Reclaiming Hope
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Narrated by:
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Stu Gray
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By:
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Michael Wear
About this listen
Before he had turned 21, Michael Wear found himself deep inside the halls of power in the Obama administration as one of the youngest-ever White House staffers. Appointed by the president in 2008 to the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and later directing faith outreach for the president's 2012 reelection campaign, Wear threw himself wholeheartedly into transforming hope into change, experiencing firsthand the highs and lows of working as a Christian in government.
In this unvarnished account of faith inside the world's most powerful office, Wear gives unprecedented insight into the most controversial stories of the last eight years, from the president's change of position on gay marriage and the politicization of religious freedom to the administration's failure to find common ground on abortion and the bitter controversy over who would give the benediction at the 2012 inauguration. Wear also reveals the behind-the-scenes struggles behind some of the administration's signature achievements, including the adoption tax credit and making human trafficking a presidential priority. And he offers a rare window onto the ways the president himself viewed the role of faith in politics.
More than a memoir of the Obama administration, Reclaiming Hope is also a passionate call for faith in the public square, particularly for Christians to see politics as a means of loving one's neighbor and of pursuing justice for all while promoting racial reconciliation and fighting for religious freedom for people of all faiths. At a time when large numbers of thoughtful Christians are arguing for withdrawal from participation in public institutions, Wear's experience at the white-hot center of civic life shows how and why Christians must be involved in every aspect of cultural life - even if failures seem to outnumber successes - while working on behalf of the nation's common good.
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A sharecropper, a warrior, and a truth-telling prophet, Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) stands as a powerful symbol not only of the 1960s Black freedom movement, but also of the enduring human struggle against oppression. This is a rhetorical biography that tells the story of Hamer's life by focusing on how she employed symbols - images, words, and even material objects such as the ballot, food, and clothing - to construct persuasive public personae, to influence audiences, and to effect social change.
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A rhetorical biography of Fannie Lou Hamer.
- By Adam Shields on 04-27-23
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Thy Kingdom Come
- An Evangelical's Lament
- By: Randall Balmer
- Narrated by: Jeff Woodman
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
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For much of American history, evangelicalism was aligned with progressive political causes: nineteenth-century evangelicals fought for the abolition of slavery, universal suffrage, and public education. But contemporary conservative activists have defaulted on this majestic legacy, embracing instead an agenda virtually indistinguishable from the Republican Party platform.
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Historical Reality
- By Cliff J on 08-10-07
By: Randall Balmer
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Faces at the Bottom of the Well
- The Permanence of Racism
- By: Derrick Bell, Michelle Alexander - foreword
- Narrated by: Brad Raymond
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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In Faces at the Bottom of the Well, civil rights activist and legal scholar Derrick Bell uses allegory and historical example to argue that racism is an integral and permanent part of American society. African American struggles for equality are doomed to fail so long as the majority of Whites do not see their own wellbeing threatened by the status quo. Bell calls on African Americans to face up to this unhappy truth and abandon a misplaced faith in inevitable progress.
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This is a classic for a reason.
- By Adam Shields on 12-01-20
By: Derrick Bell, and others
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Why the Right Went Wrong
- Conservatism from Goldwater to the Tea Party and Beyond
- By: E. J. Dionne Jr.
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Why the Right Went Wrong offers a historical view of the right since the 1960s. Its core contention is that American conservatism and the Republican Party took a wrong turn when they adopted Barry Goldwater's worldview during and after the 1964 campaign. Since 1968, no conservative administration could live up to the rhetoric rooted in the Goldwater movement that began to reshape American politics 50 years ago.
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Outstanding, refreshing, inspiring
- By James Adams on 03-19-16
By: E. J. Dionne Jr.
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The Immoral Majority
- Why Evangelicals Chose Political Power Over Christian Values
- By: Ben Howe
- Narrated by: Marc William
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2016, writer and filmmaker Ben Howe found himself disillusioned with the religious movement he’d always called home. In the pursuit of electoral victory, many American evangelicals embraced moral relativism and toxic partisanship. Whatever happened to the Moral Majority, who headed to Washington in the ’80s to plant the flag of Christian values? Where were the Christian leaders that emerged from that movement and led the charge against Bill Clinton for his deception and unfaithfulness?
