An Arrogant Nation That Creates Its Own Reality:

About the Book

Americans seem prone to create their own reality in situations that have faced them over the past several years and this arrogance cost the country dearly. Three events stand out as prime examples this arrogance. The first of these events was the war in Iraq which was based on the false reality that the country possessed weapons of mass destruction and had ties to terrorist organizations. The second example was the financial crisis of 2008 which was precipitated by the invention of new and complicated investment vehicles. The last example is the current Trump administration which was filled with falsehoods during the campaign and his first years in office, such that one could not believe anything that this administration said. This book is going to focus on religious reasons for this situation as I believe that it is the Christian religion that is largely at fault for this condition. It is religion that has set up most Americans to believe our leaders when they outright lie and claim to know things beyond what the evidence will support and create a false reality that eventually comes crashing down to disrupt American life. If our nation is ever going to be great it must quit living in a fantasy world and give up a belief in magic as far as its future is concerned. Decisions in government and business must be based on reality as it is and not on what we arrogantly think we can create. The two go together as the more we try and create our own reality the less able we are to come to grips with the reality that actually exists. The place to start is by recognizing the role the Christian religion has played in this phenomenon and letting go of the fantasies that comprise this religion and live a secular life that finds meaning and purpose in this world rather than in some hereafter. We will not successfully deal with all the problems with which we are faced and have a political and economic system that works for everyone until this happens.

About the Author

Rogene A. Buchholz is currently the Legendre-Soule Chair in Business Ethics Emeritus at Loyola University New Orleans. He held this endowed chair at Loyola for thirteen years until his retirement in 2002. Prior to this position he taught at various business schools as a full-time faculty or visitor. Dr. Buchholz received a B.S. Degree from North Central College in 1959, a M.S. Degree in Economics from the University of Illinois in 1960, an M.Th. Degree from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in 1964, and a Ph.D. Degree from the Business School at the University of Pittsburgh in 1974. He received the Summer Marcus Award for outstanding contributions to the field of Business and Society and outstanding service to the Social Issues in Management Division of the Academy of Management. During his career he made well over a hundred presentations at academic conferences and other professional groups and published well over a hundred articles in scholarly journals, chapters in edited books, proceedings, and other professional publications. He is the author or co-author of 14 books that were mostly textbooks while in academia and has had three scholarly books published by Routledge in their Business Ethics Series since he retired. He was a consultant for various companies on business ethics and environmental matters, including a three-year project with the Corporate Conservation Council of the National Wildlife Federation working on a Curriculum Development Project to incorporate environmental issues and concerns into the business school curriculum. Dr. Buchholz currently lives with his wife, a former philosophy professor at Loyola University in New Orleans, in Denver Colorado.