Kruse Reviews | What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism

||| BOOK REVIEW by JENS KRUSE |||

Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner originally published What Unites Us in 2017. I just read it in the 2019 paperback edition that has a new “Afterword.” The book opens with the question “What is Patriotism?” and then unfolds its narrative in five sections (“Freedom,” “Community,” “Exploration,” “Responsibility,” “Character”) of three chapters each. The section on “Exploration,” for instance has the chapters “Science,” “Books,’’ and “The Arts.”

Rather’s – of the two authors it is his voice that we hear throughout the book – opening chapter on patriotism begins with a childhood recollection of fireworks on the fourth of July. His patriotism is grounded in his childhood experiences although it did not take long before he had to “confront the often simmering and sometimes explosive injustices of the United States: its bigotry, exploitation, callousness, and corruption. It may seem counterintuitive, but these flaws made me love my country all the more” (10-11).

Of these and other “national sins” he writes:

And we should neither forget nor be paralyzed by our prior national sins. We can all feel the swell of pride walking through our nation’s capital city, even though we must tell the story of how some of those buildings were built by slave labor. We can revel in the opportunities of democracy, even though bigoted laws were passed in the chambers of Congress and upheld by the Supreme Court. We must look clear-eyed at the problems of the past and present, but encouraged that our electoral and legal systems provide a framework for improved justice in the future. [13]

He pleads for an active patriotism: “Patriotism – active, constructive patriotism – takes work. It takes knowledge, engagement with those who are different from you, and fairness in law and opportunity” (17).

In the subsequent sections and chapters Rather identifies and discusses the elements around which we must unite if we want to make our democracy thrive: the vote, dissent, the press, inclusion, empathy, immigration, science, books, the arts, the environment, public education, service, audacity, steadiness, courage, and finally citizenship.

Unsurprisingly for someone who has been a journalist for six decades, Rather is passionate about the importance of a free press for democracy. But he is quite concerned about its current state. He writes:

At the height of CBS News, we had around twenty foreign and domestic bureaus robustly staffed. Most of those have withered or long since been shuttered. What has gotten less attention but has perhaps been the greatest loss to our democracy is the decimation that has come to local newspapers. These were always the engines that powered much of American journalism, as great reporting would bubble up to the national newspapers and television. Local newspapers also provided the check on local and state governments, reporting on mayors, city councils, school boards, and state houses. (67)

He concludes this chapter as follows:

But while these may be heroic times for journalists, the outcome of the battle between propaganda and deception on the one hand and unbiased reporting on the other is far from clear. No one has a monopoly on the truth, but the whole premise of our democracy is that truth and justice must win out. And the role of a trained journalist is to get as close to the truth as is humanly possible. Make no mistake: We are being tested. Without a vibrant, fearless free press, our great American experiment may fail. (70)

Rather’s concern about the importance of truth and fact-based discourse may well be the reason that the central three chapters of his book deal with science, books, and the arts. For Rather, all three are foundational to a functioning democracy. He opens his chapter on ‘’Science’’ with the warning that:

if this nation ultimately fails, I believe it will be because opinions, propaganda, and superstitions replaced facts as the basis for our governance. By doing so, we will have undercut a key strength of the United States over the course of its history, one that receives too little attention: science. [125]

For Rather, books, public libraries, and the arts also contribute to a national conversation that is grounded in knowledge, learning, and the beautiful representation of the achievements of individuals and institutions.

As you have probably gathered by now, Rather’s What Unites Us is not so much a work of political analysis or journalistic reportage, but rather a mixture of memoir and meditation by a citizen who has lived in this country for 88 years, from the Great Depression to the Trump presidency and Covid-19 pandemic, and has written and spoken about it for many, many decades. He brings a long life’s stories, experiences, and insights to bear on his topic. And while he sees only too clearly all that divides us he is generally optimistic that we can remember, practice and reinvigorate the things that unite us.

In the end he borrows Ralph Waldo Emerson’s concept of personal heroism and ends his book with these reflections:

Ultimately, heroic citizenship must be rooted in the possible. And that means it must manifest itself in almost infinite forms of expression. None of us is alike. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and ultimately it is that diversity that provides the strongest glue that can hold this nation together. My hope is that you have seen your own actions and strengths or the actions of people you know celebrated in some of the essays here. For whether we are artists, scientists, soldiers, journalists, teachers, caregivers, nurses, farmers, mechanics, foster parents, friends in times of need, or really anyone who puts energy, heart, and mind into helping others, we have within ourselves the power to be heroic in service to our country. And by doing so, we will help answer the question of what unites us.

Dan Rather’s and Elliot Kirschner’s What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism (Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, 2019) can be checked out, by way of curbside pickup, from the Orcas Library or obtained through Darvill’s Bookstore.