She was the last speaker of an ancient tribal language called Bo, and the last direct link to a 65,000-year-old culture. Few of us noticed the death of Bo.Read more at location 4275
There is only one question, then: Do we care to stop the “entropy of nations,” the powerful forces that find the weakest seams and begin to tug, unravel, and rip?Read more at location 4281
In the prior chapters we have seen how falling birthrates, a rise in globalization, a decline of work, and an explosion of debt and bureaucracy have made our national seams more threadbare.Read more at location 4283
these problems have come about, not because of an economic or environmental disaster, but largely because of prosperity.Read more at location 4285
We have learned in prior chapters how leaders like Alexander, Atatürk, and others battled to hold together or form new nations.Read more at location 4289
Reagan recognized that all that is needed for nations to shatter is for patriots to do nothing.Read more at location 4298
Reagan was not just a patriot. He was also what I term a patriotist. There is a difference. A patriot feels love and affection for his country. A patriotist believes that it is a good thing to feel love and affection for one’s country. In the same way, a child may naturally love his mother but it is another thing to assert, as a philosophical principle, that one should love one’s mother.Read more at location 4299
a caveat: we assume, of course, that the specific mother or country deserves such sentiments. A mother that beats her child or a country that acts wickedly does not.Read more at location 4302
Here is the difference: the conservative ones tend to blame our social fissures on left-wing professors left over from the Vietnam era who infected generations with anti-American hatred. They often cite the name of Bill Ayers and his cloudy relationship with President Obama. I argue, instead, that the fissures stem from the prosperity delivered by market capitalism.Read more at location 4307
Howard Zinn, author of the best-selling A People’s History of the United States, wrote a July Fourth message asserting that “we must renounce nationalism and all its symbols: its flags, its pledges of allegiances, its anthems. .Read more at location 4312
planet Earth does not need patriots to keep it spinning. If a war or plague wipes out every person, the Earth will keep whirling and the sun will still rise in the east. A country is a much more vulnerable thing.Read more at location 4319
At the end of this chapter, I will try to set forth some simple ways to repairRead more at location 4323
FIGHTING THE IMMIGRATION PARADOX AND THE LOSS OF RESPECT FOR US HISTORYRead more at location 4547
Require all applicants for citizenship and green cards to have their passports stamped at no fewer than five of the following historical landmarks, museums, and libraries: • Paul Revere House (Boston); Independence Hall (Philadelphia); Gettysburg Battlefield; Mount Vernon, Virginia; Monticello, Virginia; the Statue of Liberty; Ellis Island; the Alamo • National World War II Museum (New Orleans); National Museum of American History (DC); Museum of Tolerance (Los Angeles); Pearl Harbor Memorial; Memphis Civil Rights Museum • The presidential librariesRead more at location 4556
we should give priority not only to those with STEM skills but also to those who score highly on American history and civics exams.Read more at location 4569
FIGHTING THE PARADOX OF THEFT, GENERATIONAL THEFT, AND BIRTHRATE DECLINESRead more at location 4570
Baby boomers, who will benefit far more from the Social Security program than their grandchildren, should receive an increase in benefits only if the overall economy grows and the nation’s debt profile improves.Read more at location 4571
As life expectancy and health for older people improve, the retirement age should increase for government social programs.Read more at location 4574
Young parents should receive a large tax credit, but only for a second and third child, while automatically depositing the funds into a savings account for their children. While we may applaud the birth of a first child, taxpayers need not spend money on an additional incentive to make that happen.Read more at location 4575
FIGHTING THE MALDISTRIBUTION OF WORK AND BATTLING IMMOBILITYRead more at location 4578
Give job seekers mobility credits if they move to another state to take a job,Read more at location 4585
Give job seekers “bonuses” for accepting jobs prior to their unemployment benefits expiring.Read more at location 4587
For nonhazardous jobs, eliminate licensing requirements which dramatically raise the cost of learning and practicing a trade.Read more at location 4590
Give young people incentives to learn the discipline of a job. For example, someone who begins working before age twenty-one should receive extra Social Security bonuses upon his or her retirement.Read more at location 4593
a good thing, provided that nation defends liberty and justice.Read more at location 4606
2 A nation’s virtues do not stem from the rocks and soil of its land or the genetic stock of the people, but from their character and the precepts they will fight for.Read more at location 4607
5 Immigrants have an obligation to understand and embrace the national history of their new home.Read more at location 4614
6 Culture should not be frozen in time but should invite new stories and heroes who enhance the people’s appreciation for and attachment to the nation’s principles.Read more at location 4617
8 While the nation may seek defense alliances and trade with others that do not share its values and principles, it should not share its friendship or its bounties with those who stand opposed.Read more at location 4621