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An atheist appreciation of this book
- By Anonymous User on 08-13-19
By: Ben Howe
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A Woman in Charge
- The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton
- By: Carl Bernstein
- Narrated by: Dick Rodstein
- Length: 24 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Carl Bernstein's stunning portrait of Hillary Rodham Clinton shows us, as nothing else has, the true trajectory of her life and career, with its zigzag bursts of risks taken and safety sought. Marshaling all the skills and energy that propelled his history-making Pulitzer Prize reporting on Watergate, Bernstein gives us the most detailed, sophisticated, comprehensive, and revealing account of Hilary Rodham Clinton yet.
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in depth and well-written
- By Katherine on 07-20-07
By: Carl Bernstein
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Into the Bright Sunshine
- Young Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights (Pivotal Moments in American History Series)
- By: Samuel G. Freedman
- Narrated by: Mike Lenz
- Length: 17 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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During one sweltering week in July 1948, the Democratic Party gathered in Philadelphia for its national convention. The most pressing and controversial issue facing the delegates was not whom to nominate for president—the incumbent, Harry Truman, was the presumptive candidate—but whether the Democrats would finally embrace the cause of civil rights and embed it in their official platform. On the convention's final day, Hubert Humphrey, the relatively obscure mayor of the midsized city of Minneapolis, ascended the podium.
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Civil Rights for All not just limited segments of society.
- By Patricia A Gustafson on 06-02-24
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The Bush Tragedy
- By: Jacob Weisberg
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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In this first important consideration of the George W. Bush presidency and its profound impact on the state of the world, Jacob Weisberg crafts a wide-ranging portrait that is both balanced and insightful. Weisberg traces the evolution of Bush's political philosophy from its roots in his early life and his years as governor of Texas through the events of 9/11 and his turbulent two terms in office.
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Ahead of the Crowd
- By Nikoli Gogol on 02-14-08
By: Jacob Weisberg
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Living History
- By: Hillary Rodham Clinton
- Narrated by: Hillary Rodham Clinton
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Abridged
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You've probably heard clips from Senator Clinton's interview with Barbara Walters. But now you can listen to her full account of her years in the White House. Hillary Clinton vividly describes her pain over her husband's betrayal with Monica Lewinky saying that former President Bill Clinton lied to her about the relationship until the weekend before he admitted the nature of it to a grand jury.
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Dare To Read - She Will Dare To Compete in 2008
- By Michael on 06-17-03
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The Obama Diaries
- By: Laura Ingraham
- Narrated by: Laura Ingraham
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Popular conservative radio host Laura Ingraham discusses President Obama's first year in office. Informative and hugely entertaining, The Obama Diaries will inspire both laughter and critical thinking about the future of the nation and the man currently at the helm.
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Almost Not Funny -- Almost!
- By Dan on 07-14-10
By: Laura Ingraham
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A Battle for the Soul of Islam
- An American Muslim Patriot's Fight to Save His Faith
- By: M. Zuhdi Jasser
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Among the unsettling social shifts in the wake of 9/11 was the global attention paid to Islam. Here in the United States, we became divided, often sadly along partisan lines, between those who believed every Muslim was a potential threat and those who believed no Muslim could do wrong. For conservative Wisconsin native and former U.S. Navy lieutenant commander Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, these radical times meant facing a new reality as a devout Muslim and a patriot - a certain betrayal within his faith.
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A courageous and clear champion of American Liberty
- By Craigan on 04-07-16
By: M. Zuhdi Jasser
What listeners say about Reclaiming Hope
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Adam Shields
- 03-23-17
Part memoir, part political theology
Michael Wear seems like someone I would really like in person. We share a fairly similar politics. People that I know, that know him, like him. And while he is more than a decade younger than I am, he seems like he has learned much in those years about the way the world works and has managed to not become cynical, but instead has maintained the capacity for hope, while understanding the fallenness of humanity.
Reclaiming Hope is part memoir, part political theology, part history of the Obama presidency. Michael Wear was a young college student when he was attracted to the new young politician on the political landscape. Obama had roared onto the scene in 2004 and by 2007 Michael Wear and worked his way into the campaign. (Obama was my State Rep and then State Senator and then US Senator, so I was aware of him long before many on the national scene. I remember having him as a guest lecturer at one of my grad classes in spring 1998 and talking to him afterward about a problem I was having with my non-profit work. I came home to my wife and announced that Obama was going to be president someday.)
