Visions for a Compassionate America

Book excerpt: This book carries further what was brought in the previous book (Legends and Stories for a Compassionate America), from the present into the future. There is a thematic continuity between original Native American impulses (of the Iroquois in particular), the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and a twenty-first century impulse that strives to radically and peacefully transform American society. America is at a crossroads. We can choose a culture of denial, a growing politics of secrecy and the continual erosion of individual rights; or we can open the doors to new possibilities. This is both a personal and a national choice, which we are continuously facing. A new civil culture has emerged and grown progressively over the last sixty years. It is now gathering strength and visibility, offering America and the world something completely different from an economic globalization run amok. This movement is already creating new cultural values; promoting a fuller and participatory democracy that meets the needs of all; and fostering a sustainable economy. All elements of the vision add to each other, and form a new paradigm; they bring new meaning and possibilities to the American Dream. Luigi Morelli is also the author of A Revolution of Hope: Spirituality, Culture and Social Change