The legendary editor who founded the  Washington Monthly  explores “the resentful, unequal, uncaring parts of today’s American culture that Trump has inflamed and that have made Trump possible—and how to cope with them” ( The Atlantic ).   Foreword by Jon Meacham   With clarity and wit, the legendary editor Charles Peters explains the chasm that defines us today: the split between the educated elite and the working-class, rural, and religious voters who live in what's condescendingly—but tellingly—known as flyover country.   The beginning of the end of Trumpism will come when blue-state sophisticates confront their role in creating the political, economic, and cultural resentments that propelled the forty-fifth president into office. Too many Democrats lost touch with the average American, Peters argues, when the liberal elite became more concerned with being smarter, having better taste, and making more money than with understanding why workers were earning less and hated being regarded with contempt. It was this hatred of being looked down on as bigoted boobs in polyester that united working-class, rural, and evangelical voters, and helped set the stage for the culturally populist backlash of 2016 and beyond.   In  We Do Our Part , Peters shows us where we have been and where we are going, drawing on his invaluable perspective as a man who has seen America's better days and still believes in the promise that lies ahead. Praise for We Do Our Part “[Peters] weaves a synthesis of mainstream and progressive, centrist and popular thought that would re-anchor the Democratic Party, both in its own traditions and in outreach to the restless, angry swath of the country that elected President Trump. . . . Peters is an American original.” — The Washington Post “A great book about modern American history.” —Chris Matthews,  Hardball “Part joyful memoir, part shrewd political analysis, and part insightful cultural criticism . . . [Peters] offers a keen understanding of where the Democrats went wrong in scorning the kind of people in Appalachia that he grew up with” —Walter Shapiro,  Roll Call “ We Do Our Part is not directly about the Trump era or phenomenon, though Charlie gets to Trump at the end. But it is all about the resentful, unequal, uncaring parts of today’s American culture that Trump has inflamed and that have made Trump possible—and how to cope with them. . . . Vivid, funny, often touching.” —James Fallows, The Atlantic “An important book on the central issue facing our country . . . The truth [Charles] Peters aims to impart in this book is one that all Americans, and especially liberals, need to understand: An America in which the elite serves the interests of the majority isn’t a pipe dream. That world actually existed, in living memory. And there are signs, in the country’s reaction to the election of Donald Trump, that it could exist again.” — Washington Monthly “The spirit of all Americans doing their part for the good of society—not just greedily grabbing for themselves—is woven throughout the book. . . . The old magazine editor has immense knowledge about Washington and its colorful government insiders. His book is filled with Capitol Hill struggles.” — Charleston Gazette-Mail “A thoughtful, well-reasoned argument for American citizens to pull back from political brinksmanship and embrace the values of the Roosevelt era. . . It’s always worth listening to a guy who managed John F. Kennedy’s 1960 campaign in West Virginia and was introduced to marijuana by Allen Ginsberg; this man has stories. . . . A cogent and meaningful call for citizens to share the benefits and burdens of a unified society—hopefully an argument that isn’t already past its sell-by date.” — Kirkus Reviews “A wise and brilliant book by a wise and brilliant man . . . Charlie Peters loves this country deeply, and this book is packed with insights on how we can make America more just, more civil, and, well, great. Everyone should read it.” —Nicholas Thompson, editor, The New Yorker “Charles Peters, who remembers the New Deal as an indelible personal experience, has given us a deeply moving, and also deeply troubling, account of how we got from the national political culture he knew when he was young to the one we have today. This is a book about the past that makes it possible for us to imagine a better future: one in which public service regains its rightful place of highest purpose in American society.” —Nicholas Lemann, dean emeritus, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism Charles Peters was born in Charleston, West Virginia, and educated in local public schools. He earned a BA and an MA at Columbia University and a law degree from the University of Virginia. Peters served in the U.S. Army and the West Virginia legislature, practiced law, and managed John Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign in Kanawha County. Peters also helped found the Peace Corps and served as its director of evaluatio