Wear worked on Obama’s presidential campaign in faith outreach and then was hired as one of the youngest West Wing staffers in modern history, to work in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Wear left the West Wing to head up the outreach to faith groups in the 2012 campaign. Finally, he worked for the inauguration committee for Obama’s second inauguration before stepping away, burned out, disillusioned, but hopeful for a better way.
Reclaiming Hope has several chapters on rough history of Obama’s presidency and how the role of faith was important, and where there were problems. The summary, for several issues, is that faith was seen as important, but often was shunted to the side because it was not important enough, or that the political staff for Obama were too secular to understand why it should be important.
The first was Obama’s outreach to conservatives around Abortion. Obama wanted to find areas of common ground where pro-life and pro-choice policies could overlap so that there could be an actual reduction in abortions and an increase in adoption and other solutions. In this area, Obama was largely spurned by the right, although there were some results around adoption.
The contraception mandate, as part of the ACA, was an example of the President’s policy staff just not understanding the religious freedom issues surrounding the mandate. Wear narrates a story of misstep after misstep that were grounded mostly in ignorance. But by that time, there were also some political realities of how the right had spurred (I think inappropriately) some of the out reach attempts and thumbed their nose at the White House with things like the Presidential Prayer Breakfast planning.
The final policy issue recounted in a full chapter was Obama’s evolution on gay marriage. This may be the closest to cynicism that Wear gets. I think because he is still not sure if he was played and Obama had decided he was for gay marriages before the first campaign or if there was an actual evolution.
All of the history and policy exploration I think was good and interesting, especially for someone like me that leans Democrat, but is still well grounded in the Evangelical world, and thinks that there should be areas of common ground.
The last couple chapters, and sprinkled throughout the rest of Reclaiming Hope, is an exploration of political theology. How is it that Christians should engage politics? How should we understand the role of faith in our political decision making? And maybe most important, how is it that we approach politics when we are not in the majority?
Hope is not incidental to the title or just a play on Obama’s campaign slogan. It is the real thread running through the book and central to Wear’s vision for the future. Michael Wear and Alan Noble and others have started Public Faith to advocate for faith as a means of calling on both the right and the left to see the importance hope in politics. This isn’t a re-incarnation of the religious right, but an intentionally politically diverse group that wants to be a hopeful conscious.
From the Public Faith website:
In the midst of another divisive election and a political culture that thrives off of conflict, many Christians and other Americans are tempted to check out and claim the posture of a conscientious objector or to dig in for even greater political hostilities. We believe that neither political withdrawal nor reinvigorated culture wars by Christians will help our nation and communities through the difficult challenges we face. Instead, we seek to offer a different voice: confident and hopeful, equally full of conviction and grace. As Christians, we believe that our faith has something essential to contribute in this moment.
We invite all Christians and those of good will to join us as we advocate for a perspective that challenges political parties with a better vision. We call on Christians to work within political parties to advocate these essential ideals and to change parties or create new ones when reform is no longer feasible.
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- Kendall
- 01-30-17
Great Read that demonstrates the role of faith
Inspiring inside look at tne roles of faith and hope inside President Obama's administration . I shared many, but not all of his stances, positions, and conclusions. Where I could not waiver is when positions and policy were in direct opposition to God's word despite popularity. His conclusion were also not exactly the same as mine; but that's the point. It's OK not to share viewpoints, but we still can reason and work together to do God 's will and to take care of the least among us.🤔
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-19-17
A must-read book that's all too relevant
At a time when many are anxious and divided about politics, Michael Wear's book offers an important message: Our faith should drive our politics, not the other way around. Faith, not politics, is the only true source of hope that can deliver us from a misplaced idealism that inevitably breeds cynicism. He encourages us to fight the temptation to withdraw from political activity, and he challenges us to let a strong faith inform our political actions and hope for the future. This is NOT a partisan book. Wear offers an even-handed, and even occasionally funny, analysis of the Obama years. Everyone should read this book for its insights into the Obama administration and reflections on the relationship between faith and politics.
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- Anonymous User
- 04-25-19
fantastic
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ghy hefty hhfv jj f DC
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