Will pragmatic liberal education instigate skillful and compassionate strategies -- here and abroad -- for addressing our most pressing challenges?
Romano does offer a series of often intelligent reflections on a diverse group of American writers. That doesn't make his work or our country philosophical, but it does remind us of books we might turn to as we continue our conversations.
The free inquiry and experimentation of our education helps us to think for ourselves, take responsibility for our beliefs and actions, and be better acquainted with our own desires, our own hopes.
I don't expect Obama will satisfy those who are certain government shouldn't get bigger, or those who have no doubt that only government can address health care. But he will have made progress.
If you deprive people of the solace of a moral system of meaningful connection with something bigger than themselves, you aren't just stripping away window dressing, but demolishing the supporting structure of a happy life
