Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in Challenging Times by Paul Rogat Loe

Description: Soul of a Citizen by Paul Rogat Loeb "Soul of a Citizen" has become a classic handbook for budding social activists, veteran organizers, and anybody who wants to make a change. Americas new president has asked citizens to get involved in their communities, and this book shows how to get started. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Soul of a Citizen awakens within us the desire and the ability to make our voices heard and our actions count. We can lead lives worthy of our convictions. A book of inspiration and integrity, Soul of a Citizen is an antidote to the twin scourges of modern life--powerlessness and cynicism. In his evocative style, Paul Loeb tells moving stories of ordinary Americans who have found unexpected fulfillment in social involvement. Through their example and Loebs own wise and powerful lessons, we are compelled to move from passivity to participation. The reward of our action, we learn, is nothing less than a sense of connection and purpose not found in a purely personal life. Soul of a Citizen has become the handbook for budding social activists, veteran organizers, and anybody who wants to make a change--big or small--in the world around them. At this critical historical time, Paul Loebs completely revised edition--and inspiring message--is more urgently important than ever. Author Biography Paul Rogat Loeb has spent thirty-five years researching and writing about citizen responsibility and empowerment. Paul lectures widely at colleges and conferences and is the author of five widely praised books. Review "Soul has been a powerful inspiration to citizens acting for environmental sanity, showing how they can take committed stands, even if they dont know every last answer. The new edition is even more inspirational." --Bill McKibben "I stayed up half the night reading Soul of a Citizen, finding it a beautiful and morally transcendent work. Paul Loeb is a personal hero of mine who gives decency and generosity a political character, in the humblest of ways. The new edition is magnificent" --Jonathan Kozol "When my daughter asked from college how to be an effective grassroots citizen, I gave her Pauls book. The new edition is even more powerful." --Josette Sheeran, Executive Director, United Nations World Food Program "Soul has inspired thousands of young people, of widely differing perspectives, to take a stand. It teaches them how to get past the barriers to act, and why their actions matter. The new edition is a powerful personal guide to get involved." --Hans Riemer, Youth Vote Director, Barack Obama campaign, former political director, Rock the Vote "Soul of a Citizen has been a powerful resource to get thousands of students involved in their communities, giving them the opportunity to apply their learning in meaningful ways. This updated edition is both timely and exceptionally useful to campuses that want to reclaim higher educations central role in educating responsible, democratic citizens." --Carol Geary Schneider, President, American Association of Colleges and Universities "Soul of a Citizen has inspired countless students, faculty, and other readers since its publication a decade ago. Amazing as that book was, this new version is even wiser, deeper, and more inspiring. Loeb has given even more soul to his wonderful work." --Thomas Ehrlich, former president Indiana University "Without engaged citizens, politics is dead. Citizen activism was the source of this countrys birth, and today ensures its future. To really, truly understand why its important for us all to stand up and act, and how to do it, read the new updated edition of Soul of a Citizen, an activist classic that belongs on the shelf right next to Saul Alinsky." --Thom Hartmann "Soul of a Citizen helps us find the faith we need to act on our deepest beliefs--and keep on." --Marian Wright Edelman, president, The Childrens Defense Fund "Compassion, intelligence, and thought-provoking wisdom...A new vision for personal engagement with societal issues." --Publishers Weekly, starred review "A passionate but reasoned call for Americans to become involved in issues that matter." --Chicago Sun-Times "Brims with stirring stories of everyday heroes who saw something wrong, heeded the voice of their conscience, gathered support and, acting in concert with others, changed things and made a difference." --Philadelphia Inquirer "Should be mandatory reading for anyone over the age of 12--especially every woman or man who has traded I give a damn for I give up." --San Francisco Chronicle "Rich, engaging, clearly written. An essential book for anyone who wants to work for change. It will inspire people new to activism, and deals with cynicism and burnout in a good way for movement veterans. Altogether, a wonderful job, rich with specific experience." --Howard Zinn "You are part of whats good about this world and I admire your work very much." --Bill Moyers "Loeb can pierce a cynics armor with his practical examination of social change." --San Jose Mercury News "Thoughtful and encouraging, Loeb offers a rich spirituality of citizenship for both experienced activists and those just wondering where to begin." --Jim Wallis, editor, Sojourners "A call for community involvement and a challenge to apathy." --Digby Diehl, AARP Magazine "Loeb writes very powerfully." --Chicago Tribune "Examines the psychology and spirituality of community involvement, recounting numerous true stories of how ordinary citizens produced significant social change." --Atlanta Journal-Constitution "[Teaches] what it means to be a caring, compassionate citizen" --Parents magazine "Makes the argument that not only can modern people reclaim their sanity, but they can make a difference in the world and lose their apathy." --Minneapolis