The American Cause

An edited version of an extremely scholarly overview of "Americanism" by a man who became iconic within the scholarly community. This is a book which anyone can read - and probably should read!

In 1957, Russell Kirk (1918-1994) published this brief synopsis of principles of the "American way of life." It was recently republished and serves as a useful introduction to a conservative view of what is uniquely American. Kirk hits on many of the principle themes of American life: the influence of Christianity, the American view of government, etc. I tend to agree with most of what Kirk writes here. I did find a couple things interesting. First, Kirk's view of Christianity is somewhat "humanistic." For example, Kirk's discussion of the significance of Jesus' death is more or less the "example" theory of the atonement. Second, I think Kirk's discussion of US imperialism sugar coats how cynical and brutal American policy with respect to other nations has at times been. This is a new edition of this work, which has been slightly re-edited by Gleaves Whitney as a sort of "primer on America, post September 11." I don't have a problem with this, but the previous edition contained an introduction by John Dos Passos. Why was this removed? Also, Mr. Whitney has included a section of "recommended readings" which recommends several works by neoconservatives. Considering Dr. Kirk's disavowal of the neoconservative movement, this is regretful.