The Idea that Is America: Keeping Faith with Our Values in a Dangerous World

by Anne-Marie Slaughter

The Washington Post Book World named THE IDEA THAT IS AMERICA one of the best books of 2007 When Army Captain Ian Fishback decided to blow the whistle on prisoner abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan, he posed the central question facing America in the new "Will we confront danger in order to preserve our ideals, or will courage and commitment to individual rights wither at the prospect of sacrifice?... I would rather die fighting than give up even the smallest part of the idea that is 'America.'"But what is this idea? George W. Bush waged war in Iraq in the name of American values--liberty and democracy. His critics in the United States and around the world also use the language of values, and attack him for deceiving a nation to wage an unjust war. What are the values that America truly stands for? In The Idea That Is America , a preeminent foreign policy scholar eloquently reminds us of the essential principles on which our nation was liberty, democracy, equality, tolerance, faith, justice, and humility. Our ongoing struggle to live up to America's great promise matters not only to us, but also to the billions of men and women everywhere who look to the United States to lead, protect, and inspire the world. In The Idea That Is America , Anne-Marie Slaughter shows us the way forward.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, School, Political Science, The United States Of America

272 pages, Hardcover

First published May 14, 2007

About the author

Anne-Marie Slaughter is currently the President and CEO of New America, a think tank and civic enterprise with offices in Washington and New York. She is also the Bert G. Kerstetter '66 University Professor Emerita of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University. From 2009–2011 she served as director of Policy Planning for the United States Department of State, the first woman to hold that position.

Dr. Slaughter has written or edited several books, including Chessboard and the Web: Strategies of Connection in a Networked World (2017), Unfinished Business: Women, Men, Work, Family (2015), The Idea That Is America: Keeping Faith with Our Values in a Dangerous World (2007) and A New World Order (2004). Dr. Slaughter is a Contributing Editor to the Financial Times and writes a bi-monthly column for Project Syndicate .

She is married to Professor Andrew Moravcsik; they live in Princeton with their two sons. You can follow her on Twitter: @SlaughterAM.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit, I was a little nervous about this book - it was the grandiose title and overly patriotic (I have a bit of an issue with our obsession with the flag) cover. Once past the introduction, I was relieved, and more so, impressed.

Slaughter thoughtfully links the values of our history with our misbehavior in the current world, discussing both how we can and why we need to find our way back to those values. She takes a cosmopolitan approach to foreign policy, stressing multilateralism, promoting human rights, diplomacy above force, and a more responsible approach to combating global warming and environmental issues. Her section on education of and enrichment of the lives of members of the Developing World demonstrates a holistic understanding of global well-being.

Refreshing. A worthwhile read for anyone interested in the evolution of U.S. foreign policy.

[Elizabeth Cottrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author was dean of the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton when Sarah got her Master of Public Affairs there. She has just been tapped for a position in the State Department. We were impressed with Dean Slaughter then, and I'm impressed with this book now. It is a fascinating look at the historical, legal, philosophical and ethical basis on which our country -- and its constitution -- were founded. It explores the hypocrisy that has always existed (e.g., Jefferson believed in equality but owned slaves), the intentional checks and balances in our system that have, so far, held in the face of strong, often well-intentioned people or groups who challenged them, and the many variations in which democracy can manifest itself. She urges a return to the original values and warns that we must not set them aside for expedience in dealing with today's challenges.

"Will we confront danger in order to preserve our ideals, or will courage and commitment to individual rights wither at the prospect of sacrifice? My response is simple: if we abandon our ideals in the face of adversity and aggression, then those ideas were never really in our possession. I would rather die fighting than give up even the smallest part of the idea that is America!"

[Hubert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Professor Slaughter's appeal to make America more humble, better listeners, and more respectful of diverse voices within the country and around the world resonates clearly even 14 years after publication. Organized around central themes (e.g. "Faith," "Humility," "Justice," etc.), Slaughter demonstrates back-of-the-hand knowledge of American history and how various episodes within that history have both exemplified those themes, and gone against them as well. The history of American is complex and at times problematic, but Slaughter does a good job making the reader feel optimistic about the country.

An excellent text that summarized her position (more moderate, less polemical / ideological, more balanced) that served her well in attaining a position in the State department under the Obama administration.

Slaughter at times was too verbose; much of what she was saying could be edited down about 20% or so, and the message that she is working to convey would not have been lost.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in an earlier time that seems a world away from today, Slaughter's basic outline of American values holds true. I hope each time we take action in the future we do so trying to live up to the ideals we say guide us.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book was published in 2007, I found the ideas especially poignant today. Anne-Marie Slaughter was the Director of Policy Planning in the U.S. State Department when Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State. She is an accomplished academic and international affairs scholar. Her writing is very accessible but the ideas she presents are non-trivial.

I took months to read this book because I found myself wanting to stop and reflect upon the ideas she lays out. The chapter headings best illustrate her thinking about “The Idea that is America”: Liberty, Democracy, Equality, Justice, Tolerance, Humility and Faith. She steps the reader through how each of these connect to U.S. history as well as how our view of the ideas must be broadened in these global times. I found her ideas to be very fair-minded and mostly non-partisan in stark contrast to current political discourse.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is a student of U.S. history and political science.

[Peter Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting insight into the view of a US born leading authority on US foreign policy on how: proud the US can be of what its positive image once was; her angst about what it has become following events in Iraq and Afghanistan; and her hopes about what it could be again.
I was fortunate enough to interview her last week on the occasion of her being an awarded an honorary degree by the university of Warwick during which time she updated a number of her ideas and thoughts in the book see the podcast at http://bit.ly/19kg85T

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I met Anne-Marie Slaughter at a conference and was very impressed by her, so decided to pick up this book. I really enjoyed it. I can't say I agreed with all of her points, but it was very thought-provoking and well written. I feel like more Americans need to spend time thinking about the values that make America a great nation. Although I found some of the issues a little bit dated by the time I was reading it, for the most part, her arguments still apply in our world today.

[Cortney Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for my American Politics 101 class and it was a great introduction to talking about the American political system. I felt Slaughter's ideas about fixing America were great and highly insightful. She was honest about our faults, but also hopeful. Slaughter's writing was informational, but not dry or boring like most political text is put off to be.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful exploration of what history TRULY says about the founding of this great nation and the ideals that led to the creation of our constitution. Honest, forthright and sobering but also optimistic and encouraging.

[Keith Rackley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this a while back, Slaughter has a crispness and a passion about the core ideas, their genesis and evolution of what America is. Always good to re-examine what so many of us take for granted and to think about the problems of today in the context of the thoughts of our founders

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant read. Talk about ideas that seem to be forgotten. Not partisan but American

[Mary-Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking. Would be an excellent selection for a non-fiction book club discussion. Politically and philosophically digestible for both Democrats and Republicans.