What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism

A very thought provoking and insightful perspective of the present through revisiting the past, as told by someone who has lived through, thought through and reported on most significant events in the recent history of this great country of ours. I recommend this book with the hope that it encourages you, as it has encouraged me, to be a participant in impacting the future of our community, our country and our world.

Probably one of the most sensible men to every grace our television screen and earn our trust. I know he's made mistakes, who hasn't? But if you read this book and have an open mind and compassion for your fellow man, you will truly enjoy it and have a broader view of our country and patriotism.

Author brought up many problems and examples of where we have united in the past. He presented several places where everyone should unite on his values, but some biases prevented hoped for exploration of how and why unity of disparit values could be move toward each other to the benefit of everyone.

Great retrospective read covering most of the contentious periods in America's past. While not surprising or challenging by most standards, it's a highly quotable book making me a little more optimistic in times of turbulence.

Great retrospective read covering most of the contentious periods in America's past. While not surprising or challenging by most standards, it's a highly quotable book making me a little more optimistic in times of turbulence.

Rather has seen it all, but still has tremendous faith in the basic goodness of America. I hope he is right. It was uplifting to read his essays and enjoy his mostly positive message, although it does contain warnings.

Rather’s thinking on those essential practices/ideas relating to our understanding of patriotism are important, may, essential for all citizens. I purchased a dozen copies to present to grandchildren, neighbors, and others, with request to read and pass to others.

POLITICS/GOVERNMENT
Dan Rather, Elliot Kirschner
What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism
Algonquin Books
Hardcover, 978-1-6162-0782-3, (also available as an e-book and audio book), 288 pgs., $22.95
November 7, 2017

“Who can say definitely when and how it begins, that first, faint sense of place, of belonging; that trickle that eventually becomes a wellspring of deep emotional ties to one’s homeland?”

What is Patriotism? This is the question Dan Rather examines in What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism, the new collection of sixteen essays written with his longtime collaborator Elliot Kirschner. “It is important not to confuse ‘patriotism’ with ‘nationalism,’” Rather says. Then he separates Patriotism into what he believes are its five essential components: Freedom, Community, Exploration, Responsibility, and Character. These five components are further subdivided into such subjects as voting, dissent, immigration, the arts, service, and education. Rather feels that Americans are being tested and there’s a task before us. He also believes that we are up to the challenge.

Rather writes passionately and eloquently about his sense of urgency that moved him to write this book, stirring me to tears at times. His “greatest desire for this book is that it encourage conversation and debate about what it means to be an American today.” Rather’s career is currently enjoying a renaissance, especially his Facebook notes. At eighty-six, he is Texas’s elder statesman of journalism. His life has spanned enormous changes in our world, and his career has allowed him a front-row seat to many of them. Rather’s vantage point offers a sweeping view of these transformations, from his Great Depression and World War II childhood, to the beginnings of his career when he reported on civil rights, the assassination of JFK, and the Vietnam War, through Watergate, Iran-Contra, hanging chads, and the terror attacks of 9/11. What Unites Us benefits from these experiences as Rather illustrates many of his subjects with examples from Texas history and his childhood in East Texas during Jim Crow.

There are a few valuable, concise history lessons in What Unites Us, including immigration, Carnegie libraries in Texas, and public education. Rather is mostly balanced in his writing without resorting to the spreading plague of false equivalency. A man after my own heart, he includes an entire essay devoted to books. He urges us to return to the audacity of big ideas and exploration, but simultaneously “steady as she goes.”

What Unites Us is not a work that breaks new ground. The collection is basic, or it should be. Our current times are infected by willful ignorance and aggressive hostility. Rather emphasizes the “purgatory of tolerance” as not good enough, and he is correct—our goal should be inclusion. We should love our country like adults, not like a four-year-old loves his mother. As Rather writes, “I see my love of country imbued with a responsibility to bear witness to its faults.”

Save Oh, the Places You’ll Go for your kindergartener; What Unites Us would be a terrific gift to ground high school graduates in the principles of good citizenship. “We are bound together by a grand experiment in government, the rule of law, and common bonds of citizenship,” Rather writes. “This is what it means to be an American.”

Originally published in Lone Star Literary Life.

Rather writes with conviction and has so many decades of first-hand knowledge of U.S. historical events that his book must be given credit for that. For the first 3/4ths of the book, the commentary was based on an historical perspective plus personal experience (growing up poor in rural Texas). The final chapters, though, ring with patriotism and passion. My biggest disappointment came from my own expectations: I expected a book that would demonstrate ways in which American Progressives and Conservatives are united. There is far too little of that, from my perspective. Instead, on topics like "patriotism," there is an acknowledgment that both Progressives and Conservatives have a notion of patriotism, but the position of Conservatives is bashed.

Rather wrote about an America that is Black and White. The country includes over 46 million Hispanic with their own culture, national TV companies, radio, newspapers. Their numbers include several US Senators, Congressmen, and other public officials. What Rather wrote about is the experience in America of one major minority group-but left others out does NOT UNITE US.. Rather wrote a good book, but it does not tell the story of WHAT UNITES US. Hispanics have the largest number of US Congressional Medal of Honor recipients in the US. The standard view of Hispanics picking grapes does not tell the story. It is not Rather's fault--but if writing about America is the theme-then write about America.

Why do people insist on using African American and Black as if they are interchangeable? There are white African Americans so if you don't say Black African American who knows who you are talking about.
I consider myself conservative and Rather as liberal. That probably has a lot to do with why I didn't care for his book. It was hard to get through. No interest in looking forward to getting back to it after a break.
I feel his comment about a war to end slavery shows his ignorance of history. It took the 13th amendment to end slavery.
Reading through the other one and two star reviews there are several well written ones to describe what is wrong with the book.

