Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times

Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times PDF Author: Nancy G. Bermeo
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691214131
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
For generations, influential thinkers--often citing the tragic polarization that took place during Germany's Great Depression--have suspected that people's loyalty to democratic institutions erodes under pressure and that citizens gravitate toward antidemocratic extremes in times of political and economic crisis. But do people really defect from democracy when times get tough? Do ordinary people play a leading role in the collapse of popular government? Based on extensive research, this book overturns the common wisdom. It shows that the German experience was exceptional, that people's affinity for particular political positions are surprisingly stable, and that what is often labeled polarization is the result not of vote switching but of such factors as expansion of the franchise, elite defections, and the mobilization of new voters. Democratic collapses are caused less by changes in popular preferences than by the actions of political elites who polarize themselves and mistake the actions of a few for the preferences of the many. These conclusions are drawn from the study of twenty cases, including every democracy that collapsed in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution in interwar Europe, every South American democracy that fell to the Right after the Cuban Revolution, and three democracies that avoided breakdown despite serious economic and political challenges. Unique in its historical and regional scope, this book offers unsettling but important lessons about civil society and regime change--and about the paths to democratic consolidation today.

Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times

Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times PDF Author: Nancy G. Bermeo
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691214131
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
For generations, influential thinkers--often citing the tragic polarization that took place during Germany's Great Depression--have suspected that people's loyalty to democratic institutions erodes under pressure and that citizens gravitate toward antidemocratic extremes in times of political and economic crisis. But do people really defect from democracy when times get tough? Do ordinary people play a leading role in the collapse of popular government? Based on extensive research, this book overturns the common wisdom. It shows that the German experience was exceptional, that people's affinity for particular political positions are surprisingly stable, and that what is often labeled polarization is the result not of vote switching but of such factors as expansion of the franchise, elite defections, and the mobilization of new voters. Democratic collapses are caused less by changes in popular preferences than by the actions of political elites who polarize themselves and mistake the actions of a few for the preferences of the many. These conclusions are drawn from the study of twenty cases, including every democracy that collapsed in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution in interwar Europe, every South American democracy that fell to the Right after the Cuban Revolution, and three democracies that avoided breakdown despite serious economic and political challenges. Unique in its historical and regional scope, this book offers unsettling but important lessons about civil society and regime change--and about the paths to democratic consolidation today.

Ordinary Days, Extraordinary Times

Ordinary Days, Extraordinary Times PDF Author: Cheryl C. Turkington
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780615767413
Category : Irish Americans
Languages : en
Pages : 103

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Book Description


Extraordinary Times, Extraordinary Beings

Extraordinary Times, Extraordinary Beings PDF Author: Wayne S. Peterson
Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing
ISBN: 1612833012
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
All major religions of the world are expecting him. Christians know him as the Christ. Jews are still awaiting the Messiah. Hindus anticipate the coming of Krishna. Muslims are expecting the Imam Mahdi. And Buddhists call him the Fifth (Maitreya) Buddha. The names are all different, but many believe they all refer to the same person: a world Teacher who is among us now, and is called Maitreya. But he does not come as a religious leader. He is here as a guide for people of all religions, all countries, all societies. In this age of crisis, he is here to inspire all of us to put down the sword of religious, social, and economic strife, and to seek justice based on sharing and global cooperation of the human family. His message is that of all great teachers of the ageless wisdom: peace, love, the golden rule. Some very prominent world leaders and celebrities, and many others, are aware of Maitreya's reappearance, but are not yet prepared to go public due to the possible effect on their professional reputations/ however, many believe that it's just a matter of time before everyone will recognize that the world teacher is back, living among us. Wayne Peterson, a former American diplomat and director of the Fulbright Scholarship program, tells the story of his own extraordinary encounters with Maitreya, and why Maitreya has returned. It is a story of strange, fascinating events and penetrating wisdom and an inspirational message of hope for the future. It is a story that deals with nothing less than humanity's opportunity to redefine its institutions and beliefs based on the ancient wisdom common to all traditions. Above all, it is a story, both personal and planetary, of love, and of those extraordinary spiritual beings who embody it to the world.

An Extraordinary Year of Ordinary Days

An Extraordinary Year of Ordinary Days PDF Author: Susan Wittig Albert
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292723067
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
"In An Extraordinary Year of Ordinary Days, best-selling mystery novelist Susan Wittig Albert invites us to revisit one of the most tumultuous years in recent memory, 2008, through the lens of 365 ordinary days in which her reading, writing, and thinkingabout issues in the wider world--from wars and economic recession to climate change--caused her to reconsider and reshape daily practices in her personal life. Albert's journal provides an engaging account of how the business of being a successful working writer blends with her rural life in the Texas Hill Country and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico. As her eclectic daily reading ranges across topics from economics, food production, and oil and energy policy to poetry, place, and the writinglife, Albert becomes increasingly concerned about the natural world and the threats facing it, especially climate change and resource depletion. Asking herself, 'What does it mean? And what should I do about it",' she determines practical steps to take, such as growing more food in her garden, and also helps us to readers make sense of these issues and consider what our own responses might be. A thoughtful and thought-provoking 'book of days,' amplified with reading lists and quotations from a wide diversity of writers, An Extraordinary Year of Ordinary Days is a must-have addition for everyone's collection of writers' journals"--Cover, p. 4.

