I. Oh, Come On! The Very Existence of Our Liberal Democracy In Danger?
The Issue: Do “Post-Truth” and “Alternative Reality” really threaten our nation?
Primary Resource: (A) On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the 20th Century by Timothy Snyder (2017)
(Presentation and Discussion 10/8/17, 9:00-10:30 am, First United Methodist Church, Boulder, CO)
II. America: Fantasy Trumps Truth and Reality (pun intended)
The Issue: Why do such large percentages of our population fervently believe things that are demonstratively false?
Primary Resource: (B) “How America Lost Its Mind” by Kurt Andersen (14 page article in the September 2017 issue of
Atlantic Magazine - a summary of his 2017 book Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire--A 500-Year History)
(Presentation and Discussion 10/15/17, 12:00-1:00 pm, First United Methodist Church, Boulder, CO)
III. The Decades-in-the-Making Enormous U.S. Socio-Economic Class Gap
The Issue: Why did so many middle class whites vote for Trump’s extremist nationalist/ populist agenda?
Primary Resource: (C) The Retreat of Western Liberalism by Edward Luce (2017)
(Presentation and Discussion 11/12/17, 12:00-1:00 pm, First United Methodist Church, Boulder, CO)
IV. The Essential Roles of Faith and Repentance for Communal Social Justice Action
The Issue: Why is it so difficult for American communities, religious and secular, at the local level to develop and sustain
healthy, effective ways to promote social justice?
Primary Resource: (D) The Church for the World: A Theology of Public Witness by Jennifer M. McBride (2012)
(Presentation and Discussion 12/17/17, 12:00-1:00 pm, First United Methodist Church, Boulder, CO)
The Issue: Do “Post-Truth” and “Alternative Reality” really threaten our nation?
Primary Resource: (A) On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the 20th Century by Timothy Snyder (2017)
(Presentation and Discussion 10/8/17, 9:00-10:30 am, First United Methodist Church, Boulder, CO)
II. America: Fantasy Trumps Truth and Reality (pun intended)
The Issue: Why do such large percentages of our population fervently believe things that are demonstratively false?
Primary Resource: (B) “How America Lost Its Mind” by Kurt Andersen (14 page article in the September 2017 issue of
Atlantic Magazine - a summary of his 2017 book Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire--A 500-Year History)
(Presentation and Discussion 10/15/17, 12:00-1:00 pm, First United Methodist Church, Boulder, CO)
III. The Decades-in-the-Making Enormous U.S. Socio-Economic Class Gap
The Issue: Why did so many middle class whites vote for Trump’s extremist nationalist/ populist agenda?
Primary Resource: (C) The Retreat of Western Liberalism by Edward Luce (2017)
(Presentation and Discussion 11/12/17, 12:00-1:00 pm, First United Methodist Church, Boulder, CO)
IV. The Essential Roles of Faith and Repentance for Communal Social Justice Action
The Issue: Why is it so difficult for American communities, religious and secular, at the local level to develop and sustain
healthy, effective ways to promote social justice?
Primary Resource: (D) The Church for the World: A Theology of Public Witness by Jennifer M. McBride (2012)
(Presentation and Discussion 12/17/17, 12:00-1:00 pm, First United Methodist Church, Boulder, CO)