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What we’re reading, watching and listening to this week.

Can Ken Burns Get Everyone to Agree on America’s Origin Story?

John Jurgensen, writing in The Wall Street Journal, profiles filmmaker Ken Burns as he promotes his documentary “The American Revolution,” an attempt at a complex, unvarnished take on the nation’s origin story—a fair shake on “one of the most important events in the history of humankind.” Burns hopes to provide a unifying vision as an alternative to both defeatist and excessively triumphalist views as the country nears its 250th anniversary.

[Burns] said he didn’t worry that “The American Revolution,” which he began working on when Barack Obama was still in office, would be targeted or politicized: “We’re not buffeted by those same winds because we’re flying at a higher altitude.”

From Polarization to Proactive Citizenship

Prohuman Foundation advisor Wilk Wilkinson interviewed Braver Angels co-founder Bill Doherty on the Derate the Hate Podcast, discussing the group's 2016 origins and the concept of "thick citizenship" as a proactive approach to civic renewal. They highlight structured conversations to build understanding and urge personal responsibility over reliance on politicians.

DOHERTY: Well, the idea of the citizen has gotten kind of watered down to this sort of. . . civics thing. . . . Are you a legal citizen—born here, or a naturalized citizen—or are you not? Sort of the narrow definition of citizen. And voting becomes what you do as a citizen. . . and you pay your taxes, or whatever. And that's a very thin definition of a citizen.

And, and one of the problems with that is that. . . it suggests that the problems we have are going to have to be solved by government. By professionals. By somebody else. Because we just vote on the people who are going to fix us. . . .

A thick view of citizenship is that we the people are responsible, collectively, for identifying our priorities, solving problems, finding ways to have a life together that we are co-responsible for.

What We Owe Our Country

David Masci, writing for Discourse Magazine, argues that Americans should offer unconditional love and support to their country, akin to a family bond, despite its flaws, rather than succumbing to excessively self-critical narratives. He highlights a crisis of confidence and declining patriotism, urging a return to pride in America’s 250-year experiment in freedom and pluralism, which he believes can be nurtured individually rather than through institutional fixes.

Our salvation ultimately lies in our natural desire to belong to and believe in something bigger than ourselves. And the good news is that you don’t have to squint to love America and to want to be an integral part of the American story. Warts and all, our country is still a miracle, a 250-year-old experiment in freedom and tolerance.

The Lady Liberty Violin

In a July Fourth piece for Prohuman Pathways, Adam Thompson showcases the Lady Liberty Violin, crafted by Polish immigrant Lukas Wronski as a tribute to American freedom and opportunity. The violin’s curious design mirrors the nation’s complex history—a symbol of American resilience and the ongoing pursuit of a more perfect union.

On this Fourth, we celebrate a country that turns imperfection into possibility. From the abolitionists to the civil rights marchers, from the poets to the soldiers—and among those working today to ensure the next generation learns fairness, understanding, and humanity—America’s strength lies in its people’s resolve to make her core ideals a reality.

Point: We Celebrate America’s Freedoms on the 4th of July, Not Britain’s

Writing for the Daily Courier, Richard Lorenc contrasts the U.S.’s constitutional system, rooted in individual liberties and checks on power, with the UK, which lacks a formal constitution. He highlights America’s commitment to rational discourse over repression, citing the UK’s “non-crime hate incident” investigations as a counterpoint.

Ours is a nation of ideas and ideals. That’s what the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are all about: the people’s freedoms and how to organize a government that respects and protects those freedoms.

This is not to say things are perfect. For example, the United States has been having an issue with the liberties outlined in the First Amendment, from cancel culture to the unhinged voices in politics and on social media.

However, as we’ve seen time again during America’s 250-year history, the most effective antidote to unhinged speech is more speech — rational speech — not repression.

The United Kingdom, regrettably, has chosen the latter: repression. According to Dominic Green, a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, British police during the past decade have investigated more than a quarter million “non-crime hate incidents,” which he described in The Wall Street Journal last fall as speech exhibiting “‘perceived’ hostility or prejudice against any ‘protected characteristic.’” Imagine being investigated because you said or wrote something that somebody else “perceived” as hostile, prejudicial or hurtful.

Opinions expressed in selected articles do not necessarily reflect those of the Prohuman Foundation. We value diverse perspectives that enrich our understanding of topics close to our mission: to promote the foundational truth that we are all unique individuals, united by our shared humanity.