Customer Reviews

A Letter to America

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Consider the following:

Students in 55 of the nation's leading universities can't identity the Constitution as the document that establishes the division of governmental powers into three branches. More than half of the country's high school students don't know why or who we fought in WWII. Sixty percent of Americans think that it's the president, not the congress, with the power to declare war. Fifty percent think that the president can suspend the Constitution at will. And week after week, the most widely-read "news" stories are those focusing on celebrities and gossip.

Former U.S. senator and University of Oklahoma President David Boren argues that this widespread and cumulative ignorance creates a "civic amnesia" that makes it easier for political leaders to manipulate the electorate, generate bad public policy, destroy the economy, and alienate the rest of the world. If the U.S. is to remain an effective superpower, writes Boren, the political and economic directions in which it's going must change. And a necessary condition for that change is a citizenry that's educated, alert, and willing to participate.

A Letter to America focuses on three areas in which Boren fears the nation is slipping: world influence, partisan politics, and the economy. He worries that especially since 9/11, the U.S. has alienated former friends and further antagonized old enemies with its aggressive foreign policy, its publicly expressed disdain for international agreements such as the Kyoto Accord, and its refusal to enter into serious political and economic talks with China, which Boren thinks is fast becoming this century's other superpower. The U.S. is in danger of losing any moral and political authority it once had among the nations of the world.

On the domestic front, Boren argues that the exponentially growing divide between the super rich and the poor, and the accompanying shrinkage of the middle class, is jeopardizing democratic institutions (as Supreme Court Justice Brandeis once said, "You can have a democracy and a society sharply divided between the rich and the poor, but you cannot have both for very long," quoted by Boren on p. 79). The federal deficit, which as of 2007 was $8.9 trillion--and is growing by leaps and bounds because of the $9 billion in borrowed cash we spend each month in Iraq--is collapsing the economy and siphoning funds away from much need infrastructural repair. If the current economic trends continue, by 2020 interest on the national debt and the cost maintaing Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, will "completely consume all the taxes we now pay" (p. 69).

Moreover, partisan wrangling has become so bitter and uncompromising, and political campaigning so corrupt and money-driven, that Boren sees little hope of electing responsible officials unless the system is overhauled. But, once again, the system won't change unless the civic amnesia that paralyzes citizens and reinforces the status quo is eroded.

Boren offers a few suggestions about how to fix the problems that face the country: ratify a Constitutional Amendment that limits campaign spending, insist on bipartisan cooperation and perhaps even elect a president with ties to neither political party, revise the progressive tax system to guarantee that the super wealthy pay a fair share, cut back on the strong-arming in foreign policy and begin to listen, as an equal among equals, to other nations. None of Boren's suggestions are especially surprising, and certainly none are as radical as those offered by Naomi Wolf in her own recent letter to America (The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot). Moreover, Boren might be criticized for putting too much faith in education. Is it simply ignorance that's handicapping the U.S., or are we talking about a profound moral indifference that civic literacy may not address? Is it civic or ethical amnesia? Perhaps Boren would argue that there's little difference.

Boren's book excels in providing a quick overview, along with some very sobering statistics, about the foreign and domestic problems facing the nation. He makes a compelling case for his claim that we simply can't continue as we have. If we wish to remain a superpower, we have to re-think what it means to be a superpower in today's world. Otherwise, he warns, "we could be the first generation of Americans that fails to contribute to the unbroken line of progress in our country" (p. 102).

Something to chew on in a presidential election year.

David Boren's short book is cast in the form of a letter to all Americans. Boren is a former Rhodes Scholar, Governor of Oklahoma, and Senator. He resigned his Senate seat to become President of the University of Oklahoma, a position he has held since 1995. While serving as a University President, Boren teaches an introductory class in American government to freshmen. The book is simply and eloquently written and, for this reader, comes from the heart.

Boren's letter conveys a sense of urgency. He finds the United States mired in a host of problems, including the lack of a sense of direction and purpose and pervasive cynicism about the political process. Boren finds that the position of the United States in the world is on the decline. Boren's goal is to revitalize the promise of America. His basic programme can be seen in comments he makes about the United States policy beginning with the Marshall Plan following WW II where " generosity,vision, political courage, and bipartisanship came together to help America lead the world and ultimately to end the Cold War without a third world war." (pp.16-17)

In short chapters of his letter Boren considers foreign policy, excessive partisanship in the halls of Congress and in the Executive Branch, the corruption resulting from exponentially increasing expenditures on political campaigning financed by special interest groups, domestic issues such as deficit spending, health care, and education, and the increased polarization in the United States between the wealthy and the poor, to the detriment of the middle class. In each of these issues, Boren concludes that the "generosity, vision, political courage, and bipartisanship" that characterized America of a different era are sadly lacking. Boren diagnoses what he believes are the sources of the problems and offers suggestions for their resolution. As is to be expected in a short account, Boren is more impressive in identifying problems than in proposing detailed solutions. His goal is to help his readers see the problems and work through for themselves to answers.