Star Tribune "[Describing] ordinary people who became activists, Loeb examines the stumbling blocks--perceived powerlessness, cynicism, burnout--that keep most Americans from participating in the public sphere, as well as the rewards of following a different path." --Sierra Club magazine "Loeb believes in commitment and believes in it passionately." --Columbus Dispatch "A highly personable story of integrity and commitment that reminds all of us that we have often-unrealized abilities to live lives worthy of our convictions." --Steelabor, United Steelworkers "A much-needed call for community involvement." --Art Levine, president, Teachers College, Columbia University. "A transformative book of courage and authenticity, Soul of a Citizen challenges the apathy and ennui of modern life. If you have children, give it to them. If not, give it to your parents." --Paul Hawken, co-founder Smith & Hawken, author, The Ecology of Commerce "This wonderful book teaches us the value of taking chances and not being afraid to fail. It reminds us that the more we help others build productive lives, the better our own lives will be." --Bob Chase, president, National Education Association "Recounts whats preventing regular folks from working in a more committed fashion beyond writing the odd cheque in these cynical times." --Toronto Globe & Mail "Loeb has amassed a powerful arsenal for his assault on cynicism, [gathering] hundreds of stories of ordinary people who are changing the world one step at a time." --The Oregonian Review Quote You are part of whats good about this world and I admire your work very much. Excerpt from Book Soul of a Citizen, Revised and Updated CHAPTER ONE Making Our Lives Count Souls are like athletes that need opponents worthy of them if they are to be tried and extended and pushed to the full use of their powers. --THOMAS MERTON W ere often taught to view our lives as a zero-sum game. With all the pressures we face, we barely have time for family and friends. How could we possibly take on some demanding cause? Yet for all the frustration we expect, when we do get involved, we get a lot back: new relationships, fresh skills, a sense of empowerment, pride in accomplishment. "A rich life," writes philosopher and theologian Cornel West, is fundamentally a life of serving others, "trying to leave the world a little better than you found it ... . This is true at the personal level ... [but theres also] a political version of this. It has to do with what you see when you get up in the morning and look in the mirror and ask yourself whether you are simply wasting time on the planet or spending time in an enriching manner." Again and again, Ive heard active citizens say that what motivates them the most is the desire to respect what they see in the mirror. The exercise isnt about vanity, but about values, about taking stock of ourselves and comparing the convictions we say we hold with the lives we actually lead. Its about seeing ourselves from the viewpoint of our communities, the earth, maybe even God. If eyes are windows to the soul, and faces reflections of character, lookingin the mirror lets us step back from the flux of our lives and hold ourselves accountable. Sound a bit daunting? It can be. As the saying goes, not one among us is without fault. But such self-examination can also be enormously rewarding. For its equally true that not one among us lacks a heart, which is the wellspring of courage (the word is derived from coeur, French for "heart"). At the core of our being lie resources many of us never dream we possess, much less imagine we can draw on. I NEVER KNEW I HAD IT Virginia Ramirez, of San Antonio, Texas, could easily have lived out her days without ever discovering her hidden inner strength. She left school after eighth grade to get married. "That was what most Hispanic women in my generation did. My husband went to work after sixth grade." Although dropping out seemed normal at the time, she felt frustrated when she couldnt help her children with their homework, and she dreamed of resuming her education someday. Virginia wasnt completely detached from her community: She was active in the PTA, "not running the meetings, but making the cookies and punch, carrying out the tasks." Shed babysit for her neighbors, help in whatever ways she could, "doing basic community work without realizing it." Mostly, though, she focused on private life, raising her five children while her husband worked for a taxi company. When Virginia was forty-five, she realized that an elderly neighbor was getting sick every winter. The neighbor was a widow who lived in a house so dilapidated that it couldnt retain heat. "She was one of those people who always paid her taxes on time, always faithfully making out her little money orders. But she couldnt afford to repair her house, and everyone around here was just as poor. So I went with her to city agencies trying to get help. They kept sending us from place to place, from department to department. Finallyshe died of pneumonia. The paramedics said shed never have died if her house hadnt been so freezing cold. "I was very angry," Virginia recalls. "Id never been so angry in my life. This woman had done everything she was supposed to, and now she was dead because no one could help her fix her house. Someone said theres this community organization called COPS, and maybe they could help. Id heard of them before, but thought they were too radical, a bunch of nuts." At that time, in the early 1980s, the largely volunteer-based Communities Organized for Public Service (COPS) had been around for eight years. The organization grew out of a network called The Industrial Areas Foundation, established by the late Saul Alinsky, the godfather of modern community organizing (who also inspired the community organization that Barack Obama worked for in