The Moral Compass

Horne discusses the moral dimensions of American civic life in this commentary on modern politics.

America’s voices of moral conscience, from Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King Jr., have emphasized their belief that “freedom is fragile” and that it survives only when moral principles act as a restraint on power and when “citizens choose justice over fear.” Per the author, America is facing a precipice at which its citizens must reassert the primacy of a moral compass to sustain our civic and political life. Recognizing that extremists like Christian nationalists have long defined their movements through an absolutist moral certainty, Horne contends that a moral society is not defined by religious fundamentalism or narrow codes of piety but is one in which “human beings are treated as ends rather than tools, and where freedom is protected not for the strong alone, but for all.” The book’s first half outlines the ways in which America has drifted toward authoritarianism and a cynical zero-sum partisan system based not on sound policy but on demeaning one’s political opponents. The back half offers practical advice on how ordinary citizens can combat the erosion of the national moral compass by embracing civic habits central to community-building (from volunteer service to local problem-solving), refusing to participate in the dissemination of misinformation, and embracing the principles of compromise and pluralism. The author notes how both Republicans and Democrats are to blame for denigrating the collective moral compass, but he pays particular attention to what he sees as the damaging policies of the modern right. Horne notes President Donald Trump’s “contempt for the moral fabric of the republic,” providing a detailed analysis of his destructive policies related to LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive freedom, and the environment (climate change, per the author, is “The Moral Test of Our Time”). A cleareyed work whose idealistic message is balanced by Horne’s lucid understanding of contemporary politics, this is a well-researched volume backed by more than 300 endnote citations.

An urgent and compelling corrective to modern political polarization.