The single theme that pervades this book is the need for improving education at all levels of the American educational system and of all subjects, both scientific and humanistic. Boren recognizes that a simple glut of information does not necessarily lead to knowledge and that knowledge itself needs to be expanded and deepened to become wisdom. Boren points out that young Americans in particular know little of the history of our country and of its political institutions. This lack of knowledge consists of an ignorance of particular facts (such as that the United States fought Germany in WW II or that George Washington was the General at Yorktown) as well as knowledge of the Constitution and of the roles of Congress, the Executive Branch, and the Judiciary in the United States government and of the nature of the Federal system. With this lack of knowledge comes a lack of understanding of the nature of our country and of the meaning and character of the American experiment. Whatever the merits may be of Boren's specific policy proposals, I think he is surely correct that Americans need to be better educated and the secondary school and university level in their understanding of American history and the American experience.

In the opening and concluding sections of his letter, Boren discusses a lecture given in 2002 by Bruce Cole, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Cole delivered a lecture at New York University titled "The Urgency of Memory" in which he stressed the importance of Americans returning to humanistic studies to understand themselves and their place in the world following the attacks of September 11, 2001. Boren quotes the following passage from Cole's address. (p.15)

"A nation that does not know why it exists or what it stands for cannot be expected to long endure. We must recover from the amnesia that shrouds our history in darkness, our principles in confusion, and our future in uncertainty. We cannot expect that a nation which has lost its memory will keep its vision. We cannot hope that forgetting our past will enhance our focus for the future."

Boren's letter can be read as a commentary on these words of Cole. By learning to understand and appreciate our nation, to recognize its achievements and its failures and to find meaning in the American experience, Americans can identify and surmount the problems that beset our beloved country.

Robin Friedman

I am a part of the younger generation Boren seems to be looking to in much of ALTA's questioning disbelief over the downward direction our country seems to be heading. Most of the concerns Boren mentions here were not new to me but having them all found so easily and accissibly in one short book should make it easier for many of the kids who need to read it on their lunch breaks. Hopefully they will be putting it down with the same sense of urgency to making a difference where our country needs it. I already volunteer but not in any way that is not a direct source of positive, political and economic, change for any of the problems discussed in ALTA.

What Boren asks for (the younger generations taking more accountability for the future of the United States) brings up the only significant complaint I have with his book. There is a lot mentioned about why our country is failing to remain internationally strong or even nationally responsible but there is almost nothing included to help the readers who feel moved to begin making a difference but simply don't know where to begin. It could simply be a function of how short, A Letter to America, is but I can't help but wonder how many kids will complete this book with the same sense of urgency I did but with the lack of direction to public or political projects/organizations that could actually make a difference they will loose interest and soon be back to where they were before ever having read it.

Overall: a Good Quick Read. Nothing new or ground breaking but important and perhaps a gateway book for many younger readers.

David Boren's readable, logical but alarming "Letter to America" should top the summer reading list. Without pulling a punch, this remarkable scholar and political leader has diagnosed the realities of the Nation and World with clarity and vision that should be pursued. Perhaps the first step would be to elect David Boren as the president he envisions within this remarkable book.

This short book represents David Boren's current views of the problems facing the USA. I found his dispassionate discussion of the US's relation to the world, the destructiveness of partisanship, campaign corruption, economic health, the disappearing middle class, and the Urgency of Memory (best chapter in the book) to be good summaries of where the USA stands today. I did not see Boren saying "we are at a crossroads", however.

Overall, each of these problems have been discussed in the media in one form or another, so to me, it seem like a better than average repitition of what's out there. However, the CHapter on "The Urgency of Memory" caught my eye and should be restated as an "op Ed" column. It is by far the best chapter in the book, and it contained much in it that was new to me.

Boren quotes the following passage from an address entitled "The Urgency of Memory" in which the importance of Americans returning to humanistic studies was emphasized to understand themselves and their place in the world following the attacks of September 11, 2001.

"A nation that does not know why it exists or what it stands for cannot be expected to long endure. We must recover from the amnesia that shrouds our history in darkness, our principles in confusion, and our future in uncertainty. We cannot expect that a nation which has lost its memory will keep its vision. We cannot hope that forgetting our past will enhance our focus for the future."

Boren then summarizes the demise of teaching of American History and Civics in US high schools, colleges, and other institutions of higher learning. He rightfully criticizes the demise of academic standards through out the American educational system because of political correctness and recommends that American history and Civics be required of all university graduates.

