"A rousing aspirational assessment of American values." -Kirkus Reviews
America can rediscover hope and optimism and revitalize its promise of freedom and democracy. This promise is powerful and inspirational freedom unleashes our human potential by incentivizing us to maximize our spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical potential, and democracy is the only viable means for free people to collectively give their consent to be governed. But nearly 250 years into America's audacious experiment, its promise of freedom and democracy is at a crossroads, stalemated by the fear, anger, and division that has swamped our public life.
In this memoir, Thomas France acknowledges his role in undermining America's promise of freedom and democracy, asserting that "Americans like me who have stood by and watched passively as our democratic institutions wither and crumble" are the most dangerous threat to that promise. He seeks to atone for his complicity by suggesting a path for reinvigorating America's promise with a renewed appreciation of and commitment to certain fundamental principles that empower our freedom: Fairness, Responsibility, Engagement, Enterprise, Discipline, Opportunity, and Morality. France explores the impact that each of these principles has had on his life and illustrates how they can inform and guide our individual lives and support our collective relationships by providing a platform of common understanding and values that can help us better navigate our differences and disagreements. Embracing these principles gives us the strength to resist fear, anger, and hate; it allows us to solve problems and find success; it enables freedom to be a way of life, not just a slogan.
With a renewed personal commitment to these freedom principles, we can overcome our fears, begin to heal some of our divisions, become more comfortable trusting ourselves and our fellow citizens, and work more purposefully and effectively in pursuit of our individual happiness. We can rediscover our hope and optimism and write a new chapter of the American story that recognizes freedom and democracy as our shared American value.
