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SOUL OF A CITIZEN:
Living With Conviction in a Cynical Time"A passionate but reasoned call for Americans to become involved in issues that matter."
—Chicago Sun-Times"I stayed up half the night reading Soul of a Citizen, finding it a beautiful and morally transcendent work that speaks in gentle words directly to the heart."—Jonathan Kozol
"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
"Soul of a Citizen helps us find the faith we need to act on our deepest beliefs -- and keep on."
—Marian Wright Edelman, Children's Defense Fund"Rich, engaging, clearly written. An essential book for anyone who wants to work for change."—Howard Zinn
by Paul Rogat Loeb
St. Martin's Press, 1999, $15.95
How do we challenge our culture's pervasive cynicism? Paul Loeb presents an alternative vision of hope and courage in his book, SOUL OF A CITIZEN. Based on thirty years studying the psychology of social involvement, Loeb describes how ordinary citizens can make their voices heard and their actions count in a time when we're often told neither matter.Now in its fourteenth printing, with 98,000 copies in print, SOUL OF A CITIZEN: LIVING WITH CONVICTION IN A CYNICAL TIME explores what leads some people to get involved in larger community issues while others feel overwhelmed or uncertain; what it takes to maintain commitment for the long haul; and how community involvement and citizen activism can give back a sense of connection and purpose rare in purely personal life. Writing in an engaging and evocative style, Loeb offers profound lessons on civic engagement:
- Our efforts can do more--for ourselves and for the world--than we may ever imagine.
- We don't have to become saints--or wait for the perfect situation--to take action.
- Change happens little by little, step by step.
- We can savor the journey of engagement, even though our ultimate destination is unclear.
- The impact of our efforts will often ripple outward in ways we can't predict.
At the heart of SOUL OF A CITIZEN are profiles of a broad range of people who've learned these lessons. They include:
- A Maine housewife helps lead a path-breaking campaign finance reform initiative "so my kids won't grow up in a cynical world."
- A Seattle environmental activist celebrates her hundredth birthday, still passionately involved. "You do what you can," she says. "Then you do some more."
- A fisherman forges new links between environmentalists, fishermen and Native American tribes to restore Pacific salmon habitat. "It's draining to convince yourself you're powerless and swallow whatever's handed to you," he says. "You get a lot back when you work with a good group of people to take a stand."
- An African American man serves seventeen years in the California prison system, then initiates a pioneering drug rehabilitation effort to give people "the support they need, in a language they can understand."
- A Long Island teacher joins a nationwide campaign to force The Gap to treat the young workers who make its clothes with human respect. "The girl I saw in a video could have been my daughter, but her beautiful eyes were so clouded with despair."
- An eighth-grade dropout joins a community group in her San Antonio barrio, helps design an innovative job program and eventually testifies before the U.S. Senate. "The group found some spark in me," she recalls. "I never knew I had it."
SOUL OF A CITIZEN is a highly personable story of integrity and commitment, a testament to our often-unrealized ability to lead lives worthy of our convictions.
PAUL ROGAT LOEB has written on social involvement for The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Psychology Today, Utne Reader, Redbook, Parents magazine, Christian Science Monitor, Mother Jones, Salon, the Village Voice, National Catholic Reporter, and the International Herald Tribune. He's been interviewed on CNN, NPR, PBS, C-SPAN, NBC TV, the BBC, American Urban radio, and national German, Canadian and Australian radio. He's lectured on over 300 college campuses and at numerous national conferences. In addition to Soul of a Citizen, he's the author of Generation at the Crossroads: Apathy and Action on the American Campus (Rutgers University Press, 1994), of Nuclear Culture, and of Hope in Hard Times. Loeb is also an affiliate scholar at Seattle's Center for Ethical Leadership.
Loeb's newest book, The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen's Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear, was published in August 2004 by Basic Books, and named the #3 political book of fall 2004 by the History Channel and the American Book Association. Click here for a description, table of contents, and the wonderful reviews. And signup here to receive Paul's monthly articles.
Click here for a longer bio.
Paul Rogat Loeb
Loeb@soulofacitizen.org
3232 41st Ave SW, Seattle WA 98116
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