Common sense is the foundation of thinking and of human action. It is the indispensable basis for making our way in the world as individuals and in community with others, and the starting point for finding truth and building scientific knowledge. The philosophy of common-sense realism deeply informed the American Founders’ vision for a self-governing people, in a society where leaders and average citizens share essentially the same understanding of reality—of what simply makes sense. But today our confidence in the value and reliability of common sense has been badly shaken. Deep thinkers have rejected it. Elites have learned to disdain it. We’re told that we have moved into a more sophisticated world, where common sense is passé and the very concept of truth is outmoded. Indeed, the Oxford Dictionaries selected “post-truth” as the Word of the Year for 2016. Do we actually live in a post-truth reality? Have we moved beyond common sense? Can we? In this book, Robert Curry exposes the absurdity of the attacks on common sense, and demonstrates that we still live and move in the realm of common sense in our every waking moment. Drawing from philosophy and literature, science and psychiatry, Reclaiming Common Sense helps us regain our trust in the “superpower” we all have in common, while reminding us that we cannot get along without it.

What Thomas Paine did for the American Revolution with the publication of Common Sense, Marilyn Ferguson does for the transpersonal revolution. Marilyn Ferguson is one of the preeminent thinkers, gatherers, and interpreters of research on the cutting-edge fields of human consciousness. The Aquarian Conspiracy, published in 1980, has sold millions of copies, is continuously in print, and was hailed as the "handbook of the New Age," by USA Today. In her newer book, Aquarius Now, movement pioneer Ferguson reexamines the paradigm shift to a more mindful society. She sees us caught in a mindless materialism that threatens our material existence. We are seduced by what she calls the ‘Cult of Numbers’, obsessed with competition, with winning and losing, afraid of anything that can't be seen or measured, and in the grip of an economic model that says only that which generates economic growth is worth pursuing. What can we do? Ferguson boldly tells the truth--we have no enemy except ourselves and the mess we've made individually and collectively by refusing to see what we're doing to our own bodies, to society, and the Earth itself. We've refused to consider the clues in front of our faces. The imbalance we see outside ourselves only mirrors the imbalance within. The way to heal the imbalance is to heal ourselves. The way to heal ourselves is to pay attention, to witness. We need to take responsibility for our own actions. We need to heed the words of the myriad teachers and skills at our disposal. We need to learn to rely on our own "radical common sense." The task is not to climb a mountain, but to navigate a river. We have to stop thinking of ourselves as conquerors and start thinking of ourselves as fellow travelers' with other human beings and every living being on this planet, including the planet itself. Ferguson dares to ask the question, "Can we change?" and concludes that we can and we must change. The Age of Aquarius will occur when we want it to occur.

A proud, empowering introduction to African American history that celebrates and honors enslaved ancestors Your story begins in Africa. Your African ancestors defied the odds and survived 400 years of slavery in America and passed down an extraordinary legacy to you. Beginning in Africa before 1619, Your Legacy presents an unprecedentedly accessible, empowering, and proud introduction to African American history for children. While your ancestors’ freedom was taken from them, their spirit was not; this book celebrates their accomplishments, acknowledges their sacrifices, and defines how they are remembered—and how their stories should be taught.

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This sentence is perfectly familiar. We know it as a core principle of our founding. But few, if any of us consider why Jefferson wrote it in exactly this way. Why “unalienable rights” and not simply rights? Why “self-evident” truths and not simply truths? Why does the Declaration make these distinctions? Do they really matter? If these questions are challenging or Jefferson’s words seem esoteric, it is because we no longer conduct our politics in the language of the Founders and we are no longer able to think as they once thought. In Congress and the media, political arguments are advanced by a torrent of policy studies and “expert” opinions—not on the basis of self-evident truths, unalienable rights, and definitely not in the language of the Founders. Common Sense Nation is a potent re-introduction to the political ideas of the Founders—in their own words and on their terms. It is dedicated to the proposition that the only way to fully unlock the profound and distinctive power of American self-government is to understand it as its inventors did. Common Sense Nation reclaims the language of liberty from entities that prefer to interpret our freedoms for us. For in knowing the Founders as they knew themselves, readers will learn the surprising depths of their own political powers as American citizens.

A celebration of the gospel anthem and Civil Rights protest song "We Shall Overcome," masterfully brought to life by Caldecott Honor recipient and a nine-time Coretta Scott King Award winner Bryan Collier. "We Shall Overcome" is one of the most recognizable anthems of the Civil Rights movement, widely performed at protests and rallies to promote nonviolent civil rights activism. Now, these inspirational, empowering, legendary lyrics are brought to life with the stirring, evocative, and breathtaking illustrations from multi-award-winning talent Bryan Collier. Powerfully imagined for the present moment, Collier's illustrations meld the most emblematic moments of the twentieth-century Civil Rights movement with the present day, depicting the movements, protests, and demonstrations -- big and small -- as the fight for justice continues. With illustrations full of depth, tenderness, and expression, and offering historical context while remaining powerfully relevant to the present-day, this impactful picture book is a must-have for every home, classroom, and bookshelf.

This powerful picture book introduces young readers to a key event in the struggle for Civil Rights. Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Award. In 1963 Birmingham, Alabama, thousands of African American children volunteered to march for their rights after hearing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak. They protested the laws that kept black people separate from white people. Facing fear, hate, and danger, these children used their voices to change the world. Frank Morrison's emotive oil-on-canvas paintings bring this historical event to life, while Monica Clark-Robinson's moving and poetic words document this remarkable time. I couldn't play on the same playground as the white kids. I couldn't go to their schools. I couldn't drink from their water fountains. There were so many things I couldn't do.