My own recollection is that the main purpose of the American primary and secondary school system was to teach American History and civics to immigrants so as to integrate them into American Society. If it is indeed true that American primary and secondary education has abdicated this reponsibility, we are in trouble.

The solution: Mandate that all immigrant and foreign students not only learn English, but also American History and Civics at ALL levels of the US educational system from kindergarten to the graduate school. Once implemented, make it mandatory for ALL students.

How can that be done?: By executive order, instruct the Department of Education to withold federal funding from primry and secondary school systems unless such a requirement is instituted. Second, by executive order, mandate the same requirement in all American Unviersities who receive federal funds for research, extension and other services or risk seeing their funds evaporate. That's at least a start.

As for Boren's other solutions, I found them weak. I felt that they represented a nostalgic trip to his younger days when life was 'simpler' or in the US Senate, where things at one time were more "collegial".
I saw no recommendations that would reinvent America along our traditional model in a new framework for the 21st century.

This book should be required reading for every American citizen prior to the our Congress going back into session on Thursday, October 2, 2008. If not before then, then before the November 4th elections in 2008. It is a real wake up call to the status of America not only here at home, but also worldwide.

In 1974 I began hearing about a young Oklahoma state congressman named David Boren who was considering a run for the state governor's office. At the time I was traveling for a major drug company and part of my territory was his hometown of Seminole, Oklahoma. So, on my next trip to Seminole I stopped by his office to try to get a sense of the Rhodes Scholar, attorney, and now hopeful candidate and to determine if I wanted to support his candidacy. Unfortunately, he was in Oklahoma City that day serving his district at the state capital. I did, however, get to visit with his law partner with whom I left my business card.
I stayed in Durant and Shawnee the next two nights, returning home to Tulsa on a Thursday. In the stack of mail that my wife had placed on my desk was a two page, hand written letter from David Boren. He talked little of himself but instead thanked and encouraged me for being interested in our state's future. I joined "The Boren Broom Brigade" that day. I have never regretted that commitment. He was an outstanding governor, an exemplary three term U.S. Senator, and is unquestionably the most effective university president ever to serve O.U.
A few months ago he and former Georgia Senator, Sam Nunn hosted a meeting of some of America's best and brightest leaders and statesmen. They organized the meeting out of a deep concern for the nation and the direction that our political system has taken in recent years. This book by Boren, A LETTER TO AMERICA, is a wake up call to each of us and should be required reading in each of our nation's high schools. His text says out loud what so many of us have been quietly worrying about; i.e., that our country is sliding into its final days of greatness. His command of the nation's history is inspiring, his experience in the halls of the U.S. Capital and his legendary ability to reason, communicate, and negotiate make the message of this book both alarming and hopeful. One cannot come away from this literary flashing red light without a fresh understanding of how partison politics and greed have thrown a wrench into the machinery of our Federal system. The book is not only an urgent warning to America but is also a guide to the way back to the nation that we all grew up believing in - the America that is still within our reach to save.
Jim Hess
Bartlesville, Oklahoma

An easy read that provides more of an insight into the pitfalls of American Society and the ways we can Restore the Nation to greatness. If you are wondering how to get the United States back on track, read this book right after you've read the Constitution.

A very eye opening book. Even thought President Boren and I sit on opposite sides of the political fence, he nails a lot of the issues today. Kudos to him.

In the introduction, Boren states, "One of our greatest shortcomings as Americans is our failure to be intellectually curious about what is happening to us as a people."

This book is exemplifies such lack of curiosity. Boren lucidly outlines current and growing problems, but he doesn't offer solutions other than to "Be Nice" or very briefly "increased taxation of luxury items", adoption of "cost-saving preventive medical actions" and perhaps a few revisions to Social Security, Medicare and deficit financing.

Granted, in February 2008 he could hardly foresee the collapse of the economy ...

He does have one very intriguing sentence just seven pages from the end, "Historian Gordon Wood argues that a unique combination of factors produced a first generation of leaders of such remarkable wisdom, foresight and civility that they will never be surpassed."

He's describing Canada. That "unique combination of factors" he refers to was British rule until 1776. If America has not produced "leaders of such remarkable wisdom, foresight and civility" since then, perhaps something is basically wrong with the founding ideology. Yet, apart from a good health care and maple syrup -- does any American really want Canada?

Some of his major complaints center on the cost of elections. Okay, elections are national discussions of issues; is there anything in the First Amendment that says freedom of speech should be limited or controlled when elections are involved?

It's true one cannot shout "Fire!" in a crowded theatre; but is there a reason to ban someone from shouting "Vote for Boren!" any time they please? The result may be a "fatal" stampede in both situations; but who will cite fatalities in the second case?

Indeed, these are interesting times. It's basic enough to describe just how interesting these times have become, and to debate whether or not tomorrow will be even more interesting ... but isn't it time someone offered ideological solutions instead of partisan blather?