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LWV Greenwich Book Discussion | 6:30pm to 8:00pm

About this event

Wednesday, September 11th

Join us for our first LWV Greenwich Book Discussion. We will be reading "The Age of Grievance" by Frank Bruni, New York Times Bestselling Author.

The discussion will be facilitated by Susan Herbst, University Professor of Political Science & President Emeritus, University of Connecticut.

Please go to Athena Books in Old Greenwich to pick up your book or click HERE to purchase the book on Amazon. Greenwich Library currently has 10 print copies of "The Age of Grievance" plus 2 ebooks, and 6 audiobooks.

Frank Bruni, longtime New York Times journalist and now Duke University Professor, presents a provocative, non-partisan book about what ails us, and how we can move from being victims to neighbors and citizens, with a shared American mission. In his book, Bruni asks some of the following questions: 

Are we in an American “Age of Grievance”?

How has grievance – the notion that we are deprived of something everyone else is getting – come to dominate American political culture? It seems like people, no matter their politics, feel as though they are losing and others are winning. While some grievances are real and important, the more intense, sustained feelings have turned into conspiracy theories, anger, and even violence, as we saw on January 6th.

How did we become a culture of victimhood, and how does that threaten democracy?


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Susan Herbst has written many books and articles about American public opinion and politics and will lead a discussion of Bruni’s book.  

Please join us for a wide-ranging discussion and come with your reactions, arguments, and, of course, your ideas about a better American path forward.

Questions to ponder as you read: 
1.  Have people always been angry, at their government and often at their local community leadership? Is it really a unique, modern phenomenon? Does the rise of grievance have something to do with social media?

2.  Did the pandemic have a long, profound psychological effect on us, that we just can’t see or understand yet? Did our sad, often searing, pandemic experiences feed the current sense of grievance?

3.  When you discover someone in your family or social group has significant anger (e.g., toward Biden, toward Trump, toward the media), is it hard to engage them? How do we have real, civil conversations with people we know, when they are so emotional, feeling deserted (or cheated) somehow by American elites?

Date and Time

Wednesday, September 11, 2024, 6:30 PM until 8:00 PM

Location

Athena Books
228 Sound Beach Avenue
Old Greenwich, CT  06870
USA

Event Contact(s)

Nancy A Duffy

Category

LWV Greenwich Events

Registration Info

Registration is required