During the last 30 years, Rosenblatt believes, we have been living outside history in a bubble of wealth and power. The events of September 11, 2001, have given us a chance to reacquaint ourselves with what the country stands for and what it should become. If we have lost our way as a country, it is because we have lost sight of the idealism on which America was founded. The fundamentals of American justice and society are more than America's virtues—they are standards by which a civilization measures its worth.
Roger Rosenblatt is the author of six off-Broadway plays and eighteen books, including Lapham Rising, Making Toast, Kayak Morning and The Boy Detective. He is the recipient of the 2015 Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement.