Do you love America? Are you proud to call this country your home? Now, what about your kids? You want them to love America as much as you do, but when popular culture tells them it’s cooler to bash this country than to love it, how can you teach them to be proud and loyal citizens? As mothers themselves, bestselling author Myrna Blyth and former presidential speechwriter Chriss Winston have struggled with the same dilemma. Shocked by the growing patriotism gap, they set out to create a real-world resource all parents can use to teach their kids about the greatness of America’s past, the promise of its future, and the important role each of us plays in this democracy. How to Raise an American shows you how to make patriotism a priority without it becoming a chore for you or your kids. This practical guide offers tips, games, activities, quizzes, and information you can use to make patriotism part of your family’s daily life, including: - 60-Minute Solutions that easily and seamlessly instill a love of this country - Dinner Table Debate topics that will have the whole family talking - Road trip ideas that bring America’s history to life - Books and movies that exemplify our shared ideals - Inspiring stories of American courage, honor, and ingenuity - Fun and educational ways to celebrate American holidays like the Fourth of July and Veterans Day Blyth and Winston consulted prominent historians, academics, military leaders, politicians, authors, scholars, film critics and parents around the country to bring you a truly useful guide. Part treatise on patriotism, part American history primer, part civics lesson, this book is the antidote to the virulent America bashing our children hear every day. Inspiring and practical, How to Raise an American is a must for every patriot—parent and child. Myrna Blyth is the bestselling author of Spin Sisters: How the Women of the Media Sell Unhappiness—and Liberalism—to the Women of America . The longtime editor in chief of Ladies’ Home Journal and the founding editor of More magazine, she is now a columnist for National Review Online . Blyth also chairs the President’s Commission on White House Fellows and is a member of the Justice Department’s National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women. She is married, has two sons, and lives in New York. Chriss Winston was the first woman to head the White House Office of Speechwriting, serving in that position under President George H. W. Bush. The author of several books and a longtime Washington political communications professional, she was also deputy assistant secretary of labor under President Reagan and later served as a senior official at the U.S. Information Agency. She now heads her own communications consultancy, CorporateWord, and is also a director of the White House Writers Group. Winston lives near Washington, D.C., with her husband and son. 1 THE PATRIOTISM GAP “We want to make our children feel that the mere fact of being Americans makes them better off. . . . This is not to blind us at all to our own shortcomings; we ought steadily to try to correct them; but we have absolutely no grounds to work on if we don’t have a firm and ardent Americanism at the bottom of everything.” —Theodore Roosevelt =What does it mean to be an American? That’s what USA Today wanted to know last Fourth of July, and their readers told them. For Jeff Stark of Dublin, Ohio, being an American is “to live in the hometown of hope and dreams . . . where one hot dog stand can turn into two . . . where a second chance always follows a first . . . to live in the land of eternal promise for a better day . . . the Wrigley Field of nations.” Another Ohio patriot, Mel Mauer, says, “To be American is to be uniquely free.” Kathleen Butler of Wichita, Kansas, loves America for its diversity, “We are as American as apple pie, or stir-fried rice, or enchiladas or curried chicken. And because of that we are the luckiest people on the planet.” Being American? “It’s about appreciating my country, loving it deeply and doing what I can to make the USA a better place.” That was how World War II veteran Ezio Moscatelli of Columbia, Missouri, put his patriotism into words. Opportunity, freedom, diversity, and duty. Four Americans . . . four patriots . . . four different ways of loving their country. How about you? Do you love America? Are you the type who gets a lump in your throat when the flag passes by on the Fourth of July? Do you get goose bumps when “The Star-Spangled Banner” echoes in an Olympic stadium? Does a lemonade stand manned by a determined eight-year-old on a hot summer day make you smile? Do America’s unique history and values make you proud of your country? If you said yes to these questions, congratulations! You’re probably a patriot. But here’s a much harder question. Do you believe your children, deep down, love this country and what it stands for, just as you do? You might be surprised to find out how your