Together

Together: Building Better, Stronger Communities is about our communities and how we need them to work at their best in today's political environment. This environment is extremely challenging and is likely to remain so for some time. In meeting these challenges, communities that work democratically work best, and they become stronger because a democracy engages the energies of everyone, and everyone is needed to combat today's problems.

Many books are to be read in the comfort of an easy chair or at a desk. Together isn't. It was written to be read one chapter at a time and then discussed by any group of people who want to understand how they can contribute to making their community a better place to live, raise a family, and work. Communities where people are learning together are better able to adapt to changes in circumstances that they can't control. Reading this book together can be the first step to creating such a learning community.

About the Kettering Foundation

The Kettering Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit operating foundation rooted in the American tradition of cooperative research. Kettering’s primary research question is: What does it take to make democracy work as it should? Kettering’s research is distinctive because it is conducted from the perspective of citizens and focuses on what people can do collectively to address problems affecting their lives, their communities, and their nation. For more information about Kettering research and publications, see the Kettering Foundation’s website at www.kettering.org.

David Mathews served as president of the Kettering Foundation from 1981 to 2022. He is now president emeritus. He was Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the Ford administration and taught history at the University of Alabama, where he was president from 1969 to 1980. Mathews has written extensively on Southern history, public policy, community problem solving, education, and international relations. His books include Politics for People: Finding a Responsible Public Voice; The Ecology of Democracy: Finding Ways to Have a Stronger Hand in Shaping Our Future; With the People: An Introduction to an Idea; Together: Building Better, Stronger Communities; and With: A Strategy for Renewing Our Democracy.