Do not read this book if you wish to keep your head in the sand and believe we as Americans are on the right track. In this book, Kristof and Wudunn examine the plight of rural America and how current American policy regarding: education, employment, drug addiction, the treatment of the homeless, and mental health patients, impacts future generations. This book looks at the current tightrope we are walking regarding the future of democracy. Will America be able to withstand our divided nation? Or, our diminishing patience for differences of opinions? Can America continue to care for its citizens without a standardized health care system? Can we care for the mentally ill, or drug addicted citizens?
Thru their eyes, Kristof and Wudunn report on the once upon a time ‘haves’ turning into ‘the have nots’ within rural America. By way of generational story telling, the authors explore how America was once an economic powerhouse. Nothing could stop the engine of capitalism fueled by the belief in democracy. Then through the policies of the 60’s to present day, how we as a nation have failed to address the key issues previously mentioned. They lay the blame on no particular party or no one individual. They consider how each policy we implement must take into account the ‘have nots,’ the drug addicted, the homeless, the mentally ill, and those yearning for a better way of life.
There can be no blame, no game, and no shame. So yes, take your head out of the sand and read this well read, well written, and well researched book.
As Robert F. Kennedy once said addressing the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, “For history has placed us all, Northerners and Southerners, black and white, within a common border and under a common law: All of us, from the wealthiest and most powerful of men, to the weakest and hungriest of children, share one precious possession: the name ‘American.’”
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