The one and the many
Subtitle: America's struggle for the common good
By: Martin E. Marty.
Series: The Joanna Jackson Goldman memorial lecture on American civilization and government
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Cambridge, Mass
Language: eng
Number of pages: 244
Subjects: Political participation -- United States; Associations, institutions, etc. -- United States; Community life -- United States; Public interest -- United States; Common good
Description: E pluribus unum no longer holds. Out of the many have come as many claims and grievances, all at war with the idea of one nation undivided. The damage thus done to our national life, as too few Americans seek a common good, is Martin Marty's concern. His book is an urgent call for repair and a personal testament toward resolution.

Although the grand story of oneness eludes us (and probably always will), Marty reminds us that we do have a rich, ever-growing, and ever more inclusive repertory of myths, symbols, histories, and, most of all, stories on which to draw. He pictures these stories, with their diverse interpretations, as part of a conversation that crosses the boundaries of groups. Where argument polarizes and deafens, conversation is open-ended, guided by questions, allowing for inventiveness, fair play, and dignity for all.

It serves as a medium in Marty's broader vision, which replaces the restrictive, difficult, and perhaps unattainable ideal of "community" with the looser, more workable idea of "association.".

An "association of associations" is what Marty contemplates, and for the spirit and will to promote it he looks to eighteenth-century motifs of sentiment and affection, convergences of intellect and emotion that develop from shared experience. And as this book so eloquently reminds us, America, however diverse, is an experience we all share.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [227]-238) and index.