Blessed are the Cynical: How Original Sin Can Make America a Better PlacePolls report that 73% of Americans believe people are born good. Coupled with the narcissistic mandate to "find oneself," this current American ethos has created a society of self-absorbed, uninformed, and overly optimistic individuals. At the same time, however, there is a growing sense of dissatisfaction-faced with the imbalance of wealth and declining education and moral standards, Americans are left with the impression that things are not as good as they seem. In Blessed are the Cynical, Mark Ellingsen contends that American optimism and dissatisfaction are directly linked.Ellingsen believes that our problems and failure to solve them are primarily caused by society's naively optimistic view of human nature. He argues that America's therapeutic, feel-good culture has corrupted politics, education, and business, and shows how a renewal of Christian values can bring America back to its biblical and Constitutional roots and help us find fresh ways of addressing our social problems.Blessed are the Cynical should foster debate among political and social analysts, cultural leaders, and members of the Christian community. Straightforward and fascinating, it is an erudite analysis of American culture that will appeal to socially conscious Christians. |
Contents
Acknowledgments | 9 |
The Augustinian Understanding of Reality | 33 |
Augustinian Realism and the American Constitutional | 51 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
affirmation African-American agenda Alexander Hamilton Allan Bloom Ameri American public American religion American society Augus Augustine Augustine's Augustinian view Augustinian vision Barna Research Online become believed Black campaign celebrity Christian Christopher Lasch church commitments Common Sense Common Sense Realism concupiscence Constitution contemporary culture Culture of Narcissism cynicism debate decline denominations doctrine of original dynamics economy elite Enlightenment ethnic evident federal Federalist Papers founders Francis Hutcheson Gallup Poll Monthly human nature Ibid impact insights institutions interests James Madison kids labor force less lifestyle mainline Protestants marriage meritocracy narcissism narcissist ness noted optimism optimistic view original sin parents political realism reality recent religious result schools self-fulfillment self-interest selfish Sennett social statistics strand suppositions theological thinking Thomas Jefferson Thomas Reid tion today's trends U.S. Census Bureau view of human W. W. Norton workers worldview York