Book Review: Our Sacred Honor

Our Sacred Honor: Words of Advice from the Founders in Stories, Letters, Poems, and Speeches, William J. Bennett, ed. (Simon & Schuster, 1997), 413 pp.

by T. C. Pinckney                                                                                    Vol. XII, No. 10, Nov/Dec 1999

Our Sacred Honor is divided topically into seven sections on Patriotism and Courage, Love and Courtship, Civility and Friendship, Education of the Head and Heart, Industry and Frugality, Justice, and Piety. As one reads these selections, there is an almost physical sense of being lifted above the mire of modern malaise. I recommend Our Sacred Honor for every American, for every student, for every young person.

At the present when the White House has been transformed into a brothel, paganism is the fad of the hour, homosexuals demand special rights, entertainment is a sewer, our armed forces are debased into instruments of political correctness, and our public schools produce graduates too ignorant to appreciate their ignorance, the exalted sentiments, the careful reasoning, the honor attested in these pages display what men can become. And the contrast between them and our current national leaders suggests a grim future for our beloved country ... unless we reverse course and return to our holy God.

In addition to its substantive attractions, this is an excellent book for filling miscellaneous moments because it is comprised not of one continuous narrative, but is a collection of brief quotations (up to three pages, most much shorter) from our founders, as Bennett writes, “some of the most thoughtful men and women who ever walked our nation.”

One final note: Borders Books has “bargainized” Our Sacred Honor so that rather than the $25 price marked inside the dust jacket, I only paid $4.99 plus tax. It makes an excellent and inexpensive gift.