An Extraordinary Time

An Extraordinary Time PDF Author: Marc Levinson
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465096565
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
The decades after World War II were a golden age across much of the world. It was a time of economic miracles, an era when steady jobs were easy to find and families could see their living standards improving year after year. And then, around 1973, the good times vanished. The world economy slumped badly, then settled into the slow, erratic growth that had been the norm before the war. The result was an era of anxiety, uncertainty, and political extremism that we are still grappling with today. In An Extraordinary Time, acclaimed economic historian Marc Levinson describes how the end of the postwar boom reverberated throughout the global economy, bringing energy shortages, financial crises, soaring unemployment, and a gnawing sense of insecurity. Politicians, suddenly unable to deliver the prosperity of years past, railed haplessly against currency speculators, oil sheikhs, and other forces they could not control. From Sweden to Southern California, citizens grew suspicious of their newly ineffective governments and rebelled against the high taxes needed to support social welfare programs enacted when coffers were flush. Almost everywhere, the pendulum swung to the right, bringing politicians like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan to power. But their promise that deregulation, privatization, lower tax rates, and smaller government would restore economic security and robust growth proved unfounded. Although the guiding hand of the state could no longer deliver the steady economic performance the public had come to expect, free-market policies were equally unable to do so. The golden age would not come back again. A sweeping reappraisal of the last sixty years of world history, An Extraordinary Time forces us to come to terms with how little control we actually have over the economy.

The Magic of Ordinary Days

The Magic of Ordinary Days PDF Author: Ann Howard Creel
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101126965
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
The inspiration for the beloved film that became a TikTok sensation An extraordinary tale of one woman’s journey of resilience, courage, and self-discovery amidst the turmoil of World War II. Olivia Dunne, a studious minister’s daughter who dreams of becoming an archaeologist, never thought that WWII would affect her quiet life in Denver. But when an exhilarating flirtation reshapes her life, she finds herself in a rural Colorado outpost, married to a man she hardly knows. Overwhelmed by loneliness, Olivia tentatively tries to establish a new life, finding much-needed friendship and solace in two Japanese-American sisters from a nearby internment camp. When Olivia unwittingly becomes an accomplice to a crime that tests her beliefs about trust and love, she must confront her own desires and reconcile them with the harsh realities of the world around her.

An Ordinary Kid in Extraordinary Times

An Ordinary Kid in Extraordinary Times PDF Author: Roz Liberman
Publisher: Brown Books Kids
ISBN: 9781612544885
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
In a time when everything feels different and scary, an ordinary child must learn how to navigate the world in the midst of a global pandemic. But even though times are tough, she learns that if we make sure to support one another as a family and a community, we can get through anything--together.

Songs in Ordinary Time

Songs in Ordinary Time PDF Author: Mary McGarry Morris
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101199474
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 772

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Book Description
It's the summer of 1960 in Atkinson, Vermont. Maria Fermoyle is a strong but vulnerable divorced woman whose loneliness and ambition for her children make her easy prey for dangerous con man Omar Duvall. Marie's children are Alice, seventeen—involved with a young priest; Norm, sixteen—hotheaded and idealistic; and Benny, twelve—isolated and misunderstood, and so desperate for his mother's happiness that he hides the deadly truth he knows about Duvall. We also meet Sam Fermoyle, the children's alcoholic father; Sam's brother-in-law, who makes anonymous "love" calls from the bathroom of his failing appliance store; and the Klubock family, who—in contrast to the Fermoyles—live an orderly life in the house next door. Songs in Ordinary Time is a masterful epic of the everyday, illuminating the kaleidoscope of lives that tell the compelling story of this unforgettably family.

Liturgy of the Ordinary

Liturgy of the Ordinary PDF Author: Tish Harrison Warren
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 0830892206
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 189

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Book Description
Framed around one ordinary day, this book explores daily life through the lens of liturgy, small practices, and habits that form us. Each chapter looks at something author Tish Harrison Warren does in a day—making the bed, brushing her teeth, losing her keys—and relates it to spiritual practice as well as to our Sunday worship.

The Cubans

The Cubans PDF Author: Anthony DePalma
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 052552245X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
"[DePalma] renders a Cuba few tourists will ever see . . . You won't forget these people soon, and you are bound to emerge from DePalma's bighearted account with a deeper understanding of a storied island . . . A remarkably revealing glimpse into the world of a muzzled yet irrepressibly ebullient neighbor."--The New York Times Modern Cuba comes alive in a vibrant portrait of a group of families's varied journeys in one community over the last twenty years. Cubans today, most of whom have lived their entire lives under the Castro regime, are hesitantly embracing the future. In his new book, Anthony DePalma, a veteran reporter with years of experience in Cuba, focuses on a neighborhood across the harbor from Old Havana to dramatize the optimism as well as the enormous challenges that Cubans face: a moving snapshot of Cuba with all its contradictions as the new regime opens the gate to the capitalism that Fidel railed against for so long. In Guanabacoa, longtime residents prove enterprising in the extreme. Scrounging materials in the black market, Cary Luisa Limonta Ewen has started her own small manufacturing business, a surprising turn for a former ranking member of the Communist Party. Her good friend Lili, a loyal Communist, heads the neighborhood's watchdog revolutionary committee. Artist Arturo Montoto, who had long lived and worked in Mexico, moved back to Cuba when he saw improving conditions but complains like any artist about recognition. In stark contrast, Jorge García lives in Miami and continues to seek justice for the sinking of a tugboat full of refugees, a tragedy that claimed the lives of his son, grandson, and twelve other family members, a massacre for which the government denies any role. In The Cubans, many patriots face one new question: is their loyalty to the revolution, or to their country? As people try to navigate their new reality, Cuba has become an improvised country, an old machine kept running with equal measures of ingenuity and desperation. A new kind of revolutionary spirit thrives beneath the conformity of a half century of totalitarian rule. And over all of this looms the United States, with its unpredictable policies, which warmed towards its neighbor under one administration but whose policies have now taken on a chill reminiscent of the Cold War.