We the Fallen People
The Founders and the Future of American Democracy
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Narrated by:
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Bob Souer
About this listen
The success and survival of American democracy have never been guaranteed.
What we must do, argues the historian Robert Tracy McKenzie, is take an unflinching look at the very nature of democracy - its strengths and weaknesses, what it can promise, and where it overreaches. And this means we must take an unflinching look at ourselves.
We the Fallen People presents a close look at the ideas of human nature to be found in the history of American democratic thought. McKenzie, following C. S. Lewis, claims there are only two reasons to believe in majority rule: because we have confidence in human nature - or because we don't. The Founders subscribed to the biblical principle that humans are fallen and their virtue is always doubtful, and they wrote the US Constitution to frame a republic intended to handle our weaknesses. But by the presidency of Andrew Jackson, contrary ideas about humanity's inherent goodness were already taking deep root among Americans, bearing fruit in such perils as we now face for the future of democracy.
Focusing on the careful reasoning of the Founders, the seismic shifts of the Jacksonian Era, and the often misunderstood but still piercing analysis of Tocqueville's Democracy in America, McKenzie guides us in a conversation with the past that can help us see the present - and ourselves - with new insight.
©2021 Robert Tracy McKenzie (P)2021 eChristianListeners also enjoyed...
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- By: Mark David Hall
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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In this new audiobook, Hall makes the airtight case that America's Founders were not deists; that they did not create a "godless" Constitution; that even Jefferson and Madison did not want a high wall separating church and state; that most Founders believed the government should encourage Christianity; and that they embraced a robust understanding of religious liberty for biblical and theological reasons. In addition, Hall explains why and how the Founders' views are absolutely relevant today.
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Yes.
- By Philip D. Larson on 02-04-20
By: Mark David Hall
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Edmund Burke
- A Genius Reconsidered
- By: Russell Kirk
- Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Russell Kirk has ingeniously combined into a living whole the private Burke and the public Burke. He gives us a fresh assessment of Burke, a statesman enjoying even greater influence today than in his own time. He lucidly unfolds Burke's philosophy, showing how it revealed itself in concrete historical situations in the 18th century and how Burke, through his philosophy, "speaks to our age".
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Narration too Fast for Me
- By K on 01-16-13
By: Russell Kirk
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The Inevitability of Tragedy
- Henry Kissinger and His World
- By: Barry Gewen
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 18 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Few public officials have provoked such intense controversy as Henry Kissinger. During his time in the Nixon and Ford administrations, he came to be admired and hated in equal measure. Notoriously, he believed that foreign affairs ought to be based primarily on the power relationships of a situation, not simply on ethics. He went so far as to argue that under certain circumstances America had to protect its national interests even if that meant repressing other countries' attempts at democracy.
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Interesting but rambles
- By K on 02-17-21
By: Barry Gewen
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The Civil War as a Theological Crisis
- By: Mark A. Noll
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Although Christian believers agreed with one another that the Bible was authoritative and that it should be interpreted through commonsense principles, there was rampant disagreement about what Scripture taught about slavery. Furthermore, most Americans continued to believe that God ruled over the affairs of people and nations, but they were radically divided in their interpretations of what God was doing in and through the war.
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Nice addition to History of U.S. Religious Culture
- By Lisa Larges on 06-04-12
By: Mark A. Noll
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Churchill's Trial
- Winston Churchill and the Salvation of Free Government
- By: Dr. Larry Arnn
- Narrated by: Wayne Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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A penetrating look at the necessity of constitutional limits upon government and exceptional men to lead those governments, uniquely taken by overlaying the life and writings of Winston Churchill with the American experiment.
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A Masterpiece of Political Philosophy
- By Jean on 01-25-16
By: Dr. Larry Arnn
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The Age of Illusions
- How America Squandered Its Cold War Victory
- By: Andrew Bacevich
- Narrated by: Andrew Bacevich, Rob Shapiro
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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When the Cold War ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Washington establishment felt it had prevailed in a world-historical struggle. Our side had won, a verdict that was both decisive and irreversible. For the world’s “indispensable nation”, its “sole superpower”, the future looked very bright. History, having brought the United States to the very summit of power and prestige, had validated American-style liberal democratic capitalism as universally applicable.
