Would CEOs consider raising their own wages while cutting back the companyвЂ™s health-care benefits if they considered themselves equal to their employees? Would Americans accept the hopeless state of inner-city schools if they had to ask themselves how they would feel about their own children attending them?

Sadly, it is the weakest groups in American society that suffer the most from this lack of empathy. Instead of acknowledging each othersвЂ™ needs and focusing on values shared by all Americans, an ownership society highlights individual differences and promotes conflict. This world-view reflects the lack of empathy that America is suffering from today. The Republican party promotes an ownership society which tells its citizens вЂњYouвЂ™re on your own,вЂќ rather than, вЂњWeвЂ™re all in it together.вЂќ These shared values are often considered so natural that people take them for granted. The attitudes of Americans today continue to be strongly shaped by the founding fathersвЂ™ spirit. Communal values bringing people together, keeping their democracy alive.The idea of individual liberty and affording every citizen the same chances, regardless of race, religion, or class.In this summary of The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama, all Americans subscribe to two main notions: Never in AmericaвЂ™s history should a king, general, or pope alone be able to shape the path of the American people.

Another prerequisite was that power be diffused and all absolute authority rejected. Thus personal freedom seemed only possible in a society which also upholds communal values, such as family, religion, patriotism. Still, the founding fathers faced the reality that liberty was not without its challenges: never before in human history had a stable democracy worked for a large nation for any long period of time. The founding fathers had the foresight to write two masterpieces, which directly reflect how they envisioned the American ideal: the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.ДЄt the very core of these documents is the idea that every man and woman is born free, with the same rights and chances in society.

Audacity of hope