“The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.” – Alexis De Tocqueville

A couple of months ago I had the honor and pleasure of hearing Dan Rather speak here in our mutual hometown of Houston and I received a copy of this book at the event. I’ve long held Mr. Rather in high esteem, not only for his journalistic abilities, but for his rational, steady voice over the years during times of turbulence and uncertainty. His voice is just as steady today as we face a political crisis in America. I must say that his intelligent outlook and the way that he voices his thoughts on our country have a way of comforting me, even when he’s discussing unpleasant situations. So I began reading his book with much anticipation.

I wasn’t disappointed. The book is short – under 300 pages, but it’s packed with wisdom. There are anecdotes from the author’s childhood that helped form his character and his thoughts, bits of his early career and things he learned, and a look at where he is today based on his experiences and those who shaped him.

But the book isn’t really about Dan Rather. Those are just pieces of the whole. The book is about America, and the people who helped form our country, the well-known and the obscure. Every chapter covers a different topic and how America has reacted to, or allowed, events to mold us. The book is about patriotism, and what it really is. How freedom, community, exploration, responsibility and character (all chapters in the book) have impacted our lives.

Dan Rather is always hopeful. And he gives me hope, when I sometimes feel like giving up on my country.

Dan Rather takes the reader on a winding road that goes as far back as his childhood and how his parents had left a strong impression on how patriotism can unite us, all of us. The book unfolds as essays as a how-to on patriotism, and he encourages future generations to speak up for change.
As Rather takes us through the history of journalism and political shifts through the years of his long career, he is rather forceful as he pushes the reader in the direction of a modern day civil rights movement. Rather comments on current events while sprinkling his opinion in all directions. Rather uses his position and status to influence his followers for a more radical change while still staying true to his roots.

Dan Rather has written a book of reflective essays titled, What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism. Often sentimental in tone, Rather reminds readers of what makes us strong. Any reader looking for a primer on good citizenship can look to this book for hope and guidance. Despite all the expressed concerns about divisions in American society, Rather expresses optimism that we continue to share common values and our patriotism can draw us together.

Rating: Three-star (It’s ok)

Dan brings background, experience and perspective on modern day American history that very few living journalists can share so eloquently or passionately. The essays in his book are personal, extremely insightful, and respectful of any reader who chooses this book, regardless of any preconceptions one may have about Mr. Rather. He is a treasure this country sorely needs to listen to if we want to get along better as an American people.

The 2016 presidential election of Donald Trump seemed to usher in a new era of division amongst the American people. President Trump has become known for his unfiltered, off-the-cuff remarks that leave many within the country feeling alienated and offended. Our country has always featured differing ideas and been the better for it, but now it seems like there are is only my side and your side. We seem to have lost the in between space. At a point in history where Americans seem more divided than ever, legendary newsman Dan Rather seeks to discover What Unites Us.

You'll probably be surprised to find out that little of Rather's book focuses on criticizing President Trump. Rather has been a vocal critic of the President on his Facebook account, but true to the title of the book, Rather focuses more on finding constructive ideas to get the country back to a place of civility and productivity. In fact, I'd argue that both Rather and the President want to "Make America Great Again." The only difference, is that Rather argues for a return to the ideals that have always made the country great while still allowing for scientific and social progress.

The book is comprised of several detailed essays that each follow a similar structure. Rather focuses on a single topic (anything from patriotism to inclusion) providing historical context based upon his years as a reporter, comments upon the evolution of that ideal throughout history, and ends with suggestions on how we can return to the basis of that idea today. He includes many personal excerpts that highlight his own reconciliation with some of the topics he writes about. As a child of the south, Rather had his own evolutions in regards to racial equality and sexual orientation. He recognizes that not every person will come to the same conclusion in the same ways, but the tide of social progress inevitably moves forward.

Regardless of political leanings and opinions, What Unites Us is a collection that all readers will be able to relate to and find value within. Rather and his writing partner Elliot Kirschner have assembled a collection of ideals and beliefs that are both extremely relevant to our current political climate and timeless in their relation to the morals that America has always cherished. The writing is never preachy. Instead, each essay attempts to start a national conversation about the things we as the American people hold dear to us. Hopefully, this book is the tipping off point for those conversations to begin across our nation.

While this book isn't intellectually challenging or terribly surprising, I found it largely enjoyable. My favorite parts had to do with Rather's (very modest) early years. As you'd hope, he's a pretty good storyteller, and he's seen a lot and done a lot in his decades in journalism. He's definitely trying to be optimistic in this book. While he calls out (without being very preachy or negative) many of our society's problems, he strives to offer examples of regular citizens doing their best and making things better.

Overall, I liked the book and appreciated its positive outlook.

My review is of the Kindle version of the book, which I checked out from my local library.

This is a book every American should read. With unfailing optimism, Rather faces reality and communicates positive messages for our ability to continue to build a strong and united country. It also provides an insight into the man and the mind that has shaped a generation of news. We are in his debt.

I had always enjoyed watching Dan Rather as he reported for CBS News. He has had a long and illustrative career showing us the high points and hardships of the world at large. It was wonderful seeing his personal views here, and knowing that despite the mess our country's in now, we have the ability to make it better as long as we remain true to our beliefs. Steady.

Rather gives an excellent history lesson of our government from its earliest days to what is happening right now. But this book is about much more than politics, he really touches on what we share as human beings, good and bad. So well written you will not want to put it down.