Overview

The American Dream at its best is an ethical ideal and a moral compass. If respected and sustained, it can guide the United States through Trump 2.0. Anchored in the US Constitution, Saving the American Dream features meditations for dark times. Meditations are intentional acts of focused attention. They seek insight--clear and deep understanding--about critical issues. What, for example, is most important for the United States today? Are we Americans doing the best we can? How may inquiry about the American Dream advance the reflection and action needed now to support and defend the Constitution of the United States? Saving the American Dream is a journey that goes where such questions lead. Its fundamental premise is that individuals moved to communal action by warned awareness and committed resistance are indispensable to meet challenges that grow by the day. Guidance from reliable American writers--philosophers, historians, novelists, poets, essayists, religious thinkers--maps the way.

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Reviews

""Saving the American Dream is a powerful exploration of what binds--and divides--America and Americans today. John K. Roth reminds readers that democracy, equality, and opportunity are not guaranteed. They must be renewed by every generation. Saving the American Dream challenges complacency, offers a warning and a way forward, and calls 'We the People of the United States' to civic responsibility and moral courage. I highly recommend it."" --Carol Rittner, RSM, Professor Emerita of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Stockton University, New Jersey ""Having dedicated more than a half century toward exploring the American Dream, John K. Roth has a mastery of American history, literature, philosophy, poetry, culture, and music to understand the Dream's nuances and its aspirations. Roth has risen to the defense of the American Dream and offers an accurate, anguished, and searing condemnation of those now in power who seem determined to destroy it. TThe question of our age is can the American Dream be preserved. Roth cannot answer that question, but he does tell us why the Dream should be preserved and offers sagacious guidance as to how it can be preserved. This work must challenge us all, arouse our conscience, and inspire us to action."" --Michael Berenbaum, Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies, American Jewish University ""John K. Roth has spent over five decades challenging students to wrestle with the import and meaning of the American Dream and inspiring them to fulfill its promise. In Saving the American Dream, he uses that lifetime of philosophical and historical exploration as the lens through which to view the actions of Trump 2.0. This book is for policy makers, patriots, and anyone feeling overwhelmed by the past year. More than a mere indictment, it delivers an urgent and inspirational call to action and a path forward, guiding 'We the People' toward resilient resistance and communal action to meet the needs of our nation's moment."" --Steve Bullock, Montana Governor (2013-21) and former student of Prof. Roth ""In a time when it is hard to keep up with all the ways democracy and the American Dream are under attack, this book skillfully provides analysis of key events, actions, and positions of both those attacking democracy and the Dream and those defending them. Written with refreshing candor, Saving the American Dream weaves together the US Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance, notions of patriotism, political philosophy, history, literature, and more to both inform and inspire the reader to action. Roth warns us all to 'watch what Trump does and remember what he keeps doing. He consolidates power and advances oligarchy.' Roth helpfully reminds us that 'if we want more democracy, we must be more democratic--now. If we want the rule of law, we must practice it--today. . . . We have to defend and support--with no wasted time--a free press and schools and universities that teach students to inquire critically, follow where evidence leads, and respect truth.' Roth writes with a passion and urgency that capture the reader's attention. This is an important book for our times and should be read and taught widely."" --Erin McKenna, Professor of Philosophy, University of Oregon ""In this moment of constitutional crisis, Saving the American Dream is essential reading. It sounds the alarm, provides wisdom from sages past and present, and ultimately invites us to embrace hope as we face hard truths about our nation. Whether the American Dream can be reclaimed and redeemed is still to be determined, but John K. Roth makes strong arguments for why and how we should save it. This book is both a meditation and call to action.&r

Author Information

John K. Roth is the Edward J. Sexton Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Claremont McKenna College. He is the author or editor of more than sixty books, including Warnings: The Holocaust, Ukraine, and Endangered American Democracy (Cascade, 2023) and Stress Test: The Israel-Hamas War and Christian-Jewish Relations (2025).

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