Earl Shorris
The Politics of Heaven
America in Fearful Times
An unsettling account of the events, ideas, and minds behind the nameless political movement that governs America today.
The movement transcends political parties, has no formal structure, no acknowledged leaders, and no sworn loyalty except to God, whose will it interprets according to its fears and desires. Yet it is not an abstraction. It elects our presidents and legislatures and informs their decisions while in office.
The movement started at the end of World War II when nuclear weapons, the Holocaust, and then the Cold War led to the fear of mass death that infected American views of justice, ethics, and global politics. It gradually replaced the New Deal.
As conversations with religious and political leaders, churchgoers, and pollsters make clear, after 9/11 the nation became increasingly pessimistic. Americans more than ever embraced simplistic, self-serving solutions to questions of personal and national destiny.
To regain the best in the American character, we must recognize the existence of a new national movement, define it, and learn how it grows. This book is a first step.
Earl Shorris, founder of the Clemente Course in the Humanities, is the author of many books and a longtime contributing editor of Harper's. He received the National Humanities Medal in 2000. He lives in New York City and San Francisco.
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