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The Spirit of Philadelphia is America's story told through the history of ideas and a cautionary tale of what happens when a nation's Spirit goes dormant.This book proposes a return of the American government to the philosophical roots as articulated by the U.S. Constitution and its Framers. Grounded in realism, the Founders successfully balanced the needs and rights of the individual with those of the collective, creating a system that prioritized both personal liberty and societal order. Author and former Congressman Chris Gibson argues that abandoning the "Spirit of Philadelphia" (essentially the national spirit of cooperation, compromise, and teamwork) enabled dysfunction in government and disillusionment in the constituency. Culminating a comprehensive list of policy recommendations that logically analyze issues in the American political system, the author proposes an agenda aimed at restoring faith and functionality in national institutions and leaders, fostering bipartisan communication and collaboration, and revitalizing civic engagement at the individual level.Illustrating the changes in the political landscape of America since the Philadelphia convention, this book is an important read for students of democracy, political participation, elections, and voter behavior.
List of contents
Introduction
Section I - Philosophy of Knowledge, Ethics, and Political Theory
Chapter 1 - Why Balance Is Crucial to Knowledge and Virtue
Chapter 2 - The Flourishing Life and Thriving Society
Chapter 3 - Thoughts on Political Theory
Section II - The Rise and Decline of American Common Sense Realism
Chapter 4 - Breaking With the Past
Chapter 5 - The Spirit of Philadelphia
Chapter 6 - Common Sense Realism - "A New Order of the Ages"
Chapter 7 - From Flourishing to Flailing - Why Political Philosophy Matters
Chapter 8 - The Mirage of Utopia
Section III - Recovering Founding Principles & Common Sense Realism
Chapter 9 - Restoring Trust
Chapter 10 - Reawakening the Spirit of Philadelphia
Chapter 11 - Notes for Us - "We the People"
Conclusion
Report
"Chris Gibson has issued a clarion call to all Americans-- regardless of party or ideology-- to participate in a much-needed reset of our struggling experiment in self-governance. Gibson first grounds his analysis in a thoughtful and expansive consideration of political philosophy and history as they relate to the modern challenges of our constitutional republic. He then leverages his impressive and diverse experiences in public service to arrive at a systematic program of system- and citizen-centered reforms that would enable us to recover the spirit of cooperation and pragmatism that animated the Constitutional Framers. While we can agree or disagree about specific proposals that he offers with this goal in mind, we can all agree that the status quo is unsustainable... and that this vitally important conversation needs to happen. Chris Gibson has provided us with a timely vehicle and a logical framework for such a national conversation."
Lewis G. Irwin, Professor of Public Policy and American Government, Duquesne University; and Major General, U.S. Army (retired)
"Chris Gibson - former Army Colonel, Iraq combat veteran, recipient of a Purple Heart and four Bronze Stars, Ph.D., three-term congressman, professor, and former college president - is singularly qualified to diagnose our current American malaise and to offer time-honored remedies of compromise, nonpartisanship, and shared sacrifices that date back to our founding and have helped America to heal in the past. A unique diagnosis and course of correction for an ailing America in its fourth century from a rare Renaissance American."
Victor Davis Hanson, Senior Fellow, The Hoover Institution, Stanford University and author of The Dying Citizen
