Books by "Tom De Luca"
2 books found
“When he comes to his enemies, their houses will tremble. When he comes to his allies, they will stand in awe and fear. And when the Dagaz comes to his people, his people will weep.” For more than a century, the fervent believers of the Cohors Ignota sect known as the Sowilo have waited for their savior to arrive. Prophecy promises that the Dagaz’s most dedicated followers will weep when he comes to them. And so they shall. Crisis now spans the globe. In Europe, Tilden Garrott, heir to his Family and prized prisoner of the Ignota, struggles with the madness gripping his mind as he manipulates his enemies in an effort to regain the birthright the Council has denied him. Thousands of miles west, on a tiny island in Lake Erie, Gavin McAvoy, newly-named leader of the resistance, finds himself quite unsuited to the political wrangling required to bring together the mistrusting factions of Ignota and Sowilo. With the arrival of a threat thought dead, the cost of miscalculation is fatal. Across a different ocean, a leader far more adept at wielding power understands whichever action he takes next, his short list of allies will fade to greater isolation. Caput Xian Hu, and his forced bride Aubrey Garrott, prepare for war with the other Families while facing a deadly challenge from within House Hu. On the Dead Continent, a land both feared and forgotten, Torrance leads those few brave enough to journey with him into a wild wasteland. He will not accept the destiny forced upon him, but neither will he squander advantage. For the Dead Continent is very much alive. And though it is ruled by warlords and violence, it has an asset the man from the woods cannot forsake. Ignota and Sowilo, Alliance and Council, all smell the coming of war in the wind. And all now grasp for position and race for resources before the end begins. Prophecy promises tears. And tears there shall be. Rivers and rivers of tears. So continues the battle to control tomorrow’s history.
This inclusive study examines the extraordinarily high rates of political nonparticipation in the United States and the political, historical, institutional, and philosophical roots of such widespread apathy. To explain why individuals become committed to political apathy as a political role, Tom DeLuca begins by defining "the two faces of political apathy." The first, rooted in free will, properly places responsibility for nonparticipation in the political process on individuals. Political scientists and journalists, however, too often overlook a second, more insidious face of apathy--a condition created by institutional practices and social and cultural structures that limit participation and political awareness. The public blames our most disenfranchised citizens for their own disenfranchisement. Apathetic citizens blame themselves. DeLuca examines classic and representative explanations of non-participation by political analysts across a range of methodologies and schools of thought. Focusing on their views on the concepts of political power and political participation, he assesses current proposals for reform. He argues that overcoming the second face of apathy requires a strategy of "real political equality," which includes greater equality in the availability of political resources, in setting the political agenda, in clarifying political issues, and in developing a public sphere for more genuine democratic politics. Author note: Tom DeLuca is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Fordham College at Lincoln Center. He has been a long-time activist on local and national issues, especially nuclear arms control, and his op-ed pieces on politics have appeared in The New York Times, New York Newsday, The Nation, and The Progressive.