Making Patriots in an Unpatriotic Age

Roger Kimball, American Greatness

Over the course of decades, legislatures and, especially, the courts conspired in one

decision after another to undermine the moral and civic education that nurtures patriotic citizens. The purpose of civics courses in the past was to instill respect for the principles that formed America. The question now, Berns notes, is whether the private realm can take up the slack. We are all the beneficiaries of patriotism. Whether we are continuing the necessary task of making patriots is the challenge this profound book invites us to ponder.