What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism by Dan Rather

Amy          
Lynnie 

nonfiction

From Goodreads: "At a moment of crisis over our national identity, venerated journalist Dan Rather has emerged as a voice of reason and integrity, reflecting on--and writing passionately about--wht it means to be an American." 

Amy's Review

   
Part autobiography, part history lesson, part political statement, What Unites Us is a wonderful book written by an educated, observant, lifelong newsman. I enjoyed every chapter (listed here by name): the Preface about Patriotism (vs. Nationalism), Freedom, Community, Exploration, Responsibility, and Character. Each chapter has several sections which read like essays or news segments. Dan Rather is so rational and measured and brings out the facts in order to support and explain his statements. His humble childhood and natural curiosity, combined with good fortune in his career, have provided him with a perfect platform for weighing information and knowing the important points to make. He understands firsthand how impressions can change with exposure to situations, gaining new information, and meeting people. He loves this country and its citizens. And his message, while dire at times, is overall one of hope and confidence. I learned several things about historical events and national transitions and movements. And being able to follow his life from before he was exposed to, and enlightened on, a few topics to the point at which his mind was opened to further possibilities and/or understanding, was extremely eye-opening. It made me realize that the ignorance of many people today is due to the fact that they have not benefited from a variety of experiences or knowing a variety of people. They've lived in one sort of place with the same sort of people and lack experience with which to make considered decisions. They simply don’t know. They lack empathy and are unable to consider things from another side that they cannot fathom.

I loved his definition of art (“an attempt to capture the truths of the world as you see it in a medium you can share with others. It is about lending your voice, your perspective to local, national, and global conversations. And that is why, in the United States in particular, our definition of what is art and who is an artist must be as varied as our citizenry”). Some additional awesome quotes:

“a democracy requires open access to ideas. It requires a willingness to struggle and learn, to question our own suppositions and biases, to open ourselves as citizens, and a nation, to a world of books and thought. If we become a country of superficiality and easy answers based on assumptions and not one steeped in reason and critical learning, we will have lost the foundation of our founding and all that has allowed our nation to grow into our modern United States.”

“Empathy is not only a personal feeling; it can be a potent force for political and social change. And thus the suppression or denial of empathy is a deliberate part of a cynical political calculus. Dividing people and stoking animosity can pave a path to power (and in many recent elections, it has). This has been well known since the time of the ancients. But these divisions inevitably come at the expense of the long-term health and welfare of the nation as a whole.”

“We see elected officials pounding their chests, saying their vision of America represents the only real patriotism. To them I say that patriotism is not a cudgel. It is not an arms race.”

While I was not initially interested in reading this novel since I don’t love autobiographies or nonfiction, I do enjoy Rather’s public comments on social media and generally applaud his thoughts. (But, I must say, I think he’s been a bit too heavy-handed with pushing this book in that venue.) When a friend read What Unites Us and gave it a positive review, it prompted me to give it a try. I’m so glad I did. I listened to Rather narrate the book himself via audio book which was even more enjoyable than reading the novel would have been for me. However, there is a warning. When listening in the car (and probably when using headphones too—I did not attempt) there is way too much saliva noise near the beginning of the recording! Thankfully, listening to his narration coming from my phone’s speaker did not have that problem and later attempts in the car seemed to no longer have that issue. I’ll take away the “plus” because of the saliva and give him an A in his narration of his own words.

Lynnie's Review

I don't have much to add to the other reviews of this book, but I did enjoy it. I think I would have enjoyed it more in another political climate though because I often found myself thinking, "yes, you're absolutely right Dan, why doesn't everyone else understand this?" I wanted to be inspired, but mostly I found myself saddened by the fact that so many people have abandoned facts in order to justify the machinations of our current administration.

Still, I appreciated both the history lessons & the sentiments provided by Rather.