On Tuesday, November 14, St. Joan's hosted a spirited presentation of these messages by Anthony Signorelli (Tony), author of the book CALL TO LIBERTY: Bridging The Divide Between Liberals And Conservatives.

About 60 attendees learned the historical basis for the present construct of LIBERALS and CONSERVATIVES. Then the characteristics of the extremists in each group, the few that represent the biggest challenge to our democracy, were described.

The presentation was given in 3 parts:

1. Shared Principles (shared by most Liberals and most Conservatives)
2. Right Wing Challenge (dangers from a small portion of Conservatives)
3. What We Can Do (all Liberals and Conservatives call to action)

His framework for an historical discussion was segmented into Religion, Economics and Politics. Although they often overlap, the major characteristics and change agents in each segment were described.

Tony's major premise is: that the construct of a LIBERAL versus CONSERVATIVE divide in the US is a false picture. A better picture, if you visualize a circle, is a vast area that is common to all Americans, plus 2 small areas, Left Wing and the Right Wing, which are composed of extremists. It is the extremists' ideology, eclipsing our vibrant American idealism, which represents a major threat to our future.

According to Tony, the Right Wing extremists are composed of these groups:

1. Neoconservatives
2. Christian fundamentalists
3. Corrupt segments of the corporate elite

In effect, Tony courageously redefines the term LIBERALISM to be composed of the major founding principles of our constitution which nearly all Americans embrace. Thus, our flammable LIBERAL-CONSERVATIVE dialogue is recast to be a dialogue based on mutual similarities, with repudiation of extremists, the Right Wing and the Left Wing.

In this book, Anthony Signorelli, co-founder of the Center for Thoughtful Democracy, argues that while liberals are demonized, conservatives are disenfranchised by the current divisiveness of political culture. True liberalism, which has roots reaching back to the Renaissance, includes Progressives, Moderates, and true Conservatives--and in fact, requires all three groups in order to thrive. The recovery of American political culture requires a shared American story, and that story is liberalism. By reviving liberalism, we can take the country back from the radical right-wing minority currently in power. (from Tony's website).

Currently, another major passion of Tony's is the notion of an amendment to the US Constitution - the Free and Fair Elections Amendment. The amendment would read like this: A well regulated election, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to an audited, voter-verified, certified paper record of the vote, shall not be infringed. Tony briefly provided his rationale for the importance of this amendment.

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Jerry Hartlaub commutes from New Brighton with his wife, Trish, to be refreshed and challenged at the "SJA spiritual oasis". He's a Sunday mass slide jockey and "worker bee" at many SJA events. For fun he has written a bunch of poetry, printed his first book, and invented lots of stuff in a 30-year bioengineering career. These days he teaches cardiac physiology (but he's mostly retired), serves on non-profit boards, does Junior Achievement gigs and plays softball. But most rewarding is providing child-care for two of the world's smartest, cutest grandchildren.

As Tony's web site says, "Why has liberal become a dirty word in American politics when liberalism defines the essence of our principles, rights and freedoms? Why are conservatives seen as religious nutbags or pathological liars when conservatism is so central to the maintenance of stability and freedom? Find out in Call to Liberty."

About the Author Anthony (Tony) Signorelli is a concerned citizen and businessman. He lives in Lake Elmo, MN with his wife and their two daughters. Signorelli is owner/operator of a successful performance improvement consulting practice. He volunteers as Chair of the St. Croix Youth Film Institute, a non-profit organization that runs a camp for making films with young people. For relaxation, he gardens and plays golf. But few things bring him more pleasure than an energetic conversation on a warm summer day Tony can be reached at tony@calltoliberty.net or 651.523.7201. The web site related to his book is www.calltoliberty.net.