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Search - The American Ideas: 13 American Originals to Know, Love, and Defend

The American Ideas 13 American Originals to Know Love and Defend
Author: An American

There is, of course, America the place. But there is also America the dream, the goal, the ideal. These are what make America the place special. These are what have drawn millions to the shores of this country called America. America the place is powerful, but America the dream, goal, and ideal is stupendous, exceptional and powerful without equ... more »al. The strength of the Ideas that make America so sensational is the subject of this book. People talk about the American idea. But there is no single American idea. The concept of America is far too complex for that kind of distillation. But there are 13 uniquely American ideas about 13 issues crucial to the lives of all people and nations. What are these American Ideas? Freedom for all as an unalienable human right. Acceptance and celebration of diversity. Legal, social, and economic justice as the norm. Equality of value based on shared humanity. Respect for the dignity of the individual, first and always. Unlimited opportunity for success and happiness. Unflinching responsibility for yourself and your family and others sharing your journey. Uncoerced and unsurpassed generosity. God as the foundation of rights, and religion and faith as the foundation of decency. And more. Civil society that brings out the best in human beings. Limited government that serves rather than rules. Independence from the lunacies of foreign affairs and entanglements. And peace, stretching out far into the future and preserved for unborn generations. This book reminds us of these 13 remarkable Ideas; Ideas that can and should be understood, savored, protected, and lived. The founders of America would have called these (and not just the ones formally listed in the Declaration of Independence) self-evident truths. Much has been done in American history, especially in recent decades, to cloud these truths. Some people have twisted these ideas to mean something else entirely sometimes even the opposite of their self-evident meaning. One goal of this book is to make these truths clear, to make them once again self-evident by sweeping away the debris that covers them. Even as life changes at an accelerating pace, we can know, love, and hold onto enduring truths that have been handed down to us. We can hold onto Ideas that we shouldn t lose, give up, or allow to be taken away. And only when we know who we are and what we believe will we able to dialogue on how to make change that is both effective and principled. Americans either citizens or Americans-in-spirit have been given a remarkable heritage. It grew out of a quest to find El Dorado, the city of gold, the America that breaks with the brutal message of history, a way of life based on Ideas rather than on power and coercion. Some wise souls identified this better way, based on these incomparable Ideas. They crafted first a philosophy and then a nation. Together we can see what they knew, things that we may not yet know, or that we may have forgotten, observes the author. As an American, both in citizenship and spirit, I love these Ideas. I am an American by heritage, an American by birth, and an American by choice. I was born in America but have become an enthusiastic immigrant to the American Dream not money or houses or cars or boats, but 13 glorious Ideas.

ISBN-13: 9781937305017
ISBN-10: 1937305015
Publication Date: 11/2/2011
Pages: 347
Rating:

0 stars, based on 0 rating

Publisher: American Books
Book Type: Hardcover
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

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Search - The American Ideas: 13 American Originals to Know, Love, and Defend

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