More Praise for Thom Hartmann “Thom is a national treasure. Read him, embrace him, learn from him, and follow him as we all work for social change.” —Robert Greenwald, political activist and founder and president of Brave New Films “Right through the worst of the Bush years and into the present, Thom Hartmann has been one of the very few voices constantly willing to tell the truth. Rank him up there with Jon Stewart, Bill Moyers, and Paul Krugman for having the sheer persistent courage of his convictions.” —Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth “With the ever-growing infl uence of corporate CEOs and their right-wing allies in all aspects of American life, Hartmann’s work is more relevant than ever. Throughout his career, Hartmann has spoken compellingly about the value of people-centered democracy and the challenges that millions of ordinary Ameri- cans face today as a result of a dogma dedicated to putting profi t above all else. This collection is a rousing call for Americans to work together and put people fi rst again.” —Richard Trumka, President, AFL-CIO “Through compelling personal stories, Hartmann presents a dramatic and deeply disturbing picture of humans as a profoundly troubled species. Hope lies in his inspiring vision of our enormous unrealized potential and his description of the path to its realization.” —David Korten, author of Agenda for a New Economy, The Great Turning, and When Corporations Rule the World “Thom Hartmann is a creative thinker and committed small-d democrat. He has dealt with a wide range of topics throughout his life, and this book provides an excellent cross section. The Thom Hartmann Reader will make people both angry and motivated to act.” —Dean Baker, economist and author of Plunder and Blunder, False Profi ts, and Taking Economics Seriously “In an age rife with media-inspired confusion and political cowardice, we yearn for a decent, caring, deeply human soul whose grasp of the problems confronting us provides a light by which we can make our way through the quagmire of lies, distortions, pandering, and hollow self-puffery that strips the American Dream of its promise. How lucky we are, then, to have access to the wit, wisdom, and willingness of Thom Hartmann, who shares with us here that very light, grown out of his own life experience.” —Mike Farrell, actor, political activist, and author of Just Call Me Mike and Of Mule and Man This page intentionally left blank The Thom Hartmann Reader This page intentionally left blank The Thom Hartmann Reader Thom Hartmann Edited by Tai Moses The Thom Hartmann Reader Copyright © 2011 by Thom Hartmann and Mythical Research, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or trans- mitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electron- ic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below. The editor and the publisher are grateful to include the following copyrighted material in this collection. “The Edison Gene,” “How to Raise a Fully Human Child” from The Edison Geneby Thom Hartmann, copyright © 2003 by Thom Hartmann, published by Inner Traditions International, www.innertraditions.com. “Older and Younger Cultures,” “Life in a Tipi,” “Starting Salem in New Hampshire,” “Uganda Sojourn,” “Russia: A New Seed Planted among Thorns” from The Prophet’s Wayby Thom Hartmann, copyright © 1997, 2004 by Thom Hartmann, published by Inner Traditions International, www.innertraditions.com. “Walking the Blues Away” from Walking Your Blues Awayby Thom Hartmann, copyright © 2006 by Thom Hartmann, published by Inner Traditions International, www.innertraditions.com. “Younger-Culture Drugs of Control,” “The Secret of ‘Enough,’” “The Death of the Trees,” “Something Will Save Us” from The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlightby Thom Hartmann, copyright © 1998, 1999, 2004 by Mythical Research, Inc. Used by permission of Harmony Books, a division of Random House, Inc. “Democracy Is Inevitable” from What Would Jefferson Do?: A Return to Democracyby Thom Hartmann, copyright © 2004 by Mythical Research, Inc. Used by permission of Harmony Books, a division of Random House, Inc. “The Atmosphere,” “Caral, Peru: A Thousand Years of Peace,” “Sociopathic Paychecks” from Threshold: The Crisis of Western Cultureby Thom Hartmann, copyright © 2009 by Thom Hartmann. Used by permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. For on-line information about other Penguin Group (USA) books and authors, see the Internet website at http://www.penguin.com “After the Crash” reprinted from Imagine, edited by Marianne Williamson. Copyright © 2000 by Global Renaissance Alliance. Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. 235 Montgomery Street, Suite 650 San Francisco, California 94104-2916 Tel: (415) 288-0260, Fax: (415) 362-2512 www.bkconnection.com Berrett-Koehler and the BK logo are registered trademarks of Berrett-Koehler Publishers,Inc. First Edition Paperback print edition ISBN 978-1-57675-761-1 PDF e-book ISBN 978-1-60994-559-6 IDPF e-book ISBN 978-1-60994-560-2 2011-1 Cover photo by Kindra Scanlon. Cover design by Richard Wilson. Interior design and com- position by Gary Palmatier, Ideas to Images. Elizabeth von Radics, copyeditor; Mike Mollett, proofreader; Medea Minnich, indexer. To Louise, forever This page intentionally left blank Contents Editor’s Note ix Introduction: The Stories of Our Times 1 Part I We the People 7 The Radical Middle 10 The Story of Carl 13 Democracy Is Inevitable 31 An Informed and Educated Electorate 39 Whatever Happened to Cannery Row? 53 Part II Brainstorms 57 The Edison Gene 60 Older and Younger Cultures 78 Framing 88 Walking the Blues Away 103 Part III Visions and Visionaries 115 Life in a Tipi 118 How to Raise a Fully Human Child 122 Starting Salem in New Hampshire 137 Younger-Culture Drugs of Control 145 The Secret of “Enough” 158