The Flag, The Cross, And The Station Wagon by Bill McKibben

 

Bill McKibben grew up in a well to do suburb.  Everyone went to the same school and mothers were usually home when the kids came home from school.  Patriotism was high and everyone was sure that the United States was the best country in the world.  

Now, as an older man, he sees many changes.  It is increasingly difficult for a family to get by on one salary and many of the jobs are gone, sent overseas.  The ability to buy a starter home that would eventually turn into enough money to fund retirement is gone, along with most of the pensions that supplied stability.  The automatic patriotism is strained as the truth about those groups that were excluded is more transparent.  Church attendance is falling rapidly and is mostly composed of older people, escalating the dearth of those who identify as religious.

Along with these issues, McKibben believes there is hope.  He encourages municipalities and suburbs to encourage and support lower income housing.  He hopes that resources will increasingly go to those in need.  He wants the United States to once again feel as if they were a beacon of freedom throughout the world.  

McKibben is a scholar, an author and an environmentalist.  In this book, he outlines the issues he sees and then the improvements that he believes can occur.  I listened to this book and the narrator had a clear voice that made listening easy.  This book is recommended for nonfiction readers.