A Letter to America
Published: 2008
Hardcover ISBN: 9780806139449
Paperback ISBN: 9780806142029
120 pages, 5" x 7.5"
Subject: Oklahoma , Political Science / Law
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A powerful wake-up call to all Americans
With a new postscript that urges political bipartisanship, optimism, and action
With only 6 percent of the world’s population, how long will the United States remain a global superpower? The answer, David Boren tells us in A Letter to America, depends on asking ourselves tough questions. A powerful wake-up call to Americans, A Letter to America, forces us to take a bold, objective look at ourselves.
In A Letter to America, Boren explains with unsparing clarity why the country is at a crossroads and why decisive action is urgently needed and offers us an ambitious, hopeful plan.
What the country needs, Boren asserts, are major reforms to restore the ability of our political system to act responsibly. By relying on our shared values, we can replace cynicism with hope and strengthen our determination to build a better future. We must fashion a post–Cold War foreign policy that fits twenty-first-century realities—including multiple contending superpowers. We must adopt campaign finance reform that curbs the influence of special interests and restores political power to the voters. Universal health care coverage, budget deficit reduction, affordable higher education, and a more progressive tax structure will strengthen the middle class.
Boren also describes how we can renew our emphasis on quality primary and secondary education, revitalize our spirit of community, and promote volunteerism. He urges the teaching of more American history and government, for without educated citizens our system cannot function and our rights will not be preserved. Unless we understand how we became great, we will not remain great.
The plan Boren puts forward is optimistic and challenges Americans to look into the future, decide what we want to be and where we want to go, and then implement the policies and actions we need to take us there.
David L. Boren
Rhodes Scholar David Boren, currently President of the University of Oklahoma, was the longest-serving chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee.
Throughout his three-decade career in elective politics as Governor and three-term U.S. Senator, Boren was known as a bipartisan reformer, championing efforts to make government more accountable to the American people. During his tenure in Washington, Boren crusaded for congressional campaign finance reform and stronger congressional oversight of secret intelligence programs. He sponsored legislation to declassify thousands of documents pertaining to the history of the CIA. Boren chaired the special 1992–93 Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress, which proposed making Congress more efficient and responsive by streamlining congressional bureaucracy, reducing staff sizes, and reforming procedures to end legislative gridlock. He authored the National Security Education Act in 1992 to provide scholarships for studying abroad and learning additional languages. Since the program's inception, more than 3,500 students have been given the opportunity to study abroad as Boren Scholars. The National Security Education Program is the largest international studies program created since adoption of the Fulbright scholarships.
A 1963 graduate of Yale University, Boren received his law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1968. Prior to becoming President of the University of Oklahoma, he served for ten years as a Trustee of Yale. When Boren left the U.S. Senate in 1994 to become President of the University of Oklahoma, he had an approval rating of 9l percent after being reelected with 83 percent of the vote in 1990, the highest percentage in the nation in a U.S. Senate contest in that election year.
Under Boren's leadership, the University of Oklahoma has emerged as a pacesetter in American public higher education, ranking first in the nation among public universities in the number of National Merit Scholars per capita. Total endowment has grown five-fold to more than $1 billion during the thirteen years of his presidency. A teacher at heart, Boren is in the classroom every semester leading a first-year course in political science.
"Wise, timely, and constructive views from one of the leading public servants and educators of our time. This book should be read, re-read, and passed along to all who care about our country and its future."
David McCullough
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of John Adams
"Here now is the letter to us all, the one we have been waiting for—and sorely need. It is a message of alarm but also of hope. Our problems as Americans are huge but most are of our own making and thus capable of our own fixing. I say, Amen, David Boren."
Jim Lehrer
Executive Editor, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
"David Boren's unique insights present us with a summons to action. Not all that he suggests will be palatable, but all should be debated. Above all, his letter calls us back from the precipice of narrow self-interest to the solid ground of the public good."
Ruth Simmons
President of Brown University
"A powerful, compelling analysis of the major crises facing the United States today. Treating each crisis in a nonpartisan, compassionate way, and believing that 'we Americans are natural problem solvers,' Boren suggests excellent solutions for the well-being of our own and future generations of Americans."
Howard R. Lamar
former President of Yale University
"David Boren defines our nation's challenges with clarity, common sense, and courage. Americans concerned about the country their children and grandchildren will find Boren's diagnosis and prescriptions refreshing, compelling—and inspiring."
Sam Nunn
U.S. Senator from Georgia, 1972–1997
"A must-read for anyone in a leadership position or those who envision such a career path."
The Norman Transcript
"A Letter to America should be read by everyone concerned about the future of this republic. It should also be required reading for every elected government official."
The Edmond Sun
"A bold and ambitious call to action to regain the world's respect that deserves serious consideration by all Americans."
The Hill