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Needs an update
- By Scott Burton on 05-24-20
By: Andrew Bacevich
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The War on History
- The Conspiracy to Rewrite America’s Past
- By: Jarrett Stepman
- Narrated by: Chris Abell
- Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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America is hopelessly divided, but more worryingly, the ideas and “mystic chords of memory” that rest at the cornerstone of our civilization and bind the generations are being severed, attacked, and forgotten. The left has set out to shatter these bonds with a war on American history - the fundamental concepts, institutions, and icons that make our country what it is. And we have failed to protect our history, allowing Hollywood, educators, and the media to rewrite the story of America. We have ignored the invaluable lessons of our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents.
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Culture war, not history
- By J. Pulton on 03-08-21
By: Jarrett Stepman
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James Madison
- America's First Politician
- By: Jay Cost
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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How do you solve a problem like James Madison? The fourth president is one of the most confounding figures in early American history; his political trajectory seems almost intentionally inconsistent. He was both for and against a strong federal government. He wrote about the dangers of political parties in the Federalist Papers and then helped to found the Republican Party just a few years later. This so-called Madison problem has occupied scholars for ages.
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Good listen
- By James Shannon on 06-27-22
By: Jay Cost
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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
What listeners say about We the Fallen People
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Brandon
- 03-28-23
Thoughtful reflection and historical perspective, but ultimately no easy answer
When Hillary Clinton misquoted de Tocqueville by saying ‘America is great because she is good’ she betrayed the liberal presupposition that that Americans are, in fact, “good.” The contrary presupposition of Christianity and our Founding Fathers (not necessarily the same) is that America is composed of fallen people who are capable of virtue, and at our best when we practice it. But too often we stumble, which is why we need a constitutional republic—not a strict democracy—with plenty of checks and balances. Only a generation after the framing of our constitution, Andrew Jackson stood this all on its head—assuming mob rule can work, because the mob is composed of “good people” (who, conveniently, adore their strong leader). And the historical parallels between his populism and Trump’s are uncanny—despite each one leading the opposite political party of their time—which should set off warning bells for us today: the perils to our system of self government come principally from within….if we’re not careful, we become our own worst enemy.
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-08-22
What I didn't Know about our Democracy
I highly recommend this book. I will be a wiser American and Christian from what I have learned. I so appreciate the author's research and humble critique of American democracy. Very insightful and very sobering!
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- Jon Young
- 05-31-22
Excellent historical analysis and theological reflection
McKenzie helps us think deeply and Christianly about our current political situation with helpful suggestions for response and action. Great narration in audiobook.
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- Gregory Adaka MD
- 03-02-22
The strengths and weaknesses of a democracy
The humour in this book is nearly half the reason why I love it. Sometimes sardonic and often catching me off guard, because it's buried in the middle of some sober analysis.
Many was the time I'd burst out laughing, while listening to Bob Souer's narration.
Robert McKenzie points out in the clearest terms that democracy is not an absolute basis for good government - its only as good as the people who vote - if the majority are bad, their collective decisions will be bad.
The author spends a lot of time analysing the sagely writings of Alexis de Tocqueville. This is time well spent. It's remarkable how frequently politicians and the media on both the left and right, misquote De Tocqueville and twist his words to support their point of view.
Hearing an evangelical give such a candid assessment of the Evangelical Church's attachment to the Republican party is incredibly refreshing. For example, the author speaks frankly about the spiritual anomaly of "the church" throwing such unalloyed support behind Donald Trump. He writes in no uncertain terms about the blatant hypocrisy this represents. He does this without telling his readers to go and vote for Hillary or Bernie Sanders instead.
Overall, this book is chock-full of wisdom, with what I consider a very balanced assessment of both the strengths and the limitations of a democratically elected government.
Mckenzie is a historian who appears to be both pragmatic and yet unashamedly Christian. The book was so well written and so engaging. It's one of those that when you come to the end, you wish there was more.
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