Search results for ""author david davenport""

Today, American ""rugged individualism"" is in a fight for its life on two battlegrounds: in the policy realm and in the intellectual world of ideas that may lead to new policies. In this book, the authors look at the political context in which rugged individualism flourishes or declines and offer a balanced assessment of its future prospects. They outline its path from its founding—marked by the Declaration of Independence—to today, focusing on different periods in our history when rugged individualism was thriving or was under attack. The authors ultimately look with some optimism toward new frontiers of the twenty-first century that may nourish rugged individualism. They assert that we cannot tip the delicate balance between equality and liberty so heavily in favor of equality that there is no liberty left for individual Americans to enjoy. In considering reasons to be pessimistic as well as reasons to be optimistic about it, they also suggest where supporters of rugged individualism might focus greater encouragement and resources.

Read more less

Providing an often-overlooked historical perspective, Gordon Lloyd and David Davenport show how the New Deal of the 1930s established the framework for today’s U.S. domestic policy and the ongoing debate between progressives and conservatives. They examine the pivotal issues of the dispute, laying out the progressive-conservative arguments between Hoover and Roosevelt in the 1930s and illustrating how those issues remain current in public policy today. The authors detail how Hoover, alarmed by the excesses of the New Deal, pointed to the ideas that would constitute modern U.S. conservatism and how three pillars—liberty, limited government, and constitutionalism—formed his case against the New Deal and, in turn, became the underlying philosophy of conservatism today. Illustrating how the debates between Franklin Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover were conducted much like the campaign rhetoric of liberals and conservatives in 2012, Lloyd and Davenport assert that conservatives must, to be a viable part of the national conversation, “go back to come back”—because our history contains signposts for the way forward.

Read more less

The Civic Education Crisis: How We Got Here, What We Must Do is a call to action, an effort to save our republic through better civic education. America faces a crisis in civic education that imperils the long-term health of the country. Too many Americans—especially young people—do not have the knowledge of history and principles necessary to sustain the republic. In what has become a vicious cycle, young people are not learning about their country—its history and how it works—and they grow up disengaged and distrustful. Too many young people do not understand the principles of self-government on which America was founded. And they do not understand America’s history as the story of the struggle to live up to those principles of freedom articulated in documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Instead, too many believe that America’s story is essentially one of oppression, not freedom—injustice, not hope. In the first half of the book, authors Jeff Sikkenga and David Davenport diagnose the problem while proposing solutions in the second half. Truly, America faces a civics crisis and action is needed now to reverse the trend.

Read more less

As a response to the Great Depression and an expression of executive power, President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal is widely understood as a turning point in American history. In How Public Policy Became War, David Davenport and Gordon Lloyd go even further, calling the New Deal "America's French Revolution," refashioning American government and public policy in ways that have grown to epic proportions today. Roosevelt's decisions of 1933 were truly revolutionary. They reset the balance of power away from Congress and the states toward a strong executive branch. They shifted the federal government away from the Founders' vision of deliberation and moderation toward war and action. Succeeding presidents seized on the language of war to exert their will and extend their power into matters previously thought to be the province of Congress or state and local governments. Having learned that a sense of crisis is helpful in moving forward a domestic agenda, modern-day presidents have declared war on everything from poverty and drugs to crime and terror. Exploring the consequences of these ill-defined (and never-ending) wars, How Public Policy Became War calls for a re-examination of this destructive approach to governance and a return to the deliberative vision of the Founders. "If we are constantly at war," the authors write, "America becomes a nation under siege.

Read more less

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me bedside the still waters; He restoreth my soul. Today's professionals need reliable models to teach them how to become better leaders. In this remarkable book, leadership experts Blaine McCormick and David Davenport introduce us to a new kind of leader by offering a new image of leadership— the leader as shepherd. Drawing on the wisdom of the timeless Twenty-Third Psalm, King David's psalm, the authors provide professionals with ancient wisdom for grappling with today's leadership challenges. Shepherd Leadership offers a much-needed lens through which to consider our own leadership as well as the leadership of those around us. This important book teaches us important lessons about leadership: we can be vigilant without being adversarial, we can serve without being passive, and we can guide without commanding. Shepherd Leadership offers a visionary new model for transforming leadership practices in both corporate and small business settings. This is whole-person leadership. It's not just a matter of thinking or doing things a certain way. It's a fully integrated life— a matter of head and hand and heart. It's a way of thinking and doing and being.

Read more less