I’ve begun reading Peggy Noonan’s latest book. It’ll take me a while to complete. The reason isn’t because it’s extraordinarily long or complex or that it’s one of several I’m immersed in. It’s because it’s an exceptionally thoughtful and calming read.
Peggy was a speech writer for Ronald Reagan and is currently a Wall Street Journal columnist. As such, friends and long-time readers might be surprised that I’m wending my way through her work, but they ought not to be. My reading on social-political and religious-spiritual topics ranges wide, from philosophically liberal to conservative. The salient requirement for me to read such a work is that the author present their thoughts in a coherent, intelligent, deliberative manner. Peggy does that. Given that, A Certain Idea of America deserves, even requires, a leisurely pace.
I must confess, though, her book wouldn’t have pinged my radar screen if it weren’t for New York Times columnist Bret Stephens referencing it. I was immediately struck not only by the literary allusion but also of the notion itself: a certain idea of America. It’s a vague concept and not easily pinpointed. If we surveyed the American populace for their ideas, we would have a vast array of interpretations since we’re a multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-cultural nation.
In the Foreword, Peggy states she drew the idea for the title from the World War II general and later president of France, Charles de Gaulle, who began his memoir by stating that throughout his life he had “a certain idea of France.” What could it have been? Not being French, I have no right to speculate, but being an American, I can about our country.
A flood of ideas bursts forth. First and foremost, liberty and freedom of expression and action. Then there’s love of country. Allegiance to the Constitution. Rule of law. Equal justice under the law. Cultural, racial, ethnic, religious and spiritual pluralism and tolerance. Economic opportunity. Due process. And more.
But how to bundle those in a compact, easily understood statement or document? Even a professional writer like Peggy would likely find it a daunting task.
Like her, I frequently write pieces that reflect and express the values I hold. Of course, I’m only one of three hundred million plus people. As you are. And my opinions and yours are as valid as all others. I suspect, though. that your take—your listing—would considerably overlap with mine.
However, I’m neither delusional nor pollyannish about the total makeup of the American citizenry. There are those who not only don’t share my values but are also willing to go to great lengths to ensure they’re mitigated and even erased from the national conscience. Nevertheless, like it is with me embracing the whole of American history, from the heroic and triumphant to the gut-wrenching, I embrace them as fellow Americans. And being a civil libertarian, I defend their right to express their opinions, even those that I find contemptible. With all that in mind then, there’s no doubt that it’d be a mess if we tried to synthesize the range of beliefs and values Americans today hold into a certain idea of America.
Fortunately, a bunch of guys did that for us 249 years ago. They wrote the Declaration of Independence, which begins with, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are equal…”
About a decade later, a related group produced our Constitution that lays out the framework of our government. They even took time to explain their action by crafting and adding the Preamble: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
We’re coursing through what I consider to be a turbulent and perilous period. But we’ve survived lethal challenges before. Each time our ancestors rose to the occasion and saved the republic. We can point to the specific acts they took, but it’s essential to keep in mind they held true to that certain idea of America our Founders eloquently expressed in those documents.
So there’s no need for us to ponder as much as to reflect upon the most serious question before us: Will we pass those Blessings of Liberty—that certain idea of America our Founders bequeathed to us—on to our Posterity?
