Reviews
Kiernan structures his book largely through stories of remarkable examples of action. … There are teaching moments in this book. … There are memorable liness that will stick with you. … There are moments of surprising revelation. … The author ends with five-step process, and at this point I was ready to yell out, “Hi, my name is Michael, and I am “authentic!” — The Burlington Free Press — for the complete review, http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20100516/LIVING/5160306/Author-Stephen-P.-Kiernan-dreams-of-a-new-American-patriot
Offers the nation a do-it-yourself fix. The country’s biggest problem … isn’t poverty, pollution or political gridlock but citizen disengagement. Real patriots don’t fortify the country by arming themselves with flags but instead by lending a hand. — The Rutland Herald — for the complete article, please go to http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20100509/NEWS04/5090379
Stephen Kiernan urges Americans to take on the challenges facing our society in this heartfelt look at everyday heroes who are reshaping society. Patriotism, Kiernan argues, transcends empty flag waving and political posturing, and lies instead in our service to each other and our willingness to sacrifice for the sake of our country and its people. For the author, authentic patriotism is found in the actions of people who take on our most profound social problems—problems the free market ignores in the absence of a clear profit to be had, and that our government has grown too slow moving and detached to effectively address. For example, retired pharmaceutical researcher Jack McConnell saw thousands of people in his community struggling without adequate health care and launched a free clinic that has grown into the Volunteers in Medicine program with 78 clinics in 24 states. Attorney Barry Scheck could not bear the injustice of innocent people languishing in prisons and founded the Innocence Project; today, hundreds of innocent prisoners have been exonerated. With these and other examples, the author constructs a stirring argument against apathy and for engagement.
— Publishers Weekly
An award-winning journalist offers a prescription for a nation adrift: citizen initiatives on behalf of the common good. For Kiernan, patriotism is more than a set of beliefs or a matter of opinion — authentic patriotism is action, work that solves some of today’s toughest problems. To recover America’s greatness, he says, we must look neither to a cumbersome government nor an indifferent marketplace, but rather to the courage, determination and willingness to sacrifice — the traits that characterized the Founders — of ordinary citizens making a difference in their communities and beyond. In a friendly, readable text, the author introduces people like Jenifer Estess, who founded Project A.L.S., responsible for groundbreaking research in attacking Lou Gehrig’s disease; Christopher Moore, founder of the Chicago Children’s Choir, whose multiracial composition and high artistic standards serve as a model for cooperation and achievement; Dr. Jack McConnell, who established the Volunteers in Medicine clinic for the poor and underserved in Hilton Head, S.C.; Barry Scheck, whose well-known Innocence Project, through its pioneering use of science in the courtroom, has freed hundreds of wrongly convicted prisoners; Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx, builder of parks and fierce opponent of unthinking environmental racism; and Tara Diane, whose decision to donate an organ made an impact that extends far beyond a single, benevolent deed. Though the author focuses on these six people, Kiernan looks at scores of other folks, some famous — environmental author Bill McKibben, singer Dolly Parton, tree-sitter Julia Butterfly — but most not,whose simple decisions to engage with their community has vastly improved the lives of others. The author identifies the signal elements of an act of authentic patriotism: It makes excellent economic sense; it can be duplicated elsewhere; it rewards the helper every bit as much as the helped; it sends out ripples of benign consequence in directions perhaps unforeseen. He concludes with a call for everyone to make a sacrifice, no matter how small, for a civic renewal worthy of our ideals. A good-hearted and hardheaded appeal.
— Kirkus Reviews
From retiree Jack McConnell in South Carolina to Majora Carter in the South Bronx Americans who brought real change to their communities have maintained a great nation while our institutions failed us. Authentic Patriotism is the story of those people whom you have never heard of, but who are most responsible for the greatness of America.
— Howard Dean MD
Authentic Patriotism is poignant, powerful, and deeply inspiring. It reminded me of something we all tend to forget in the maelstrom of partisan politics and corporate bureaucracies: A single, ordinary person still can make a difference – and single, ordinary people are doing precisely that every day. This is an absolutely terrific book.
— Chris Bohjalian, author of Midwives, Secrets of Eden
