.S. military power.
• A conservative view of the environment - and how we can work together as neighbors on innovative ways to preserve it.
• The need to value 'thought leadership' over test scores in determining our educational direction.
In all of this, political labels are actually more important than ever – if they are used to identify and describe ideas instead of as tools of ridicule used to polarize and personalize political discussion. We can recover our politics as a means to reconcile competing interests, ideas and priorities – if we are willing to start with our community, belong to our neighbors and then interpret our politics through the prism of our community. If a future our kids can look to with confidence is worth working for, scroll up on this page and click the 'Buy' button. A surprising conservative view of the future awaits.
