Publication date:
19 December 2012Length of book:
184 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781442220614
Heart of the Nation traces America’s volunteer tradition—the golden thread of American democracy—and how Presidents from Washington to Obama have called on citizens to serve neighbor and nation. From the bunker below the White House on 9/11 to villages in Africa, John Bridgeland shares his own experiences inside and outside of government to spark more Americans to volunteer to meet urgent needs. He compellingly argues that such service is fundamental to our own happiness and to what the Founding Fathers envisioned when they talked about the “pursuit of Happiness” in the Declaration of Independence. Bridgeland helps the reader discover their own volunteer service mission and issues a rallying cry to the nation to heal our partisan divisions by joining together across party lines to address our toughest challenges.
John Bridgeland is a national civic asset and a model public servant. A talented senior official in the Bush White House, after 9-11 he reached across lines of party and ideology with the aim of transforming national tragedy into a new culture of service and citizenship. This book records his tireless and creative struggle, overcoming political cynicism and bureaucratic foot-dragging, to foster a new "Greatest Generation." He shows why that effort is important to personal happiness and to national renewal, and provides insightful suggestions for the way forward.