Mary Ross | Site Director
No matter who wins in the election tonight, it is undeniable that there will always be a direction the country takes to keep moving forward. But what direction should that be? The three authors below, Morgan Paris, Bernie Sanders and Michael Harris, all have different ideas about what could make the country better. Paris discusses economics; Sanders discusses many different ideas; and Harris discusses the importance of long-term planning. All three angles are important to building a better country.
50 Ways We Can Improve Our Country: A Blueprint for Effective Governmental Change by Morgan Paris
Paris’s 2015 book entitled 50 Ways We Can Improve Our Country begins with an analysis of the Obama Administration and all the ways the country went the wrong direction under it. He discusses the growing national debt, an economic recovery that has led to continuously slow economic growth, record numbers of people live in poverty, the continuous shrinkage of the middle class and what he views as a failure at foreign policy. To combat this and move the country in the right direction, Paris lays out a “blueprint” that will fix many of the issues Americans. This includes paying off the national debt, insuring proper healthcare for every American that is flexible and affordable, improving our nation’s infrastructure and more.
Where We Go from Here: Two Years in the Resistance by Bernie Sanders
This 2018 book by Senator Bernie Sanders discusses his day-to-day struggles of progressive people in government who have fought against Donald Trump’s agenda over the previous two years. Sanders talks about the fight for Medicare for all, higher working wages, maintaining DACA and creating laws that help children affected by gun violence. And though it is a hard-fought battle to be won, Sanders says they are making progress, especially when people all across the United States are taking a stand against Donald Trump and his colleagues. Overall, Sanders weaves a book that shows how the United States can repair the damage Trump has caused and build a nation with economic, social, racial and environmental justice.
A Future for Planning: Taking Responsibility for Twenty-First Century Challenges by Michael Harris
A Future for Planning is a 2019 book that calls out all governments for the same issue: the infrastructure they all currently have to run a country is no longer sufficient. This is due to the countries growing in population, rapidly creating new forms of technology and changing basic morals and beliefs systems with new waves of equality for different marginalized groups. Harris intricately lays out the successes and failures of long-term planning throughout the world. Then he argues that long-term planning and developing good abilities to plan moving forward will serve people much better than the short-termism seen nowadays.
Mary Ross is a third-year English major at BGSU. She enjoys all types of books, with a special love for historical fiction, poetry and Mitch Albom’s books. When she is not reading, you can find her taking care of her plants, writing content to hopefully publish her own book one day, or studying for her classes, always with a coffee nearby. Any questions about her thoughts or opinions in these blog posts can be sent to her email, mkross@bgsu.edu.
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