David Ellison wrote Repairing Our Divided Nation because he, like so many others, is frustrated with the division he sees in our nation, particularly when it comes to race and politics. In his desire to help create a better world for all - no matter one's color or political persuasion - Ellison studied the works of some of the world's most respected scholars and summaries of notable Supreme Court cases that continue to negatively impact society today. With malice toward none, Repairing Our Divided Nationoffers: - History lessons that should be required reading for all Americans. - A demand that Congress stop abdicating its responsibilities. - A plan for running our elections so the best people are sent to Washington to serve We the People. - A proposal for improving our schools' curricula and administration. - A call for guaranteeing that all Americans, no matter their color, wealth, or zip code, have a real chance at becoming economically self-reliant and living a life with dignity. This book concludes with four of the most important documents in America's history: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Amendments to the Constitution, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." Ellison believes that if every American did a deep dive into understanding each document's message, we would have the more perfect Union our Founders envisioned.

Why race remains the central political issue in America today Why have American policies failed to reduce the racial inequalities still pervasive throughout the nation? Has President Barack Obama defined new political approaches to race that might spur unity and progress? Still a House Divided examines the enduring divisions of American racial politics and how these conflicts have been shaped by distinct political alliances and their competing race policies. Combining deep historical knowledge with a detailed exploration of such issues as housing, employment, criminal justice, multiracial census categories, immigration, voting in majority-minority districts, and school vouchers, Desmond King and Rogers Smith assess the significance of President Obama's election to the White House and the prospects for achieving constructive racial policies for America's future. Offering a fresh perspective on the networks of governing institutions, political groups, and political actors that influence the structure of American racial politics, King and Smith identify three distinct periods of opposing racial policy coalitions in American history. The authors investigate how today's alliances pit color-blind and race-conscious approaches against one another, contributing to political polarization and distorted policymaking. Contending that President Obama has so far inadequately confronted partisan divisions over race, the authors call for all sides to recognize the need for a balance of policy measures if America is to ever cease being a nation divided. Presenting a powerful account of American political alliances and their contending racial agendas, Still a House Divided sheds light on a policy path vital to the country's future.

Studies the rising inequality in American society and addresses the need for a progressive, multiracial political coalition to combat that inequality.

The U.S. as a Divided Nation discusses contemporary wedge issues in U.S. society. It provides historical context, explains current processes, policy formation as well as political and social change under way in the United States in order to provide an outlook on how to bridge differences.

Difficult Times: A Fresh Look at Democracy in Modern America is a book on why America is so distressed, angry and divided and why our politics are so badly broken. It delves more deeply than conventional works into the issues we face and our political troubles to offer a fresh look to understand why we are in such difficult straits. America has always been a nation of doers, ready and mostly able to fix what needs fixing. But, why can't we now get at solving our major problems? Why are our politics so starkly split and dysfunctional? Why are we, across the political spectrum, so angry, insecure, decreasingly tolerant and increasingly dogmatic? We need to know: you can't fix what you don't understand. We have not understood what ails democracy in modern America. We need a fresh look at how and why we have gotten here, to seek the underlying causes of the angry national malaise. That is what Difficult Times seeks to do. Briefly, what ails modern America are the interlocking effects of the ideas, economy and culture, and politics of the modern world. There are three sets of causes which, like chemicals in a test tube, are especially combustible when mixed. First, the dominant ideas of the modern world-view, secular materialism and contemporary individualism, have wounded the psyches and, if one can be so bold as to use the word, the souls of many Americans. Secular materialism is at odds with faith, spirituality and religion. Contemporary individualism makes it easy to avoid personal responsibility and self-reliance. These ideas have alienated and angered many traditional and religious Americans and have left holes in the hearts of many who are not. They have led to divisive changes in the old national moral code. Moreover, our economic and political thinking has been taken over by an extreme free market ideology which Adam Smith would have disdained. The second set of causes come from the forces of modern mass society and culture. For a majority of Americans, even before the Great Crash, the American economy was not working nearly as well as advertised. Growing disparities in levels of income and wealth have created a class society in which the American dream has receded for much of the country. We feel at sea in the gales of mass culture, rapid change and lost community. Among other things, it is hard to be the active citizens the Founders considered the bedrock of the new republic when public affairs are dominated by mass media and money and the sense of local and national community have been much diminished. The third set of causes is what has happened to American politics. We are discomfited because our democracy is working poorly; our politics polarized, angry and dysfunctional; the Republicans captured by the hard Right while liberalism alienated itself from a large part of the country, including much of its old constituency. The nation's major problems are solvable with political will and skill, but our political system seems incapable to address them. Our politics and government have become dangerously dysfunctional. The forces which have bedeviled us as people and citizens have corroded the quality and democratic nature of our government. We have been dangerously drifting quite far from Lincoln's ideal-our ideal-of "government of the people, by the people and for the people". The book is motivated by hope and by compassion. The compassion is to grasp why people are so distressed, to be able to feel what is driving Americans, on all parts of the political spectrum, to so much anger, intolerance and fear. The hope is twofold: that, despite the depths of our difficulties, understanding can help us find our way; and that if we adjust our ideas and adopt better policies, we can redeem the American dream. Kirkus Review (of first edition): "An insightful study of American democracy....Challenging, informative, dire and yet, in the end, hopeful; this book will open minds-and very likely change a few of them."

Race, more than class or any other factor, determines who wins and who loses in American democracy.

Leading political innovation activist Katherine Gehl and world-renowned business strategist Michael Porter bring fresh perspective, deep scholarship, and a real and actionable solution, Final Five Voting, to the grand challenge of our broken political and democratic system. Final Five Voting has already been adopted in Alaska and is being advanced in states across the country. The truth is, the American political system is working exactly how it is designed to work, and it isn't designed or optimized today to work for us—for ordinary citizens. Most people believe that our political system is a public institution with high-minded principles and impartial rules derived from the Constitution. In reality, it has become a private industry dominated by a textbook duopoly—the Democrats and the Republicans—and plagued and perverted by unhealthy competition between the players. Tragically, it has therefore become incapable of delivering solutions to America's key economic and social challenges. In fact, there's virtually no connection between our political leaders solving problems and getting reelected. In The Politics Industry, business leader and path-breaking political innovator Katherine Gehl and world-renowned business strategist Michael Porter take a radical new approach. They ingeniously apply the tools of business analysis—and Porter's distinctive Five Forces framework—to show how the political system functions just as every other competitive industry does, and how the duopoly has led to the devastating outcomes we see today. Using this competition lens, Gehl and Porter identify the most powerful lever for change—a strategy comprised of a clear set of choices in two key areas: how our elections work and how we make our laws. Their bracing assessment and practical recommendations cut through the endless debate about various proposed fixes, such as term limits and campaign finance reform. The result: true political innovation. The Politics Industry is an original and completely nonpartisan guide that will open your eyes to the true dynamics and profound challenges of the American political system and provide real solutions for reshaping the system for the benefit of all. THE INSTITUTE FOR POLITICAL INNOVATION The authors will donate all royalties from the sale of this book to the Institute for Political Innovation.