Welcome to the American Story.

Stories about all the things that make America the country we know and love.

Revolutionary War soldier, 21 year old Nathan Hale, was hanged by the British as a spy on September 22nd, 1776.

His famous last words have reminded every generation of Americans since, of their duty to keep the country worthy of the last full measure of devotion.

This is Chris Flannery with the Claremont Institute.

I call this one. Chris Flannery with the Claremont Institute.

I call this one.

What's love got to do with it?

We hear a lot about the crisis of American civic education. Every year around the Crisis of American Civic Education.

Every year around the start of the fall semester,

I hear reports about another study demonstrating again

how ignorant American high school graduates

and even college graduates are about their country's history and government.

Most of us can cite examples that make you laugh or weep depending on your mood.

People don't know how many senators there are from each state or what the Bill of Rights is. One recent study alleged that 10% of college graduates,

not high school graduates, college graduates, thought Judge

Judy was on the Supreme Court.

And it is true that our schools and colleges have been failing for many years to teach American history and government

adequately. This is a very serious and a very important failure. But I think that our crisis, which we do have, is not essentially a crisis of information or of factual knowledge.

It seems to me it is more a crisis of understanding and disposition.

Even as odd as it sounds, a crisis... understanding and disposition.

Even as odd as it sounds, a crisis of love.

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