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Carol Swain, a professor at Vanderbilt University, has written a very useful handbook for people who are concerned about the way America is headed today and need to be reassured that we still live in the greatest country on earth, but that it is the job of the grassroots to preserve the route to the American dream. Born into poverty in the South in a large family that surely would be considered disadvantaged, Carol Swain nevertheless writes that Carol Swain's book is not an autobiography, but it comes to life because it is well grounded in her own happy and unhappy life experiences. She writes (not like an academic elitist but) as a real person speaking to real people who are seeking answers. She teaches readers how to relate to our American identity and our religious roots. She tackles the tough current issues such as marriage, immigration, sovereignty, race, and abortion. Her book is not just a recitation of what's wrong with our country today, and how we have deviated from the high ideals our Founders believed in and set forth in our founding documents. Dr. Swain provides a plan of action for how ordinary Americans can get involved and do their part to reclaim truth and justice in policy choices. Her book is a Call to Action for people to become energized in the battle to restore America's hope and promise. Each section ends with Action Points to guide readers to continue their search for the truth and to adopt constructive remedies. Dr. Swain's section on marriage and the family is particularly perceptive and commonsensical in explaining the attacks on marriage today. She discusses all the thorny aspects: divorce, cohabitation, same-sex marriage, parental authority, the influence of feminism, the arrogance and biases of the family court, and the changing definitions of marriage. Be the People would serve as an excellent manual for Tea Partiers to help reclaim our nation's faith and promise. It will help our citizens once again believe with Ronald Reagan that it's morning in America. (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2011, 321 pp., $25) |
"I cannot think of a time when I was not proud to be an American citizen." She grew up to be a Ph.D. and a tenured professor at Vanderbilt University who is called on frequently for television interviews on a variety of important national issues. As television reporter Lou Dobbs wrote, she "shows how to make your voice heard and how to reclaim America's faith and values."