Chicago). COPS began by working through churches to organize San Antonios desperately poor Latino population. The group successfully pushed for municipal investments in storm sewers, parks, and schools in the towns long-neglected barrios, and got major downtown businesses to hire their residents. COPS eventually secured over a billion dollars of public and private resources for their community through a combination of grassroots organizing and innovative protests. During one series of protests to get downtown businesses to hire more Latino workers, lines of COPS members endlessly exchanged pennies to tie up traffic at local banks, and sympathetic nuns tried on bridal gowns at local department stores to put pressure on their staff. But Virginia had paid the organization little heed. So it was with some hesitation that she attended a COPS meeting at her church, where she raised her hand and said, "I have this problem. This neighbor lady of mine died because it was cold and they wouldnt fix her house. I want someone to do something about it." "What are you going to do about it?" the COPS organizer asked. But Virginia didnt know what to do. That was why shed come to the meeting in the first place. "I thought you people weresupposed to be able to help," she said, and walked out of the meeting in anger. A few days later, a COPS organizer knocked on Virginias door. She was a nun, and that was the only reason Virginia let her in. "All I want to know is why you were so angry," asked the nun. Virginia was angry, she said, because shed tried to help the old lady and failed. But that wasnt all. She also was upset because her kids werent getting properly educated in school. Because shed given up on her own education and dreams. Because shed had to watch her father, whom shed adored, be humiliated again and again by police and store owners when they drove from state to state to pick crops. She was upset because no one seemed to care about her community. The nun didnt advise Virginia to do anything in particular. She just asked if they could talk again. When she returned, she suggested that Virginia hold a house meeting, to see if her neighbors had concerns, too. Nine people came. Virginia had never conducted a meeting. Her stomach felt hollow and clenched. Her legs shook so much she almost fell over. She could barely open the door. But gradually people began to talk of their problems and experiences. Their neighborhood had been thrown together at the cheapest possible cost, built for workers at the nearby slaughterhouses, which were now closed down. It lacked sidewalks and adequate sewers. Most of the houses were crumbling. As she listened, Virginia realized that more was at stake than the needless death of her neighb∨ this was about the future of her community. Convinced that the neighborhood hadnt received its share of public funds, Virginia and other COPS members painstakingly researched documents at City Hall. And they were right: The city had built a street in a more affluent area with money actually earmarked to repair homes in their barrio . The next step--testifying before the City Council--took even more courage. When Virginia walked to the podium to protest the diversion of funds, she was so nervous she forgot what she was going to say. "I didnt remember my speech. I barely remembered my name. Then I turned around, saw the sixtypeople whod come with me, and realized I was just telling the story of our community. So I told it, and we got our money back. "It was hard to stand up to politicians and tell them what we wanted, because its been imbedded in my mind to be nice to everybody. It seemed rude at first. But I began to understand the importance of holding people accountable for what they promise." As they did with other newly energized community members, COPS trainers helped Virginia reflect on each step she took in every campaign, and acquire the skills to research, negotiate, articulate a point of view, analyze peoples needs, and channel her anger. They also introduced her to a new community of people who were similarly involved. One of these new colleagues, a sixty-eight-year-old widow, became her inspiration. "Even though she didnt know English and couldnt read or write," Virginia recalls, "she spoke out and stood up for her beliefs. She talked to other families. And she kept telling me, Go back to school. She always said, You have to represent us." Even with this support and inspiration, Virginias journey into public life wasnt easy. She often prayed over whether her newfound path was right, asking God for guidance, "like what am I doing with these crazy people and where is it going to lead?" Yet her involvement also strengthened her faith, giving new meaning to biblical lessons that had once seemed more remote and abstract. "Suddenly you read these stories about injustice from thousands of years ago," Virginia says, "and it seems like theyre talking about today. You feel like you have a chance to be one of Gods instruments, to do His work by helping your community. You feel closer to Him in the process." Yet Virginias choices still raised difficult tensions, particularly in her family. At first her husb Details ISBN0312595379 Author Paul Rogat Loeb Language English Edition 2nd ISBN-10 0312595379 ISBN-13 9780312595371 Media Book Format Paperback Short Title SOUL OF A CITIZEN REV/E Residence WA, US Birth 1952 Year 2010 Publication Date 2010-03-30 Subtitle Living with Conviction in Challenging Times Country of Publication United States AU Release Date 2010-03-30 NZ Release Date 2010-03-30 US Release Date 2010-03-30 UK Release Date 2010-03-30 Pages 400 Publisher St. Martins Griffin Edition Description Revised, Updated ed. Imprint St. Martins Griffin DEWEY 361.20973 Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:137289222;

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