Rebooting American prosperity in the 21st century -- Why America's greatest days are yet to come.
by James C. Bennett and Michael J Lotus
Publisher: Encounter Books (June 2013)
Available at Amazon
Sometimes when we're trying to sort out our history, (how things came to be), or our future (what will affect how our lives will be lived in the coming years given the trends of the present), we look at lots of big changes. New technology, shifts in attitudes and economics, and a host of other obvious changes that appear in our lives, seem to be the elements that will shape the future. Bennett and Lotus, however, have a new take on how Americans shape their future. After all, every country is affected by new technology, economics, etc., but they don't all make the same choices Americans make. The authors maintain that the critical element, the one we're so familiar with we almost don't recognize it anymore, is the American nuclear family.
They ask some interesting questions: What difference does it make that American marriages are the result of individuals choosing their mates, rather than having them chosen by their family or clan? Does the nuclear family provide a different environment from extended families or arranged marriages that makes Americans different? Is it important that "making it" in America has a different meaning here than elsewhere: getting a home of one's own with some land rather than living with family or in large groups?
To answer these questions, they go back in our history to look at the influences that formed the personalities of the American colonists. German and British heritage play a role in how the first Americans saw their lives, what they considered appropriate, and years later, what we consider "normal" American life.
