The Everyday Patriot: How to be a Great American Now

by Tom Morris

The Everyday Patriot is a rousing call to action based on the values that have made America a nation of great power and promise. In these pages, Tom Morris gives us a new vision for what citizenship and patriotism can mean at our moment in history. He reminds of us of the ideals on which the country was founded and shows how we can use them every day to revive our democracy by rebuilding our sense of a vital shared enterprise. The ideas in this book may well help to heal some of our divisions and bring us together in new ways.

When the Declaration of Independence was adopted and printed on July 4, 1776, a great nation was launched into the world, a grand new republic upholding the values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all its citizens. Since that day, America has served as a beacon of hope for the world, despite many stumbles and setbacks along the way. This little book can inspire each of us to help keep that hope alive in our own time.

“Times of trouble prompt us to recall the ideals by which we live.”
Michael J. Sandel, Harvard University

146 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 9, 2002

About the author

There is more than one author by this name. This profile contains various Tom's.

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom Morris’s compact book felt like a tuneup for my own citizenship. It has helped me find my own way of becoming the best American I can be, to be, as he says, “an everyday patriot.” For me, it is in fostering bilingualism in America and worldwide. That is, speaking English plus one or more other languages.

Do you have your own passion project that is larger than yourself? Would you like more perspective on how your efforts fit into the larger American experiment? If so, Tom may be for you what he has been for me–a warm-hearted and wise teacher who has a special talent for making the wisdom of the ancients, and our American founding fathers, come to life. With his help you may realize your own dreams for being your best American self–for fulfilling your own sense of duty to our country in your unique way.

I encourage you to slide behind the wheel and buckle up for a ride down the American philosophical highway, a trip that will deliver a driver different from the one who began the journey a mere 116 pages earlier.

[Joy Kidney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspired by the words of "our national birth announcement," our Declaration of Independence, this public philosopher posits that patriotism isn't flag-waving emotion. He insists that each of us, doing what we can for good in our own space, then radiating to our neighborhood, town, and beyond can help rekindle the nations ideals. Those ideals reach out beyond the USA to encourage the best in other nations, a radical but valuable idea for all humans.

Each chapter builds on the idea of individuals fulfilling the American dream. There are appendices, one of which lists very doable actions toward this goal: mentor, befriend, smile, coach, help out, encourage, volunteer, attend, shovel, offer, read, write, go, get involved, do what you can. If each of us starts with one of these, our nation will begin to return to our worthy founding ideals.

[Richard Pütz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. How to think through the issues we face today. This is a book of understanding philosophy for the public in the public.
Understanding the greater good and when I combine the lessons from this book with the book "See Judge Act" by Erin Brigham we gain a greater understanding not only of our political world but our live, social service and what it really means to be a human being striving to do the greater good.

[Peter Boos · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Vote every day”

A great short book that appeals for action to be taken by us all in our communities to live in a way that contributes to the Common Good. Some good practical suggestions on community projects.

[Michael Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A helpful, practical, clear, and inspiring book! If enough of us take the principles it discusses to heart, and put them into practice in our daily lives, we can begin to live up to the best of our nation’s ideals for our own good and the good of the world.

[Brian Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom Morris is one of my all-time favorite authors and at least tied for first as my favorite living philosopher.

“I chose the phrase ‘The Everyday Patriot’ as the title of this book for several reasons. The word ‘patriotism’ and its derivative ‘patriot’ have unfortunately become controversial in our time, due to primarily being misused. I’ve devoted my life as a public philosopher to reclaiming certain concepts like success, happiness, wisdom and virtue from various modern misunderstandings and bringing them back to their ancient and best meanings for our present and future. I hope to do that now with the idea of patriotism. …

Proper patriotism is an inner determination and commitment to act for the good of our country and all who live within it, together with an outer world pattern of ongoing action that delivers real value to the larger world. It’s a beneficial involvement in the life of our nation, with a lively concern for what we can contribute beyond its borders, in making our positive difference to the common good on however small or great a scale. ...

We’re angry about something and ill-disposed to others who don’t share our views. We marinate in irritation or even fury as we blame ‘those people’ for our troubles. And this has created a terrible unhealthiness in our nation that has to be overcome quickly and decisively by as many of us as possible. There are serious problems we need to solve, and if we don’t address them soon and create more positive ways forward for our collective endeavor here in America, we may lose the chance to do so at all. But that will require lots of us coming together in a committed mindset that wants to take healthy and crucial actions at all levels of our national life. We need to release whatever is holding us back, let go of the negatives that have sadly come to define our time, and enter into a new culture of positive patriotism throughout the land that’s based on the founding values and ideals of our distinctive nation. That’s what this book is all about, and how to do it together.”

~ Tom Morris from The Everyday Patriot

I love Tom Morris.

Tom has two PhDs from Yale—one in Philosophy and the other in Religious Studies. He taught at Notre Dame for fifteen years before becoming a public philosopher.

He’s one of my all-time favorite authors and at least tied for first as my favorite living philosopher.

Over the last several years, I’ve gotten to know Tom personally and I consider him a dear friend and soul uncle. So, when he sent me a copy of this book, I read it immediately as I knew that he would provide an important philosophical frame to the current crisis we face as a nation divided.

The book is a simple collection of short essays in which Professor Morris challenges us to reconsider what it means to be a citizen and an “everyday patriot” in the modern world—committed to upholding the virtues of our highest ideals in our everyday lives.

I don’t talk about “politics” per se and I intend to continue to approach the subject from a non-partisan philosophical perspective. AND... This is a really important discussion. If you’d like to immerse yourself in his practical philosophical wisdom, read this book!

Some of my favorite big ideas from this book include:
1. The Call of Our Time - Answer it.
2. The Everyday Patriot - Hello, hero.
3. Life, Liberty and... - The great pursuit.
4. Perfect Countries - There are none.
5. Voting - All day, every day. Especially TODAY.

P.S. I’ve added The Everyday Patriot by Tom Morris to my collection of Philosopher’s Notes--distilling the Big Ideas into 6-page PDF and 20-minute MP3s on 600+ of the BEST self-development books ever. You can get access to all of those plus a TON more over at https://heroic.us.