Throughout human history, great and free nations have been built on noble dreams. Recently, in some once promising nations, dreams of betterment and possibility, have been effectively compromised. The current political landscape, featuring cold partisan interest, calculated distraction, divisive fear mongering, negativity, and voter disillusionment, has enabled a perfect storm of toxic dysfunction. To make matters worse, personal integrity and accountability have become almost non-existent in political leaders. In such an environment, dreams of social, economic and ecological justice can easily be thwarted. Progress can become much more selective, favouring power and privilege. This handbook integrates critical thinking and media literacy to refocus democratic dreams on more constructive collective pursuits, to re-energize dreamers, and to help hold elected leaders more accountable for their actions and omissions. It is important to speak truth to power, and justice to privilege, in order to empower dreamers and ennoble dreams. The author has over forty years of experience as an educator, curriculum leader, school administrator, and community leader.

Born in the village of Carpanzano in Calabria, Italy in 1951, Angelo Bolotta emigrated to Canada in 1955. He graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honours B.A. in economic geography in 1973, and a Bachelor of Education (in geography and economics) in 1974. He also obtained a Master of Education in Curriculum and Assessment in 1988 from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Angelo is a career educator, curriculum leader, administrator, consultant, university instructor and author with over 40 years of experience in public education. He started teaching with the Toronto Catholic District School Board in 1974, and retired in 2009, after serving his last 18 years as a secondary school principal and curriculum leader. He continued his teaching career as an instructor and supervisor with Niagara University from 2007-2014. Angelo is the author of numerous textbooks and educational publications about civics, Canadian history, economics, the immigrant experience, and student assessment.