The 2024 Presidential election is racing toward us at a time when the attitudes and demands of American voters are deeply polarized. Rather than offering a bridge, the two major parties’ presumptive nominees leavemany of us alarmed and alienated with a lingering sense that we may not really have a voice in this at all. Today we may ask ourselves: “How did we get here?!” Heather Cox Richardson is a Boston College history professor, an expert in American economic and political history, and exactly who you want at your dinner table to help make sense of it all.
“Democracy Awakening, Notes on the State of America,” provides a succinct and thoroughly cited explanation of the current conflict between opposing claims to the American ideal. In plain language, Richardson outlines how one side proclaims itself the heir to the founders’ promise of individual rights without federal government overreach and how the otherclaims the democratic ideal of all men created equal with unalienable rights. In other words, freedom from intrusive governance versus equal access to rights and freedoms guaranteed by governance.
In her spare and easily digestible book, Richardson traces the history of these opposing claims, then connects the dots through to the present day. The book makes the argument that democracy itself is at stake in understanding our history. It is surprisingly reassuring to know we have been at similar crossroads before, and yet critical to grasp what is at risk.
To be clear, while this book is not partisan in that it does not endorse one side or the other, Richardson is unequivocal in her warnings about Donald Trump and his followers. With direct comparisons to tyrants and dictators of history, she demonstrates that Trump’s rhetoric about reclaiming an idealized past is nothing short of willful ignorance of historical fact. She makes the case that when left unchecked, this ignorance has opened the door to fascism.
This is the book for those who want to know how we got here. While the book itself is a slight 253 pages, the citations fill an additional 16 pages. If your book group includes friends so divided that political discussion is off the table, consider choosing Richardson’s “Democracy Awakening.” It promises to ignite your liveliest discussions yet, while shining a light on what unites us: namely, being American.