Eric Liu

An interview with Eric Liu, co-author with Nick Hanauer of The True Patriot, which was published by Sasquatch in January 2008.

Publishers Weekly: How would you describe The True Patriot?

Eric Liu: The book is an argument that we’ve got to reclaim patriotism in more progressive terms. It’s written in the style of a Thomas Paine pamphlet, and is meant to provoke debate about the ways in which over the last four decades patriotism as an idea has been hijacked by the… more

...A recent Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll showed that 35 percent of voters said they had concerns about Obama’s patriotism. Only nine percent said they were worried about McCain’s. Eric Liu, a former domestic policy adviser to President Bill Clinton who co-founded the True Patriot Network with Hanauer, said Obama has not been forceful enough in conveying a message on patriotism. “It is not something that Obama has particularly, persistently, or effectively, really done,” Liu said. “What’s encouraging to us is… more

..."The wellspring of patriotism is very deep across party, across region, across demographics," says Eric Liu, a former White House speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and co-author of The True Patriot, which explores the meaning of patriotism... LINK

How do you define patriotism in America in 2008? Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer wrote a little red book called The True Patriot. They want to remind people of their responsibilities as American citizens. Have liberals run away from the concept of patriotism? Has the concept of patriotism been turned into a political cudgel that squelches open discussion? Can the left and right agree on what patriotism means? Are you a patriot? Does the word patriot make you uncomfortable? LINK to audio

...What we need going forward is third-way patriotism, a new patriotism that blends the faith of our fathers with, as Lincoln said, the unfinished work remaining before us. That new patriotism, as Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer write in The True Patriot, means "appreciating not only what is great about our country but also what it takes to create and sustain greatness..." LINK

Has the right hijacked patriotism? Has the left ceded it? Does wearing a flag lapel pin make you a true patriot? Is dissenting against a war truly patriotic? Who decides? Written by former speechwriter and senior domestic policy advisor to President Clinton, Eric Liu, and Seattle-based entrepreneur and philanthropist, Nick Hanauer, The True Patriot argues that in these cynical times there should be a higher call: to country first. The… more

Interview on The True Patriot (WTOP Radio, DC)

Author Eric Liu discusses American patriotism and his new book, "The True Patriot," with WTOP Radio in Washington, DC. Please find the transcript below, and audio of the interview linked as an attachment at the bottom of the page. Visit WTOP.com for more news.

WTOP: Three names for you now: John McCain, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton. Of those three, who would you say is a… more

It’s been hijacked by the right and abandoned by the left, but the principles of true patriotism -- country above self, responsible stewardship, equality, shared sacrifice and service -- are inherently progressive. The True Patriot challenges progressives to retake patriotism. Written in the pamphleteering style of Thomas Paine, it presents a manifesto, ten-principal plan, and moral code that reframe the concept of patriotism and return politics to what it once was: a civic virtue and responsibility that fueled the country’s founders.

Praise for The True Patriot "The True… more

When Jonathan Hu was going to high school in suburban Southern California, he rarely heard anyone speaking Chinese. But striding through campus on his way to class at the University of California, Berkeley, Mr. Hu hears Mandarin all the time, in plazas, cafeterias, classrooms, study halls, dorms and fast-food outlets. It is part of the soundtrack at this iconic university, along with Cantonese, English, Spanish and, of course, the perpetual jackhammers from the perpetual construction projects spurred by the perpetual… more

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Eric Liu is an author and educator who has served in leadership roles in national politics and media. His most recent book, The True Patriot, co-authored with Nick Hanauer, is a pamphlet in the style of Thomas Paine that argues for a new progressive patriotism. He is also the author… more