In this compelling book, Natan Sharansky takes on those who see identity as a foe of freedom. The man who gave us a moving memoir of his life in the gulag (Fear No Evil) and wrote one of the most influential treatises in recent years on foreign policy (The Case For Democracy) explains why identity is freedom’s greatest ally in the struggle against tyranny.
For Sharansky, the free world’s shield is its own identity, vigorously asserted and framed by a commitment to democratic life. Not all cultures are the same. Not all values are equivalent. Democracy and freedom are worth fighting for, and, if necessary, worth dying for. As Sharansky writes: The enemy’s will is strong because his identity is strong. And we must match his strength of purpose with strong identities of our own.
With the moral clarity, analytical precision, and light-heartedness that are his trademarks, Sharansky draws on his unique experience to offer an unapologetic defense of the power of identity. He asserts that when framed by democracy, strong identities enrich our lives and enable us to defend the values we most deeply cherish.
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Public Affairs
“Who is better prepared to confront challenges and defend principles in a volatile modern world? Those with strong national, religious, ethnic, or tribal identities who accept democracy, or democrats who renounce identity as a kind of divisive prejudice? Natan Sharansky, building on his personal experience as a dissident, argues that valueless cosmopolitanism, even in democracies, is dangerous. Better to have hostile identities framed by democracy than democrats indifferent to identity. In a vigorous, insightful challenge to the left and right alike, Natan Sharansky, as he has proved repeatedly, is at the leading edge of the issues that frame our times.”
The Jerusalem Post
“Fortunately, one of the greatest Jewish heroes alive today has jumped into this battle, armed with his usual weapons – wit, iconoclasm, erudition and courage. Having survived Soviet prisons, having survived years in Israeli politics with his reputation for independence and integrity intact, Natan Sharansky is now ready to lead the charge against those who are deluding themselves by denuding themselves…This twist makes Sharansky’s argument fresh, powerful, compelling, and yes, subversive. Rather than joining the Jewish woe-is-me crowd lamenting that particularist Judaism cannot survive America’s universalizing embrace, Sharansky fears that America, Europe and the West cannot survive modernity’s universalizing embrace. Sharansky endorses a strong Jewish identity, a vital American identity, a vigorous Israeli identity, a proud Western identity, to preserve democracy… Sharansky’s book should make us appreciate how lucky we are as Jews to be a part of such an inspiring story.”
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Excerpts from Defending Identity
The enemy’s will is strong because his identity is strong. And we must match his strength of purpose with strong identities of our own.
-Preface, page x
What I did not know then and could not foresee was that even after the Soviet Union collapsed, this tension would remain. I could not imagine that these two forces, identity and freedom, which were allies in the struggle to resist the world of fear that the Soviets had built, would become the bitterest of enemies in the free world.
-Preface, page xix
Those who feel a connection to ideals and values beyond the individual self, who believe that they are participating in a grand collective adventure, and who are convinced that they are acting on behalf of past and future generations are prepared to make great individual sacrifices. This sense of purpose and meaning is what attracts so many to fundamentalism, not only in countries governed by (or torn apart by) fundamentalist groups, but even among native-born Europeans. Without a similar strength of purpose and identity, the free world will not long be able to repel the assault against it.
-Page 3
Making the case for identity is much harder than making the case for democracy. No one seriously questions the benefits of a free society. Indeed, we may argue on how best to expand the rule of democracy or how long such an endeavor, if possible, will take, but virtually no one would suggest that a truly free society would not to be a boon to its citizens, its neighbors, and the world. The best evidence of the universal respect afforded democracy is that even the world’s most undemocratic regimes insist on calling themselves “democratic.” Democracy is the motherhood and apple pie of international politics-everyone has to seem to be for it, whatever the differences in backgrounds and recipes.
In contrast, a fiery debate rages in the modern world about the influence of national ,religious, and other identities on global peace and stability. This is not merely an esoteric debate among the democratic world’s intellectuals, who are themselves preoccupied by post-nationalism, post-modernism, and other post-identity theories. Most people in the West turn on their televisions and see a world seething with hatred based on identity, with daily scenes of terrorism and barbarism that pit national, ethnic, and religious groups against one another.
-Pages 3-4
Identity without democracy can become fundamentalist and totalitarian. Democracy without identity can become superficial and meaningless. If either aspect is endangered, we all are endangered. When both are strengthened, we can help secure a more peaceful and meaningful world.
-Page 16
Double Think
Identity without democracy can become fundamentalist and totalitarian. Democracy without identity can become superficial and meaningless. If either aspect is endangered, we all are endangered. When both are strengthened, we can help secure a more peaceful and meaningful world.
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